By Elizabeth MacBride, Forbes
In 2000, Harvard researchers published an influential paper suggesting women respond differently to stress than men. Instead of “fight or flight,” it’s “tend and befriend.”
Like so much research, it turns out that most of the data that has been used to frame the “fight or flight” idea was based on male rats.
Instead of fighting or fleeing, the researchers said, women nurture themselves and their offspring, and form tighter relationships with groups that offer some protection.
The business world I write about is a few steps removed from basic biology (at least, we tell ourselves it is). And there’s always a danger of stereotypes. But ignoring the different experiences of women as they emerge as leaders would be a mistake, too.
Read more here.
