Why I Like Working With Girls Better Than Most Guys

I’ve been working online long enough to have learned a few lessons.

Lesson Numero Uno: Girls, on average, are much better working partners than guys.

It’s as good as a scientific law. I’ve worked with enough people (hundreds) to feel confident in my conclusion.

Now this doesn’t mean that there aren’t some good guys out there. My friends Chris, Raj and Ahmed are three of the best people you could imagine working with. But for every Chris, there are nine lazy-ass guys sitting around trying to suck away your money. It’s a fact. A law of nature.

So here are three reasons I like working with girls better than guys:

1. Girls are more dependable.

Ask a female for a favor (no, not that kind sickos), and if she says yes, it gets done, done well, and earlier than you expect. Not so with most guys. Just an observation. But I bet you know what I’m talking about.

2. Girls do it more thoroughly

Aside from the rare perfectionist beast like Chris Pearson, I’ve found that most girls just do the job more completely. I get a more polished product from the average girl, then I do from the average guy. Just an observation. No need to flame me.

3. Girls are more willing to take suggestions

Whether it’s because they don’t have egos the size of Texas, or because they just want to do the best job possible, I’ve never had a girl act offended or defensible from a suggestion. And revisions…they do them with joy.

Most guys I’ve worked with…drag their feet, and mumble some incoherent nonsense when asked for improvements. Just an observation. A fact, that’s as good as a law of nature.

27 thoughts on “Why I Like Working With Girls Better Than Most Guys

  1. Yes, I only just came across this post. So I’m slow. But I do agree.

    I like to think that I’m meticulous, efficient, and open to feedback, but I know that I’m not always so. I also know (I swear I’m not bragging) that I’m probably more open to feedback than other males I know.

    (I’ve also worked with plenty of females who grouse and drag their feet more than I do. In some situations, that’s not saying much, but hey. 🙂

  2. Sure they may write well, and never misspell a word but I am an internet marketer SEO/PPC/analytics, I have worked at agencies, and rarely have I seen an girl who was up to par in my niche field, they just are not analytical enough on average to be good in my field.

    Sure they can play the part filling in pieces of the puzzle, but close inspection of their work at the expert level, and they fail to see the important details, and you have to explain everything because they are not as mechanical by nature. ON AVERAGE NOT ALL THE TIME….so don’t hate

    Anyway, hey good link bait.

  3. Girls smell better? Have you ever had sex? They all smell like dead fish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  4. ” WE are slackers who over commit and underperform.
    Girls, undercommit and overperform. It’s an ego thing.”

    Point taken 😉

    Girls, babes, women … As long as I can choose with which girl to do certain things … Yes, girls are a better choice! … And the motivation is priceless!

    Thanks Ryan for that awesome ‘not PC’ article. A gem!

    PS: Most of ‘my chosen girls’ are a real pain in the ass. But I like it that way!

  5. When I worked in the outside world, my preference was for a male boss. The two women I worked for were insecure, micromanaging, mean and walked around with chips on their shoulders. They were so busy trying to prove they were as good as the men instead of trying to prove they had what it took to run a department. When I worked under men, it was a lot less stressful and they better allowed me to do my job. In fact, it was the last two women I worked for that convinced me to leave the workforce altogether.

  6. Interesting observation, Jennifer C.

    I’ve had the same experience. Offline, guys are much more dependable than on the internet. I wonder why.

    Also, while my experience has been the same as Ryan’s, I do find that guys seem to be better at delegating, hiring, and managing people – both online and offline.

  7. There may be a difference in outside of the web work vs. online work. A long time ago when I worked out in the big old world I had way more guy friends/co-workers that I felt I could depend on than girls. Online work is far different. Almost all my good blog / web writer pals / co-workers are girls and I’d rather work with them because their egos seem less inflated than males I’ve worked with online. I don’t know about the smell deal because everyone smells mostly the same online. But all the above is just my personal situation. I’m know there are dependable fellas on the web. I like “girl” by the way — woman is far too formal for my style.

  8. Dude I know when people are talking about me. The difference is that dudes are just that dudes. WE are slackers who over commit and underperform.

    Girls, undercommit and overperform. It’s an ego thing.

  9. “all the reasons men are just as important in the workplace”
    – I never said they weren’t. I just said I like women better…on average.

