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Women and Leadership

Real Lives, Real Lessons

Author Julia Gillard, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Ebook
The MIT Press
6"W x 9"H
On sale Feb 02, 2021 | 336 Pages | 9780262365130
Grades 9-12
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A powerful call-to-action for gender equity that offers 10 key lessons for women aspiring to a leadership role—be it in politics, business, law, or their local community.

Featuring words of wisdom from female leaders like Hillary Clinton and Theresa May, this empowering study reads like a You Are a Badass volume on world leadership.

Women make up fewer than 10% of national leaders worldwide. Behind this eye-opening statistic lies a pattern of unequal access to power. Through conversations with some of the world’s most powerful and interesting women—including Jacinda Ardern, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Christine Lagarde, Michelle Bachelet, and Theresa May—Women and Leadership explores gender bias and asks why there aren’t more women in leadership roles.

Speaking honestly and freely, these women talk about having their ideas stolen by male colleagues, what it’s like to be called fat or a slut in the media, and what things they wish they had done differently. The stories they tell reveal vividly how gender and sexism affect perceptions of women as leaders. Using current research as a starting point, Julia Gillard and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala—both political leaders in their own countries—analyze the lived experiences of these women leaders. The result is a rare insight into life as a leader and a powerful call to arms for women everywhere.
Julia Gillard was the 27th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 2010 to 2013. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is Director-General of the World Trade Organization. She was Nigeria's Minister of Finance from 2003 to 2006 and from 2011 to 2015, and Foreign Minister in 2006. She was Managing Director of the World Bank from 2007 to 2011, overseeing South Asia, Europe, Central Asia, and Africa. She is the author of Reforming the Unreformable: Lessons from Nigeria (MIT Press).
Julia Gillard View titles by Julia Gillard
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala View titles by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Prologue Why are we writing this book? 1 
1 Doing the numbers 19
2 Our framework 27
3 Pathways to power: Introducing our women leaders 40
4 Hypothesis one: You go girl 107
5 Hypothesis two: It's all about the hair 128
6 Hypothesis three: Shrill or soft - the style conundrum 153
7 Hypothesis four: She's a bit of a bitch 174 
8 Hypothesis five: Who's minding the kids? 191
9 Hypothesis six: A special place in hell - do women really support women? 211
10 Hypothesis seven: Modern-day Salem 234
11 Hypothesis eight: The role-modelling riddle 254
12 The stand-out lessons from eight lives and eight hypotheses 274
Annex Snapshots of the pathways to power 303
Notes 309
Acknowledgements 321
About the authors 323
"This remarkable exploration into women leaders—and why there aren’t more of them—is an indispensable guide to addressing sexism and overcoming inequities."
—Ms.

"Much-needed, frank talk from exceptional female leaders about how they’ve dealt with sexism in the line of duty." 
—Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW

"The ultimate lesson learned is that there is no “right way” to be a woman leader; all situations are unique and there are no specific set of rules for balancing work and personal endeavors...A thought-provoking study of women and leadership and an outstanding contribution to this topic."
—Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW

“Full of practical advice and insights into the careers of a diverse and impressive array of women, this is a valuable handbook for putting more women in positions of power.”
—Publishers Weekly

"For women leaders, the path to power is never smooth nor does it follow a straight line...The renown all have achieved leads to much introspection and learning, resulting in hypotheses about their collective lives that ring all too true. The takeaways are simple yet complex, and bathed in contradictions: Is it possible to call out sexism as a female? How to balance mother guilt with work? What’s the right way to be a woman leader? (There isn’t just one.) Snapshots of the pathways to power."
—Booklist

"The authors leverage their positions for unprecedented access to powerful women, and they offer their own stories with humility and clear eyes. Their posture in the book is the perfect portrayal of women eschewing competition to support other women—one of the most vital themes examined in the book. Every page brims with admiration and respect for women in leadership, the difficulties they face, and the diverse gifts they offer. Despite the grim statistics about how few world leaders are women, the book is hopeful and encouraging. It showcases the resilience and determination of women leaders and the impact they have, bringing wisdom from a variety of disciplines, including neuroscience, psychology, and economics, to bear. Its ending calls out specific lessons for men, too, calling them to a supportive role for women leaders."
—ForeWord Review

“This book is worth reading for the insights into these remarkable women – a dream dinner party guest lis—but the authors also examine the statistics, the biases (conscious and unconscious) and the structural obstacles that face women.”
—Natasha Stott Despoja, Sydney Morning Herald
 
“An inspirational and practical book written by two high-achieving women, sharing the experience and advice of some of our most extraordinary women leaders in their own words.”
—Arts Review

About

A powerful call-to-action for gender equity that offers 10 key lessons for women aspiring to a leadership role—be it in politics, business, law, or their local community.

