As already noted, this dimension is not about gender roles per se, but rather about characteristics typical of masculine and feminine approaches and attitudes toward dispute resolution.
Masculinity (MAS) v. Femininity Hofstede's Masculinity dimension focuses on the degree to which a culture reinforces traditional male values and gender, such as achievement, control, power, money, recognition, challenges, assertiveness, aggressiveness, dominance, competitiveness, ambition, the accumulation of money and wealth, independence, and physical strength. The masculine orientation is to achievement outside the home. Masculinity is a measure of the competitiveness. Its central value is "Win at any costs." In masculine cultures, males dominate a significant portion of the country's society and power structure. Traditional feminine goals are cooperation, security, pleasant relationships, modesty and caring. In feminine cultures, women are subordinated to male leadership. Using the terminology "assertiveness v. cooperativeness" instead of masculinity v. femininity would probably make this dimension easier to understand in contemporary society and less emotionally charged. In contemporary negotiation theory, masculine cultures are competitive negotiators and will use and respect competitive negotiation strategies and tactics that might be labeled "hardball," "hard bargaining," or "win-lose." On the other hand, Feminine cultures are cooperative, "Win-win," or principled negotiators, and they will use cooperative and Getting-To-Yes type negotiation strategies and tactics. A belief that the strong shall dominate is an important aspect of masculine culture. Masculine cultures will resolve conflicts by fighting and by applying the principle of the stronger person wins. Masculine cultures