Masculine/Feminine or Male/Female?

[Gwyn]

As Obama and Hilary clearly demonstrate soft power is not a "female" attribute anymore than hard power is the exclusive domain of "males".

Indra found this great blog that highlights that the values associated with each form of power corelate more to "masculinity" and "femininity" than they do to gender. And shows how the adoption of soft power can have a big impact on building communities and citizenship.

http://coachzee.blogspot.com/2007/07/masculine-or-feminine.html

This reminds me of some research (possibly Hofstede's - it was a long time ago!) I came across that highlighted why Anglo-Dutch corporations (C&A, Shell, Unliever, etc.) seem to work well. This success was attributed to the "marriage" of the masculine British management style with the feminine Dutch management style. My own experience working in an Anglo-dutch environment for well over a decade bears this theory out.

Do you have any examples of this blend of soft and hard in other cultures, countries, political or business environments?