Featuring words of wisdom from female leaders like Hillary Clinton and Theresa May, this empowering study reads like a You Are a Badass volume on world leadership.

Women make up fewer than 10% of national leaders worldwide. Behind this eye-opening statistic lies a pattern of unequal access to power. Through conversations with some of the world’s most powerful and interesting women—including Jacinda Ardern, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Christine Lagarde, Michelle Bachelet, and Theresa May—Women and Leadership explores gender bias and asks why there aren’t more women in leadership roles.

Speaking honestly and freely, these women talk about having their ideas stolen by male colleagues, what it’s like to be called fat or a slut in the media, and what things they wish they had done differently. The stories they tell reveal vividly how gender and sexism affect perceptions of women as leaders. Using current research as a starting point, Julia Gillard and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala—both political leaders in their own countries—analyze the lived experiences of these women leaders. The result is a rare insight into life as a leader and a powerful call to arms for women everywhere.

Author

Julia Gillard was the 27th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 2010 to 2013. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is Director-General of the World Trade Organization. She was Nigeria's Minister of Finance from 2003 to 2006 and from 2011 to 2015, and Foreign Minister in 2006. She was Managing Director of the World Bank from 2007 to 2011, overseeing South Asia, Europe, Central Asia, and Africa. She is the author of Reforming the Unreformable: Lessons from Nigeria (MIT Press).
Julia Gillard View titles by Julia Gillard
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala View titles by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Table of Contents

Prologue Why are we writing this book? 1 
1 Doing the numbers 19
2 Our framework 27
3 Pathways to power: Introducing our women leaders 40
4 Hypothesis one: You go girl 107
5 Hypothesis two: It's all about the hair 128
6 Hypothesis three: Shrill or soft - the style conundrum 153
7 Hypothesis four: She's a bit of a bitch 174 
8 Hypothesis five: Who's minding the kids? 191
9 Hypothesis six: A special place in hell - do women really support women? 211
10 Hypothesis seven: Modern-day Salem 234
11 Hypothesis eight: The role-modelling riddle 254
12 The stand-out lessons from eight lives and eight hypotheses 274
Annex Snapshots of the pathways to power 303
Notes 309
Acknowledgements 321
About the authors 323

Praise

"This remarkable exploration into women leaders—and why there aren’t more of them—is an indispensable guide to addressing sexism and overcoming inequities."
—Ms.

"Much-needed, frank talk from exceptional female leaders about how they’ve dealt with sexism in the line of duty." 
—Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW

"The ultimate lesson learned is that there is no “right way” to be a woman leader; all situations are unique and there are no specific set of rules for balancing work and personal endeavors...A thought-provoking study of women and leadership and an outstanding contribution to this topic."
—Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW

“Full of practical advice and insights into the careers of a diverse and impressive array of women, this is a valuable handbook for putting more women in positions of power.”
—Publishers Weekly

"For women leaders, the path to power is never smooth nor does it follow a straight line...The renown all have achieved leads to much introspection and learning, resulting in hypotheses about their collective lives that ring all too true. The takeaways are simple yet complex, and bathed in contradictions: Is it possible to call out sexism as a female? How to balance mother guilt with work? What’s the right way to be a woman leader? (There isn’t just one.) Snapshots of the pathways to power."
—Booklist

"The authors leverage their positions for unprecedented access to powerful women, and they offer their own stories with humility and clear eyes. Their posture in the book is the perfect portrayal of women eschewing competition to support other women—one of the most vital themes examined in the book. Every page brims with admiration and respect for women in leadership, the difficulties they face, and the diverse gifts they offer. Despite the grim statistics about how few world leaders are women, the book is hopeful and encouraging. It showcases the resilience and determination of women leaders and the impact they have, bringing wisdom from a variety of disciplines, including neuroscience, psychology, and economics, to bear. Its ending calls out specific lessons for men, too, calling them to a supportive role for women leaders."
—ForeWord Review

“This book is worth reading for the insights into these remarkable women – a dream dinner party guest lis—but the authors also examine the statistics, the biases (conscious and unconscious) and the structural obstacles that face women.”
—Natasha Stott Despoja, Sydney Morning Herald
 
“An inspirational and practical book written by two high-achieving women, sharing the experience and advice of some of our most extraordinary women leaders in their own words.”
—Arts Review

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