Uncovering the Realities of Women in Leadership: Stories and Insights from Real Women Leaders

Katrina R.: I wanted to like this book, but it just reads like random thoughts from two women. Perhaps the stories would have been more engaging if written better.

Australia on Mar 11, 2023

Kiara: Good read and influential

United States on Jan 06, 2023

Amazon Customer: Interesting

Canada on Jun 20, 2022

Anna from InannaWorks: To answer that question, these authors decided to go right to the top of ladder and speak with women who have made it to the “glass ceiling” in a world dominated by men. The result is a book about the lessons of the journey not the destination.

Some of the topics will be familiar: the politics of scarcity, modern-day Salem, it’s all about the hair, she’s a bit of a bitch, who’s minding the kids? The insights, however, are nuanced and rounded out by the commentary of their interviewees. It’s not just that women have to work harder. Most of the time, they have to work harder in much more complex ways than their male counterparts.

The authors present their authority for writing this book based on their experience, rather than just on their “credentials”. The passion of their endeavor is evident yet they present their findings with clarity, cool-headedness, and a sophisticated interpretation. This is a serious, scholarly study of the challenges of women looking to move into high-level positions, but it will also be comprehensible and helpful to those women who want to move from worker to management in less visible environments.
(Anna received a review...

United States on Mar 09, 2022

Bello fuhad bamidele: Very good

United Kingdom on Jan 28, 2022

Lilian Mina: This book is a must read for all women seeking to advance their career and becoming leaders in all fields. Full of real-life advice and tips. Loved reading it and will certainly recommend to all women in my life.

United States on May 09, 2021

CatMack: Nearly finished this book so can I think write this review. I was persuaded to buy the book by a sister in law - it is not normally the sort of thing I read. Not very interested in political biographies. Having said, that I think many women struggling with issues of leadership in a patriarchal world will find it useful. The first section that does a brief biography of the contributors was less interesting for me, however the next section which recounts the continued appalling inequality in relation to women in politics was more interesting. And shocking. True I know this stuff but in black and white it continues to shock. How is it that half of the world's population can be so poorly represented in the political realm in 21 century? The authors attempt to offer some first hand accounts that might partially answer that question. Everything from the media obsession with appearance for women in politics to the double standards in respect to competency to the gross sexual bullying we are currently seeing in the Australian parliament. Some partial solutions are offered. Some suggestions for women going into politics. Mostly, the book's significance comes in continuing to draw this...

Australia on Mar 28, 2021

Mandy Hazen: How frustrating is it to be told by all the different sources the things you must do to be successful in life? This book definitely does NOT do that. It instead takes an empathetic approach and gives bite size approaches and allows you to have kindness and patience with yourself when dealing with life. This is so necessary for everyone to read in life. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

United States on Feb 08, 2021

Amazon Customer: Regardless of your gender, I think this is a book everyone should read when it comes out in 2021. Julia Hillard, first female PM of Australia, and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, first female Finance Minister of Nigeria, wrote a powerful book full of insight from the top female world leaders from Theresa May, Jacinda Arden and Hillary Clinton.

Throughout the book, Julia and Ngozi call on their own experiences to make hypotheses on why when you look at the modern day leaders within the political world such as the G20 or the corporate world such as Fortune 100 companies' boards, there is not more equal gender representation. As a woman in a male-dominated field, I keenly felt many descriptions of experiences shared throughout this book. Theresa May recalled a time when her voice cracked during a speech and she was called emotional... which reminded me of a time I advocated for myself and personal needs at work and found it hard to keep my voice from cracking as well.

Instead of telling women we need to look pretty and appear extremely knowledgeable to succeed, Julia and Ngozi focus on how there are two completely different expectations for female and male leaders in terms of how...

United States on Feb 07, 2021

Ashima Jain: Objective statistics on women in leadership positions in politics, finance or business, and statistics on the gender pay gap show that the pecking order of power positions white men first, followed by men of colour, then white women, and, finally, women of colour.

Women make up less than 10 per cent of national leaders, and behind this lies a pattern of unequal access to power. The World Economic Forum has calculated that at the current rate of improvement, it will take ninety-five years to close the global gender gap in political representation.

Using published findings as a starting point, the authors form questions and hypotheses, then test them on the lived experiences of women leaders such as Jacinda Ardern, Hillary Clinton and Theresa May, among others.

These women talk about having their ideas stolen by male colleagues, about what it's like to be called fat or a slut in the media, and about the things they wish they’d done differently. Their stories reveal how gender and sexism affect perceptions of women as leaders, the trajectories of their leaderships, and the circumstances in which they come to an end.

In examining their journeys, the book...

India on Nov 21, 2020