[Susan]

The head of IKEA Germany, Petra Hesser, thinks so! I was just reading over at PositiveFanatics.com: Assembling IKEA Furniture: German IKEA Official Says Women Better Than Men

What do you think?

[DesignDiva]

I think maybe we are a little better at following directions. And understanding wordless cartoons, too.

[tampabayikea]

Hmm... I've had women helpers on many jobs and they're great.

However, I'm not convinced women are better at this than men on the whole.

I'd be willing to participate in a women vs men challenge competition to settle the matter :-)

And it's not just a matter of speed, but avoiding banging and scratching and making sure to put all the hardware in its place... nothing like having parts left over and realizing they aren't 'extras'.

I think it would be fun. . . Heck, they make game and reality shows about much dumber things than this.

I bet Japanese TV would go for this - but we'd probably have to do stuff like sit naked in a bowl of wasabi and eat raw sea urchins while rubbing peanut butter on our bellies.

[Kayla]

Sorry, but I'm frankly insulted by the question. I know it's supposed to be funny, but it's just not. As a woman who works in the industry I have to prove myself more than the men around me, whether I'm better or not. Ask Chuck, no matter which of us is "running the job" (he isn't always the alpha, even though he's much more experienced) he is ALWAYS assumed to be in charge.

Until we stop dividing the sexes, even under the guise of humor, we will be holding women back from true equality

[John-Doe]

I'm a guy, and I'm insulted too

what a pointless and divisive question,

how about if it was posed as a racial question rather than a gender question?

Ikea should be ashamed of perpetuating stereotypes

[ccsubruce]

I'm not so sure I like the insinuation, either. However, I'm certainly not going to pine away, wringing my hands and attempting to find a snarky response.

Okay, some guy in Germany said something I disagree with. So what? I'm never going to meet the man, and he doesn't take away or add to my IKEA experience.

Move along folks, nothing to see here.

Oh, and my DW and I assemble all our IKEA stuff together. That's what makes our trips so much more fun--the together time we have that we'll remember in the short term and the long.

	DW definitions DW can mean Dear or Darling Wife (or substitute your expletive), or alternatively DishWasher. Take your clues from the context.

[sweetneet]

Originally Posted by DesignDiva

I think maybe we are a little better at following directions. And understanding wordless cartoons, too.

i totally agree!! whenever my DH & I assemble our IKEA furniture, i'm the "director" and the one that actually reads & interprets the instructions, and my DH is just the hired muscle to actually pound/screw/nail things in. LOL . When he tries to do everything on his own something usually goes wrong because he didn't get the directions properly.

	DH definition DH usually means Dear Husband (or, pick your own adjective starting with D).

	LOL definition LOL means Laugh(ing) Out Loud

[designbymeiny]

My 20-year old son thinks putting together Ikea furniture is just like building Lego, only bigger. He built me a small Billy with doors for Mother's Day last year. Do not think either sex is better at assembling Ikea furniture as long as they take the time to follow instructions. Taking the time to do it right the first time is of essence here to not mess up the pre-drilled holes.