Women and Leadership

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.'Much-needed, frank talk from exceptional female leaders about how they've dealt with sexism in the line of duty.' Kirkus Reviews'The authors' truth-telling will forewarn the next generation of leaders.' Natasha Stott Despoja, The Age'Who better qualified to delve into this topic?' Business LifeAs a result of their broad experience on the world stage in politics, economics and global not-for-profits, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Julia Gillard have some strong ideas about the impact of gender on the treatment of leaders. Women and Leadership takes a consistent and comprehensive approach to teasing out what is different for women who lead.Almost every year new findings are published about the way people see women leaders compared with their male counterparts. The authors have taken that academic work and tested it in the real world. The same set of interview questions was put to each leader in frank face-to-face interviews. Their responses were then used to examine each woman's journey in leadership and whether their lived experiences were in line with or different from what the research would predict.Women and Leadership presents a lively and readable analysis of the influence of gender on women's access to positions of leadership, the perceptions of them as leaders, the trajectory of their leadership and the circumstances in which it comes to an end. By presenting the lessons that can be learned from women leaders, Julia and Ngozi provide a road map of essential knowledge to inspire us all, and an action agenda for change that allows women to take control and combat gender bias.Featuring Jacinda Ardern, Hillary Clinton, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Theresa May, Michelle Bachelet, Joyce Banda, Erna Solberg, Christine Lagarde and more.'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'An enjoyable and useful text for women considering a future in political or business leadership.' Business Day

“"Women and Leadership is a powerful reminder that there is no limit to what women can accomplish when we have the chance. Written by two celebrated, trailblazing leaders, it is a deeply personal portrait of the obstacles women in politics have overcome and the barriers we still face. Every page of this book is brimming with candor, wisdom and humor--leaving the reader rightfully convinced that while women still have to try a little harder and fight a little longer, sooner or later we will get the job done." -- Madeleine K. Albright, the first woman to serve as U.S. Secretary of State "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 "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 list--but the authors also examine the statistics, the biases (conscious and unconscious) and the structural obstacles that face women." -- Sydney Morning Herald”

"Women and Leadership is a powerful reminder that there is no limit to what women can accomplish when we have the chance. Written by two celebrated, trailblazing leaders, it is a deeply personal portrait of the obstacles women in politics have overcome and the barriers we still face. Every page of this book is brimming with candor, wisdom and humor--leaving the reader rightfully convinced that while women still have to try a little harder and fight a little longer, sooner or later we will get the job done." --Madeleine K. Albright, the first woman to serve as U.S. Secretary of State

"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

"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 list--but the authors also examine the statistics, the biases (conscious and unconscious) and the structural obstacles that face women." --Sydney Morning Herald

Julia Gillard (Author)Julia Gillard was the 27th Prime Minister of Australia, the first, and only, woman to serve in that role. Since leaving office, she has dedicated her time to advocacy, governance roles and writing. In 2021, Julia was appointed Chair of Wellcome, a global charitable foundation based in the UK that supports science to solve urgent worldwide health challenges. Julia is also the founder and inaugural Chair of the Global Institute for Women's Leadership at King's College London and Chair of its sister Institute at the Australian National University. GIWL strives for a world where being a woman is neither a barrier to becoming a leader in any field, nor a contributor to negative perceptions of an individual's leadership. In 2014, Julia joined the Board of Beyond Blue, one of Australia's foremost mental health awareness bodies, and has served as Chair since 2017. As a lifelong advocate for increasing access to education, especially in developing nations, Julia was Chair of the Global Partnership for Education from 2014 to 2021. Julia wrote My Story, a memoir based on her experience as prime minister. Her second book, Women and Leadership- Real lives, real lessons, co-authored with Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, explores the challenges women face in leadership. Her latest book is Not Now, Not Ever- Ten years on from the misogyny speech.Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Author)Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is an economist and international development expert with over 30 years of experience. She is Chair of the Board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and of the African Risk Capacity (ARC). She is Co-Chair of The Global Commission on the Economy and Climate. She also sits on the Boards of Standard Chartered PLC and Twitter Inc. She was recently appointed as AU Special Envoy to mobilise International support for the fight against COVID-19 and WHO Special Envoy for Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator.Previously, Dr Okonjo-Iweala was a Senior Advisor at Lazard from September 2015 - October 2019. She served twice as Nigeria's Finance Minister, from 2003-2006, 2011-2015, and briefly as Foreign Minister, the first woman to hold both positions. She spent a 25-year career at the World Bank as a development economist, rising to the No.2 position of Managing Director, overseeing an $81 billion operational portfolio in Africa, South Asia, Europe and Central Asia.Dr Okonjo-Iweala was named Minister of the Decade, People's Choice Award (2020) by Nigeria's This Day newspaper. In 2019, she was named one of Transparency International's 8 Female Anti-Corruption Fighters Who Inspire. She has been ranked by Fortune as one of the 50 Greatest World Leaders in 2015, by Forbes as one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in the World consecutively for four years, by Time as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2014, and by the UK Guardian as one of the Top 100 Women in the World in 2011.Dr Okonjo-Iweala holds a Bachelor's in Economics from Harvard University and a PhD in Regional Economics and Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is an Angelopoulos Global Public Leader at Harvard University Kennedy School, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has received over fifteen honorary degrees, including from Yale University, the University of Pennsylvania, Brown University, Tel Aviv University and Trinity College, Dublin. She is the author of numerous articles on finance and development, and several books including Fighting Corruption is Dangerous- The Story Behind the Headlines (MIT Press, 2018) and Reforming the Unreformable- Lessons from Nigeria (MIT Press, 2012).

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