Global Women Leaders

Women as Global Leaders is the second volume in the new Women and Leadership: Research, Theory, and Practice book series published for the International Leadership Association by IAP. Global leadership is an emerging area of research, with only a small but growing published literature base. More specifically, the topic of women’s advances and adventures in leading within the global context is barely covered in the existing leadership literature. Although few women are serving in global leadership roles in corporate and non-profit arenas, and as heads of nations, that number is growing (e.g., Indira Nooyi at PepsiCo, Sheryl Sandberg at Facebook, Marissa Mayer at Yahoo, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as president of Liberia, Angela Merkel as chancellor of Germany). The purpose of this volume is to provide the reader with current conceptualizations and theory related to women as global leaders, recent empirical investigations of the phenomenon, analysis of effective global leadership development programs, and portraits of women who lead, or have led, in a global role. The volume is divided into four sections. The first section covers the state of women as global leaders, containing chapters by Joyce Osland and Nancy Adler, pioneers in the field of global and/or women’s leadership. The second section describes approaches to women’s global leadership. The third section offers an analysis of programs that are useful in developing women as global leaders, with the final section profiling women as global leaders, including Margaret Thatcher, Nobel Laureate Malala Yousfazai, and Golda Meir. As Barbara Kellerman noted in the Foreword, "this book... should be understood as a collection whose time has come, precisely because women now have opportunities to lead that are far more expansive than they were even in the recent past. Though their numbers remain low, they are able in some cases to exercise leadership not only as outsiders, but also as insiders, from the very positions of power and authority to which men forever have had access."

Global Women Leaders showcases narratives of women in business, nonprofit organizations and the public sector who have achieved leadership positions despite cultural obstacles and gender bias. Featuring leaders from India, Japan, Jordan and the United Kingdom, the book examines how these women have overcome challenges and served as role models in their professions.

Women and Leadership around the World is the third volume in a new series of books (Women and Leadership: Research, Theory, and Practice) that will is now being published to inform leadership scholars and practitioners. The purpose of this volume is to explore areas of women’s leadership in four regions around the world: the Middle East, Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific. Hence, we have included 14 chapters that cover a wide range of important topics relevant to women and leadership within specific contexts around the world. Our goal for this volume is to provide readers with explorations of women’s experiences as leaders, including recent research studies, analysis and interpretation of statistics unpacking the status of women in various sectors and countries, stories of influential women leaders with national or local spheres of influence, and including recommendations for positive change to increase women’s access to positions of authority. The volume contributors use various theories and conceptualizations to problematize, historicize, and analyze women’s limited access to power, and their agency as leaders from the grassroots to the national scene, from education to non-profits and business organizations. Overall, the book contributes interpretations of the status of women in various countries, presenting the stories behind the numbers and statistics and uncovering not only challenges but also opportunities for resiliency and effectiveness as leaders. The authors offer recommendations for change that cross national boundaries, such as structural changes in organizations that would open the door for more women to access positions of authority and be effective as leaders. It is rare to find a book with such a diverse array of topics and countries, making this a timely contribution to the literature on women and leadership. The authors remind us to continue to expand the literature base on women and leadership, drawing from both qualitative and quantitative studies as well as conceptual explorations of women as leaders in different countries, regions, indigenous communities, and across different sectors. The more we know, the better informed will be our efforts to create appropriate leadership development activities and experiences for emerging women leaders and girls around the world. This book contributes significantly to that very effort.

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.

Global Women Leaders: Studies in Feminist Political Rhetoric demonstrates the ways in which women have used political rhetoric and political discourse to provide leadership, or assert their right to leadership, on a global level. This collection fits into the robust research area of international political women and their use of language in gaining and maintaining political power. It casts a wider net in terms of discussing women’s efforts to assert and preserve their roles of authority, particularly when their audiences may perceive their authority as illegitimate due to gender. Chapters dedicated to Elizabeth II and Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser discuss the more traditional ways in which women leaders use language to construct political power. Other chapters focus on women who serve as political activists, either individually or as part of a group, including Aasma Mahfouz of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 and the women who help direct United Nations policy through their speeches in the General Assembly. Global Women Leaders will appeal to scholars of political communication and international rhetoric.

"This edited book project will include key academic concepts as transformative learning, community resilience, cultural transformation, and transformational leadership with the objective being to identify the vision and associated values being applied during a challenge or a cultural change process particularly in women"--

Women leaders and the COVID-19 pandemic are currently trending in the news. Major news outlets are all offering their positive opinions on how world-wide women leaders have addressed the crisis and reassured their people. While this sort of press coverage is certainly uplifting, little to no research has been conducted to investigate the effectiveness of women’s leadership decisions and strategies in these difficult times. In concert with these global struggles resulting from the pandemic are the challenges faced by higher education. Many colleges and universities have all but shuttered their doors and are conducting instruction, student support, and day-to-day business almost completely online. Women academic leaders bear a great load during global crises, with the combination of maintaining work responsibilities and caring for families and personal households. It is shown that women leaders may feel overwhelmed but remain heroes in unprecedented times of crisis. Women and Leadership in Higher Education During Global Crises informs readers and expands their understanding about specific challenges, issues, strategies, and solutions that are associated with women leaders in higher education, the implications during the current pandemic and other natural disasters, and how these strategies can be used for future agility and success. The chapters will cover narratives, strategies, and initiatives that women leaders are using to lead their institutions, departments, sectors, and organizations. It ties together the unimaginable challenges, joys, struggles, and successes encountered by women in leadership in higher education and is ideal for higher education administrators, teachers, leaders, faculty, provosts, deans, program leaders, researchers, academicians, and students interested in both the challenges and successes women leaders in higher education face during global crises.

Women and Leadership, edited by George R. Goethals and Crystal L. Hoyt of the Jepson School of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond, is a compact collection of thoughtful essays by experts on leadership theory as well as women’s history. Women and Leadership has been designed to help students and citizens who want a more nuanced explanation of what we know about women as leaders, and about how they have led in different fields, in different parts of the world, and in past centuries. It includes twenty biographies of women leaders in many different domains—not only politics but also education, fashion, sports, and social and environmental movements.