Moseys

At what age do people learn to associate tasks with genders? Surprisingly very early. An interesting experiment caught my attention done with 5-7 year olds at a school in the UK by a charity called Inspiring the Future. Children were asked to draw pictures of a firefighter, surgeon, and a fighter-pilot. Over 90% of the pictures were of men. http://www.mullenlowelondon.com/our-work/redraw-the-balance/  Question is how did the children start associating these professions with men? Where are they learning this from?  As a dad of three daughters, it is a really important point for me because I want my daughters to have equal opportunities in life when they grow up, irrespective of their gender.  It is also very easy to mix up gender inequality with gender differences. The issue is not whether men and women are wired differently. It doesn't matter if women find it hard to reverse park a car, or men have low threshold to pain. The issue is whether we should hav...

Do we have some definitive answers about how consumers make their buying decisions? Apparently, not.  Most people believe that the choices they make result from a rational analysis of available alternatives. They look at the costs and benefits and then take a decision that optimizes their return. In reality, however, our decisions are influenced and determined greatly by emotions. If I have spent big money on buying a pair of shoes, it is not the damage to my bank account that matters, but what those shoes will make me look and feel like that has driven my decision. If emotions are the main drivers of behaviour, do people accept this? In most cas es, interestingly not. Our minds are good at coming up with very plausible and credible rational reasons for making the decision, after they had been taken. But at that point of decision making, this rationality did not exist. The process of rationalization after taking the decision is in every aspect of our lives. Hiring decis...