Gender and communication

I do agree that men and women tend to communicate differently.
There is a difference in focus in discussing personal matters. If I have a problem or an emotional concern, my husband tries to find a solution. He is very task and goal oriented. Once he has analyzed the problem and recommended a solution, he becomes disengaged. He wants to fix the problem, although I am often just looking for emotional support. When I discuss the same issues with my sister, she usually shares her experiences in dealing with similar problems and lets me know that she understands how I feel. She connects with me and validates my feelings. Both my husband and my sister provide support, but in very different ways.
I also notice that women tend to talk more about family and relationship issues, and men tend to talk more about events, like sports and politics. In mixed groups, men tend to dominate the conversations.
We recently had a group of friends visit from Poland. When I spoke to the women, they were all very talkative and shared information about how everyone was doing (focusing on family and relationships). When the men and women spoke together, the women tended to pause, often just nodding and smiling. The men became very engaged in discussions of current politics. They took sides on the issues and sometimes interrupted on another. The women contributed comments that helped guide the conversation, but did not take the lead in the conversation.
These differences seem to be most apparent in personal, family and social settings. I have not noticed these differences as much in educational or work settings. This makes me think that many of these differences result from upbringing and social influences, although biological tendencies likely play a role as well.