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Male and Female Visions of Mediation
Author(s) -
Weingarte Helen R.,
Douvan Elizabeth
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
negotiation journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.238
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 1571-9979
pISSN - 0748-4526
DOI - 10.1111/j.1571-9979.1985.tb00324.x
Subject(s) - vision , citation , negotiation , mental health , mediation , sociology , library science , psychology , gerontology , medicine , social science , anthropology , psychiatry , computer science
M ost conf l ic t s -whether among nations, neighborhoods, business associates, or family m e m b e r s are managed by the disputants themselves; increasingly, however, the resolution of conflict involves the actions of third party professionals. Over the past decade, the ranks of practitioners claiming expertise in dispute resolution have swelled. Consequently, as professionals from the law, business, environmental, mental health and academic communities attempt to establish their legitimacy and credibility as mediation specialists, investigation into the nature of the third party role becomes increasingly relevant. The goal of this research is to broaden understanding of the mediatot 's role, clarify central features of the role as envisioned by successful mediators, and extend conceptions of the mediation process itself by comparing the approaches of male and female practitioners. Analysis of sex differences in social thought and behavior has served various purposes in different historical periods. Most recently, with the resurgence of the political women 's movement and the growth of the new feminist scholarship, the study of sex differences has focused on correcting bias in earlier studies and revaluing certain qualities and characteristics that women develop because of their historical position as " the other ," the socio-emotional experts in the family division of labor, the primary caretakers and nurturers of the young (Aries, t977, pp. 292-298; Henley, 1977; Rubin, 1979). In our research, by comparing male and female mediators, we hoped to learn about and describe certain activities, styles, and strategies that would be taken for granted or missed without the comparative frame. We considered gender as a critical variable, therefore, not because sex differences in themselves are important or intrinsically interesting, but because such a focus can enlarge understanding of human behavior and human possibility. We are not alone in this endeavor. Recently, a number of social and political theorists interested in the connection between feminism and pacifism have focused on the ways women and men interpret differences and confront conflict, the mechanisms they use in resolving conflict, and the satisfactions and understanding they derive from the