Ladies’ Night

New science suggests that when women and men face danger, their brains are hardwired to produce very different reactions. Men do the traditional fight or flight, but women move toward danger to tend to or befriend it, says author Alexia Parks. “They diffuse conflict. So if you want leadership in...

By Robin Edwards

October 11, 2012

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New science suggests that when women and men face danger, their brains are hardwired to produce very different reactions. Men do the traditional fight or flight, but women move toward danger to tend to or befriend it, says author Alexia Parks. “They diffuse conflict. So if you want leadership in a volatile, complex world to include complex thinking and the ability to negotiate and collaborate, women are natural leaders.”

Parks’s new book, Hardwired: The 10 Major Traits of Women Hardwired by Evolution That Can Save The World, delves into this topic and discusses how women’s ability to multitask allows them to focus on community rather than one singular goal. The author will give a talk, Hardwired to Lead, based on the book at 7 p.m. at the Chautauqua Community House, 900 Baseline Road in Boulder.

The night will also mark the launch of Parks’s new nonprofit, 56 Percent, which focuses on encouraging women’s leadership skills with the aim of growing the number of women in Congress (now at 16.8 percent) to 56 percent. “Just hearing the message and being surrounded by women who are excited by learning that they possess natural leadership traits all by itself is empowering,” she says.

Tickets to tonight’s event are $12 for general admission and $9 for members; to purchase yours or get more information, go to chautauqua.com or call 303-440-7666.
Wed., Oct. 17, 7 p.m., 2012

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