Here's a surprise. The thing Australian businessmen fear most is not the company share price crashing or joining the queue at Centrelink - it's making a woman in the office cry.

 In a survey conducted by Australian gender diversity company, Emberin, founder and CEO, Maureen Frank, found their number one issue was ''a fundamental fear of a woman crying.''

''They were terrified!'' says Frank, who conducts programs to enhance communication between the sexes and promote gender diversity in business. 

 Frank says that men can be so intimidated by the threat of tears that they resist giving negative, ''hardcore feedback'' that women often need to hear.

It's just one of the ways in which gender differences can limit women's professional progress and therefore, team diversity and business success.

Candy Tymson is a business communications consultant, speaker, and author of the book: Gender Games, Doing Business with the Opposite Sex.

 She believes one of the biggest differences between men and women is their ability to negotiate. 

 ''What the research is showing is that women accept what they consider is fair and men dare to ask for more,'' she says.

 ''This is why I believe women are so far behind in the money they are earning and the opportunities they are getting.

They just don't ask.'' A 2008 report by the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency revealed that the proportion of women in executive leadership roles has declined since 2006.

Women represent just 10..7% of executive managers in the ASX200 and just 7% of key management personnel.

 Women often suffer from the mistaken belief that their hard work will be recognised and they'll be rewarded with promotion.

But it doesn't happen. ''They still don't have the confidence to speak out, they're still not promoting themselves,'' says Tymson. 

 Maureen Frank says women need to be more overt about their achievements without boasting in the way some men do. 

 Behaving like the opposite sex is not the answer but learning to communicate with them better can help. 

 ''It's an age-old problem,'' says Frank. ''Miscommunication between the genders can cause the breakdown in any relationship, be it a business or a personal one.''

According to Tymson's Gender Games, males typically use a direct style of communication.

They make demands, are task-oriented and competitive. Women, on the other hand, are usually more indirect. They focus on relationship building and are more collaborative and process-focused. 

 However, My Career columnist and career management consultant, Jim Bright, disagrees with the notion that women and men have different thinking styles. 

 ''To say there is a woman's perspective is contentious and I think it runs the risk of patronising men and women... by treating them as if they're just a group.''

''As a general rule it is better to manage individuals as individuals rather than pre-judge people according to their gender or any other simplifying demographic label.''

Tymson says men and women use both direct and indirect styles and it is becoming increasingly difficult to generalise, however stereotypes sometimes exist for a reason.

In the famous Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test, she says 75% of men identify as 'thinkers' and 75% of women, as 'feelers'. 

 She believes the most successful managers are those who combine both typical male and female styles.

''Clearly as a leader there are times when you have to be direct. You have to tell people what to do. But there are other times where you have to be collaborative. You have to invite discussion and input etc..... and use those great relationship skills that women are so good at,'' she says.

Erick Rivera (26), a hairdresser and salon manager, knows a thing or two about communicating with the opposite sex. 

 He naturally has a definitively masculine style - very direct, blokey and even abrupt.

However, Rivera has become a master at adapting his ways to relate better to his mostly feminine colleagues and clients. 

 ''I have to be more polite (with women),'' he says, adding that he'll smile and use a calm, positive tone of voice so that advice doesn't sound like criticism. 

 ''And I'll always touch them on the arm or something first. That way I've already broken that barrier by being friendly,'' says Rivera. 

 Maureen Frank refers to the direct and indirect styles as blue and pink and says the key is recognising the style of the person you are trying to influence. 

 ''Some women can be quite blue and some men can be quite pink,'' she says. 

 Rivera would be blue with pink stripes. 

 Frank says you should get to the point very quickly and be clear about what you are saying when speaking with a blue person. 

 ''But if they're pink they're going to want to have a conversation with you, which is about forming a relationship and connecting with you,'' she says. 

 ''It's not necessarily a male, female thing.

It's about being strategic in the way that you influence and communicate with stakeholders.''

Further Information:

www.emberin.com

 www.tymson.com.au