    “probably based on working with just a few women”
    -Let’s see, I’ve worked with hundreds of people, a large portion of them women. When it comes to dependability, timeliness, etc. for me it’s all -> “you go girl”.

  10. This is probably the most ignorant post i’ve ever read on a professional blog such as Performancing. It’s even more frustrating because i’ve enjoyed and learned so much from your other posts.

    I’m not even going to go into all the reasons men are just as important in the workplace, because anytime someone raises an objection on this subject that’s in favor of men, it’s considered “insensitive” and “offensive”. Meanwhile, men are increasingly demeaned and insulted in the workplace, at every level of society and constantly ridiculed on TV and every other media outlet.

    There are plenty of women that are just as undependable, just as likely to complain, whine, and drag their feet on a project as men. Your sweeping generalizations, probably based on working with just a few women, is just another drop in the zeitgeist bucket that makes every man out to be Homer Simpson and every woman out to be Marge.

    Bravo, and a couple more backslaps for you.

  11. or

    ladies..
    women..

    etc.

    I’ll tell you if your article is true in a few weeks as I have a female blogger joining me..

    .. not literally.

  12. Ryan,

    While I generally agree (and second Deb’s comment, but would amend to say there are just a lot of flaky people out there), part of the reason may be that 1) in the technology business there are just more guys and more young guys than gals, so the numbers are skewed a bit, and 2) guys tend to gravitate more to the programming side of the business whereas women tend to be more prevalent in the creative/writing side. I only say this because in 24 years in the technology business I’ve seen the publications/training departments of most companies dominated by women with engineering/marketing dominated by men. So, chances are, when you’re dealing with writers and graphic designers you have a better than average chance of working with women than with men. In development arenas, the opposite situation applies. Nonetheless, your point still holds, IMO, that women tend to approach things with a lot less ego and a lot more collaboration than guys.

    Mark

  13. In my experience, girls often prefer to work with guys because (warning: sweeping generalisation approaching) guys tend to be more laid back (less bitchy, apparently), more driven towards an agreed goal (single task focus I suppose) and better able to compartmentalise problems and issues (ie only raise them in the forum they need to be raised in). Keep in mind these are things that girls have told me personally, not stuff I’m just making up.

    My own view is that mixing brings out the best in each other while shielding from the worst excesses of ourselves. It’s a big part of why I strongly oppose single-sex schooling.

    I also use “girls” all the time, as do almost all the girls I know.

  14. …and it’s a pleasure working with you too. But…it’s been my experience that women can be pretty flaky. Really, when I was an editor with an online information portal, I had a lot of problems with women flaking out on a task. It happened more often than with men.

    It’s nice to see you have such a positive experience though. You do have a knack for hiring some pretty great ladies. ; )

  15. David: Consider that during my previous lifetime working offline, I always had to put up with youngblood males who got threatened by my experience – even when I was only a contractor and wasn’t after their jobs. If I asked a question, they made sure not to answer, even to the point of sabotaging me. Only three girls/women ever sabotaged me simply b/c I disagreed with them – one to the point of ensuring that all her work friends didn’t talk to me, even if I had facts to back up my point of view. But guys in the tech field simply were unbearable to work with. I quit many jobs as a result.

    By the by, I don’t use “women” because I’ve had female friends tell me it sounds really derogatory and impersonal and even old (like Randa mentioned). Can’t please everyone I guess.

  16. *dies laughing*

    This sure will be one of my all-time faves, Ryan. Though I agree with Raj, you forgot to include that girls smell better. =D

  17. I can’t figure out if this is some sort of link bait or tring to be controversial to generate readers.

  18. Well, as a guy… I hope that I am one of the 1’s not the 9’s…lol.

    It is hard not to feel a little put off by this “girl power” article, but at the same time, I do have to admit that I know where you are coming from.

    I have worked with many women who have saved my butt in numerous situations and some where a guy friend or co-worker basically tipped his hat in my direction and said “good luck”.

  19. I don’t mind being called a girl, but then again I think all that politically correct stuff is mostly a bunch of crap. I’d rather be called a girl actually – “woman” sounds so old!

  20. (4) Girls are more organized and can juggle various gigs.
    (5) Girls tend to be better writers (though sometimes get stuck on the technical stuff)
    (6) Girls smell better?

  21. I came of age in California in the middle of a feminist revival, I had the word “girl” for any woman over 16 excised from my vocabulary. I’d no sooner call a woman a girl than I would drop the n-bomb.

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