Gender Differences in Emotional Intelligence

The stereotype of women being more 'emotional' sex survives to this day. The present study was conducted to empirically validate this affirmation. Two hundred thirty eight engineering graduates (males=110, females=128)in the age range of 21-25 years formed the sample of the study. The gender differences on various dimensions of Emotional Intelligence were explored with the help of a self-report measure of Emotional Intelligence that included (a) self -awareness (b) empathy (c) self-motivation (d) emotional stability (e) managing relations (f) integrity (g) self-development (h) value orientation (i) commitment and (j) altruistic behavior. The data was analyzed using independent sample't' test. Results of the study indicate a significantly higher score of female students on selfawareness, self-motivation, managing relations, integrity and overall emotional intelligence in comparison to the male students. The difference on other dimensions of Emotional Intelligence was statistically insignificant.