ABSTRACT
It is absurd to put a woman down for having the very qualities that would send a man to the top.
—Felice N. Schwartz (1989, p. 69)
Although much has changed since publication of the first edition of this book in 2001, there are still four good reasons to consider the coaching of women as a special case. It must be stated at the onset of a chapter such as this that generalizing and stereotyping are dangerous-and as likely as not to be wrong in an individual case. There is no standard woman or typical man. There are men who think more like women and women who think more like men. Men and women who neatly fit the stereotypes are actually quite rare, and few, if any of us, are prototypes of our gender. Although there is serious risk of stereotyping in such a discussion, the conversation is worth having, as an appreciation of gender has potential to produce more good than harm. It seems indisputable that many, if not most, men are significantly different (in important ways) from many, if not most, women. Here is one map useful to understand gender differences:
We are all alike because we are all human. We have that in common.• We are all unique. There is no one on the planet who is just like you.• We all possess some characteristics that are associated with our gender.•
These three things are simultaneously true. The first reason for a coaching-women chapter is that gender-based differ-
ences between men and women are often real and significant. Although this observation can be discomforting, it is undeniable. Recent observations from neurobiology point to brain differences between men and women (Gurian & Annis, 2008), and differential social enculturation continues to be a powerful force.
