How Women Decide: What’s True, What’s Not, and What Strategies Spark the Best Choices

With verve, charm, and a ruthless reliance on data, Huston, founding director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Seattle University, calls up reams of research from her field of cognitive psychology to challenge and ultimately disprove several common assumptions about how women make decisions. She finds that while women aren’t any more intuitive, any more emotional, or any less daring than men in controlled studies, they still have to battle against persistent stereotypes and a higher standard of judgment. Moreover, Huston points to research that shows women do have an edge in reading social cues, making collaborative decisions, and being more strategic about risk when under pressure. With a confident tone and approachable language, Huston provides sharp observations, handy chapter summaries, and practical advice “for women who want to make stronger, smarter decisions.” She builds a convincing case that if businesses, government, and other organizations want to improve their decision-making at the highest levels, they need to have more women in the boardroom; and she provides women readers with concrete strategies to defuse existing stereotypes. (May)