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2) 
Variations in interpretations of the mediator role are linked to
internal and external contexts.
Not only does this study call into question the validity of bipolar
depictions of mediation, it also points to the need to be attentive to how
context impacts on conceptualizations of mediation. For instance, this study
found that the gender of a mediator is linked to differences in how mediation
is conceptualized. As a general statement, but not to stereotype, women
mediators tend to use more “socioemotional” concepts in their depictions of

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mediation while men tend to use more “pragmatic” traits, irrespective of their
educational background, the dispute sector in which they work, or the how
long they have been mediating
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. Female mediators also tend to depict the
facilitator role as having to do more with communication than with process or
outcome, while for men it is the reverse. These tendencies are also
influenced by educational background, dispute sector and experience. To
illustrate, mediators working in the business sector tend to use more problem-
solving language while those working in the workplace and community
sectors use more relational-type language when conceptualizing their work.
Those with law or business backgrounds use more pragmatic concepts to
articulate their work than those with social science backgrounds who use
more relational terms. And, newcomers have a slight tendency to use more
socioemotional language than mediators with experience. Of course, these
differences might be accounted for by contextual factors not examined in this
study. There were however, a sufficient number of re-occurring patterns of
gender and other difference that cannot be ignored and that call for further
research. While it is true others have written about there being a gender
difference in the practice of mediation (Taylor and Beinstein Miller, 1994), this
topic of inquiry has received far too little attention. This study brings to the
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Examination of these contextual factors alone did show patterns of difference in how mediation was
understood. For instance, individuals working in the business sector, those with law and business
backgrounds, and veterans tended to use more “pragmatic” and “pragmatic-socioemotional” concepts
to conceptualize the practice of mediation. Those working in the workplace and community sectors,
those with social science backgrounds and newcomers to the field tended to use more
“socioemotional” and “socioemotional-pragmatic” concepts. Family mediators showed more of a
mixed pattern in these four patterns of traits.

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fore the need to gather further insights on how gendered experience and
other contextual factors shape, not only the meaning of mediation, but
perhaps more importantly, its practice.
Mediation is not usually constructed as a single entity in the extant
literature. Previous attempts to draw out the plurality of practice have,
however, not paid sufficient attention to the context within which the act of
mediation occurs. Nor, have they paid much attention to contextual factors
relating to the mediator or the disputing parties. This study suggests that a
mediators’ background, experience and characteristics help to shape their
understanding of mediation. It highlights the need for further study on how
these and other contextual factors, such as culture, class, power, to name but
a few, influence conceptions of mediation practice as well as the actual
mediation event.