Women are more generous than men?

By Pradeep Paul

Women are definitely more charitable and generous than their male counterparts.

It was a couple of hours of pan-handling in the business district.

Last month, my editor led a team of Straits Times employees to Raffles Place on a mission.
Armed with nothing more than uniform T-shirts and our smiles, we were there to raise funds for The Straits Times Pocket Money Fund. And we were to do it by accosting strangers as they scurried about on their lunch break and sticking a collection tin in their faces.

Accompanied by some employees of Caltex, which threw in cute soft toys and sweets as a form of rewarding the generous, we fanned out. Some headed for the MRT exits. After all, a steady stream of commuters would yield some donations. Others swarmed around the foot of Caltex House. Some used their charm. The pretty women just had to stand with the tin in their hand and smile. Men walked up to them with money in their hand.

One of us - she threatened me with bodily harm if I named her - used psychology.
Zeroing in on office workers who looked like they had just had a hearty meal, she asked if they'd had a good lunch. She asked them what they had eaten. And then sucker-punched them with an emotionally charged line about how some schoolchildren do not have lunch because their parents cannot afford to give them pocket money.

Seeing the competition, I decided to wander down Change Alley and try my luck there.
Flashing my biggest smile and holding up the tin that was labelled with the name of the charity, I walked up to people and asked if they'd like to donate some money. And it was a revealing experience. Some people stopped as I approached them, even if they were deep in conversation with friends. They looked at the tin. They listened as I spouted: 'Good afternoon, I'm from The Straits Times and we're collecting money for children whose parents can't afford to give them pocket money.' And they dipped into their wallets readily.

Others would smile, hear me out, shake their head in a form of apology and carry on.
And then there were some - was it coincidence that all of them were in high-powered corporate gear and reeked of money? - who walked by me like I didn't exist.

There I was, smile on high and starting to say 'Good afternoon, I'm fro...' when I realised I was talking to myself. The person had sidestepped me like a rugby winger in full flight and kept going.

Now, I'm not saying these are stingy people. They probably give more to charity in other ways than what you and I earn in a month.
But what about the basic courtesy of acknowledging a fellow human being who approaches you on the street?

Hey, it was broad daylight and all I was packing was a smile, a tin and some cute soft toys.
Sure, collection drives are a dime-a-dozen in these tough times. Sure, there are post-lunch meetings that beckon. But what about basic courtesy? Guess they don't teach that in the school of big bucks. Oh, did I mention that all these types that I met - however briefly - were men?
Most of the women I approached that day at least heard me out. They gave me a minute of their time, even smiled.

Some confessed they had never heard of the Pocket Money Fund but, when told that it was for school kids who could not afford to buy themselves a curry puff at recess, readily pulled out a couple of bucks. Others said they knew about the Fund and slotted $10 notes into the tin. Some generous women even donated $50. In fact, by the second hour, I had even mastered the art of spotting the 'donators'.

Too young, no point. They had limited allowances and too many things to buy.
Too old, not much point. They had their own survival on their minds.
It was the Mums and soon-to-be-Mums who seemed to be guided by maternal pangs when they pheard about hungry children. They gave willingly of their money, their time and their smiles.

By the time we got into the bus to head back to the office, I had learnt a lesson in human behaviour. And it didn't give my gender very high marks. Clothes may make the man, but they certainly don't complete him.

So, there you have it: I admit women are more generous and more courteous than men.
Although to this day I'm not sure if the women dug into their handbags because of their innate generosity or the cute soft toy that I traded for a donation.