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discussing the differences between men and women at work, in all kinds of contexts. Over the past few decades, women have worked so hard to prove they’re equal that they’re often hesitant to point out thatthey’re different—just in case they’re viewed as lesser or weaker. Men don’t like to bring up the subject because they fear being viewed as politically incorrect at best or accused of sexual harassment at worst. Clearly, the message of this book is to celebrate, appreciate, and leverage the differences for mutual success. Pretending these differences don’t exist doesn’t serve anyone well and can run a business into the ground.
• Much of the biological research on brain differences between the genders is relatively new and hasn’t trickled down to either the general public or the business world .
For most of human history, doctors and scientists assumed that all human organs were basically the same, except of course for those involved in reproduction. 10 We now know there are distinct differences between male and female brains, and that these differences impact a person’s behavior and view of the world. The practical implications of these insights haven’t yet had much of an impact on business. There are exceptions—Procter & Gamble, for example—where this understanding has had a measurable effect on both the top and bottom lines. As we will explore later, though, this is still an unrealized opportunity for most.
• Gender differences are not widely taught in business courses at the undergraduate level or in MBA programs .
The lack of recognition starts at the undergraduate and MBA levels, where behavioral implications of gender—at least when it comes to the making and marketing of products and services—are only superficially explored, if they are explored at all. Gender studies courses atuniversities tend to focus on social and political aspects of the subject, not the positive implications for businesses when they get it right.
• The fish are the last to discover the ocean .
As this old Chinese proverb implies, each gender views its own priorities and behavior as normal, and so it’s easy for male decision makers to believe mistakenly that their female customers share their preferences and priorities.
    The Female Economy
    I T’S well known that women dominate the selection and purchase of consumer categories such as food, health and beauty, and household goods. But their power is rising in nontraditional and classically “male” categories, too, and the companies that don’t recognize this are giving their competitors the upper hand. Assumptions that big-ticket items are purchased primarily by men are simply out of date. By a ratio of nearly two to one, more women than men say they make most of the decisions in their households. 11 The old stereotypes about men driving all the decisions for cars, houses, computers, and consumer electronics are no longer accurate, and the companies that view women as small-time players in these industries are in danger of losing share to those who get it. Take a look at the numbers:
A PPAREL:
65 PERCENT OF PURCHASES MADE BY WOMEN. 12
    This number is high because women buy clothes for themselves, their kids, and often their husbands. Which meansthat no matter what you’re selling, one of the important questions to ask yourself is not just “Who is my end user?” but “Who is the person who purchases my product, and is that person different from my end user?”
A UTOMOTIVE:
52 PERCENT OF ALL NEW VEHICLE PURCHASES, INCLUDING TRUCKS, MADE BY WOMEN (80 PERCENT OF PURCHASES INFLUENCED BY WOMEN ) 13
    Women buy cars for themselves and for their driving-age children. Women also are the veto vote for cars their husbands want, but you wouldn’t know it by the sheer overload of testosterone-fueled car advertising, or by the customer service experiences at dealerships, which provide little in the way of comfort, both literally (inadequate furniture and ambience)