"If that's the case then what the hell are men doing in positions of authority when they are so easily distracted and unfocused and too shallow to be able to provide the uninterupted concentration required by most higher level jobs." Because we (at least speaking of myself and other men I've talked about this with) are used to it? Look, it's not a matter of "being distracted" or shallow or unfocused or what other prejudiced and perjorative language it turns your crank to use. Tell me, if you have a car, have you ever driven and basically been on autopilot? Driven without putting your entire attention on the road. Maybe having a conversation with someone in the car, listening to music (maybe singing along), admiring some nice scenery you're passing? Ever done anything like that? If you say no and you've driven, you're probably a liar. Even people whose life depends on paying exacting attention to thgeir surroundings when driving, race car drivers, are able to converse on the radio while jockeying for position amongst 20 other cars moving at nearly 200 miles an hour in a confined space. The human mind can multitask. Right now, as I'm typing this, the TV is on in the background and my attention is flicking back and forth so I'm able to type this almost as fast as I would without distration and monitor the TV in case something interesting is happening, while also paying attention to my radio in case I have an emergency call and have to run to an ambulance call or to the fire truck. People can do that while observing other people in a superficial way. I freely admit (and my girlfriend would kick me if I deny it) that I will glance at a woman while having a conversation, take note of physical attributes or something about her if I know her personally, have an idle thought of something in a sexual context, and carry on without missing a beat. Men (and woman) who can't do this would quickly become unable to function in society. The majority of us recognize that allowing a momentary thought to distract us is a waste of time. Odds are we're not really going to end up having sex with the woman, so what's the point of putting too much thought into it? A good fictional example is in one of Robert Parker's Spencer novels. Spencer walks into an office to meet with someone and is introduced to a 40sh woman. Spencer notices she's attractive, that she seems to have a large bust squeezed into a suit jacket that seems a bit too small, idly has a passing thought of what they'd look like if she was topless, and then moves into the conversation without it coming up again. He's not likely to have her as a partner, so the sexual aspect is simply shoved away while he gets down to business. I was in a similar situation at a recent conference. One of the companies I was dealing with had an executive who wore a very cleavage-revealing suit, and she had, and I'll be honest, a nice figure. I could glance at it and admire it without it interfering with our discussions which involved, possibly, millions of dollars.