The Female Vision

CHAPTER FIVESatisfaction Day by Day

Just as men and women often have different styles of noticing, so also do men and women often perceive value in different ways. The particular way women perceive value constitutes the second element of the female vision. Women’s perception of value gives context to the details they notice. It shapes their judgments about where to invest time, energy, and talents. It determines where they put their attention.

In researching this book, we became aware of differences in how men and women perceive value as we interviewed women who had either left high positions or were considering doing so. Some of these women were clients, others were fellow speakers or panelists at corporate and university events, still others ...