The Impact of Gender Differences on Teamwork and Collaboration

by Abigail Pereira

6/17/2025

As workplaces, schools, and cooperative settings experience an increase in diversity, researchers have identified gender differences and conflicts in teamwork and collaboration which play a large role in creating cohesive teams.

Some notable examples are unequal opportunities in leadership roles such as overlooking or miscrediting ideas contributed by gender minorities, conflict and misjudgment caused by stereotypes in communication styles, emotional labor and invisible work, and how the intersection between gender, race, and disability can compound the aforementioned problems.

By barring gender minorities from attaining leadership roles, companies are limiting the influx of diverse perspectives and decisions. Innovation and morale can become hindered by frequently overlooking their ideas. Approaching communication from these groups with a biased lens can lead to bias about competence or attitude. Unrecognized tasks are often taken on by gender minorities, which can cause them to feel undervalued. These reasons are why it is important to support gender-diverse individuals and encourage them to pursue leadership positions, implement accountability measures and protocols like round-robin speaking and attribution tracking to ensure equal division of labor and visibility among team members, and encourage team training to eliminate bias.

By striving to create more diverse and equitable teams, we are taking the steps towards creating a more inclusive innovative environment to reap the benefits of a united workforce.