101 Activities For Teaching Creativity And Problem Solving

71. Battle of the Sexes

Background

Gender wars rage all around us—at least in the minds of people who pay attention to

such things. Regardless of your interest in the battle of the sexes, gender differences play

a significant role in many areas of life as women strive to gain equality. Gender differ-

ences are, of course, not necessarily bad. Remember, “Vive la difference!”

Males and females can make unique contributions in many situations, including creative

problem solving. And that’s exactly what Doug Hall (1994) had in mind when he devel-

oped this activity.

Objectives

• To help participants generate as many creative ideas as possible


• To help participants learn how to use the activities to generate ideas

Participants

Small groups of four to seven people each

Materials, Supplies, and Equipment

• For each group: markers, two flip charts, and masking tape for posting flip-chart
  sheets


• For each participant: one sheet each of three different colors of sticking dots
  (^1 ⁄ 2 ” diameter) and one pad of 4 x 6 Post-it®Notes


• For each group of males: an assortment of male-oriented magazines such as Esquire,
  Field & Stream,and Men’s Health.


• For each group of females: an assortment of female-oriented magazines such as Red-
  book, Cosmopolitan,and Mademoiselle.

Handout

• Battle of the Sexes Handout

Time

45 minutes

296 101 Activities for Teaching Creativity and Problem Solving

10 VG 295-328 10/6/04 1:05 PM Page 296