Do Americans shake hands with women?

35 comments

1. Yes, in a formal setting or for a first meeting Americans shake hands with everyone, regardless of gender.

2. Yes, I do when I meet someone new. Especially through work or a friend of my wife.

3. Yes

4. Yes, but generally only when meeting for the first time. After that hugs are more common in my experience.

   In addition, for much older women, it is generally considered polite to let them extend their hand first, in case they are less comfortable shaking hands.

5. Yes

6. Yes.

   Women and men shake hands here – with each other and with the opposite gender as well.

7. Yes. Declining to shake a woman’s hand in a professional setting in the US – after shaking the hands of the men in the room- would be seen as unprofessional and disrespectful to that woman as a professional and a peer.

8. Yes. I think American women would be quite annoyed if men all shook hands and they weren’t included.

   I think almost all men would find it rude as well.

   Hungary has its own social norms but if I were you and you met either a man or woman in the US then shaking hands is the right course of action (even though Covid put a monkey wrench in the very convention of hand shaking).

9. In general women shake hands but some do not. I guess if you want to be on the safe side, don’t offer your hand to a woman to shake her hand, but absolutely do shake it if she offers you her hand.

10. I typically let women initiate a handshake first, just feels more proper. I work in tech though and we dont really do the hand shaking thing much anymore. Always felt uncomfortable to me, men or women.

11. Well we don’t kiss or bow like other cultures so that kind of just leaves shaking hands.

12. …yes.

13. Yes

14. I would not think not to.

15. Yes

16. It’s context dependent. The closer you are to a person, the more likely you are to hug as a greeting. A coworker or acquaintance, you would shake their hand regardless of gender. A family member, you would hug regardless of gender. A friend, you may be more likely to hug if they are a woman and shake hands if they are a man.

17. Yes, hand shakes for everyone here.

18. In a professional setting, I always offer anybody a formal handshake.

    In NYC, post-Covid, I’m mostly just fist bumping in casual settings.

    However, my default as a man meeting a woman is to follow her lead. I just assume people, especially women, don’t want to be touched.

19. yep! I notice sometimes men will wait for me to take the lead on it, like they’re seeing if I’m comfortable, and they’ll be more forward with other men. I don’t mind it, I think it probably comes from a place of respect. but yes, men and women shaking hands is very normal here.

    sometimes people don’t shake hands for religious reasons, but that’s not the broader norm in the US.

20. Most will, except in a few highly-conservative religious communities.

21. In formal setting you shake hands. We had a coworker from our mexican office come and kiss a girl on the cheek as a greeting and it was super awkward. However, in informal settings when you know someone well you usually hug.

22. Most do. Some very religious men or women may want to avoid touching the opportunity gender

23. Yes. Would be rude not to. Sometimes I notice older more blue collar type guys will initiate a handshake with my bf but not with me. I will step forward and stretch out my hand and force it. I have been told many times I have a very good handshake, I’m fucking using it.

    Edit: since COVID handshaking has been less common overall though. If I met a man one on one and he didn’t shake my hand I wouldn’t think anything of it. If I met him with other men and he shook their hands but not mine, that would not be okay.

24. I think everyone I know would reciprocate a handshake with anyone but wouldn’t instigate a handshake with anyone.

25. do they kiss often (cheek to cheek)

26. I’m a woman in business banking. I shake hands and, in fact, got my first professional job when I shook the interviewers hand, looked them in the eye, and smiled.

27. Yes, and I was taught from a young age to shake hands with whoever I’m meeting. It would be extremely impolite to greet men in a group with a handshake while not doing so with the women. As a woman, men sometimes kind of weakly grasp my fingers instead of shaking my hand properly and it annoys me.

    How are women greeted professionally in Hungary?

28. I guess in like a “professional” setting sure? I hug men and women who are closer than acquaintances and with women that are family or really close a kiss too.

29. Yes and don’t make the mistake of thinking you’ll go easy on them because I have had women who openly said “that’s a weak handshake, better tighten that grip.” Thanks?

30. Yes we do and don’t go trying any of that fruity European hugging and kissing nonsense unless you are invited to do so.

31. Yeah.

    What else would you do when you meet a woman?

    We don’t really change our greeting based on gender

32. Men shake hands with women, yes, but it’s less common outside of business/formal situations. Informally, I allow women to dictate the type of contact, if any nowadays. With Covid, handshakes are less popular. So I do elbow/fist bumps on women I’m not close to. And hugs to women that I am close to. And maybe it’s just me, but I have had random girls throw me a hug unexpectedly. I’ve seen it in movies too, so I think some are more touchy-feely and are okay with hugs. So that’s something to watch out for if you come here.

33. For me, a woman, in business settings, yes, I shake hands. Not so much when meeting someone in a social setting.

34. Yes, unequivocally.

35. In a professional setting, absolutely. I’d say that handshake isn’t too common in a casual setting.