Closing the Leadership Gap: Why Women Can an Must Help Run the World

by Marie C. Wilson

The defining examination of the new role of women in America--now fully revised

When first published in 2004, Marie Wilson's Closing the Leadership Gap finally drew attention to what everyone knew but no one talked about--the lack of women in America's leadership positions, even though compelling research shows that women enhance the top decision-making process dramatically. And yet, even as our nation sits on a world spinning...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0143114034
• ISBN13: 9780143114031
• Release Date: December 2007
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.1" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Great Read!

This book was really intriguing and so informative. Marie C. Wilson writes in a relatable way and her stories and experiences bring the book to life. If everyone were to read Closing the Leadership Gap the world would be a better place!

Closing the Leadership Gap provides a road map women need

The most important sentences in Marie C. Wilson's Closing the Leadership Gap are these: "Everyone knows at least one woman who should be urged to follow her dream, a woman who is utterly capable of being more than she is if only she were given encouragement. We need to find her and feed her ambition. Don't wait for the culture to change. Change it yourself by helping others to step forward." Step up. Encourage others. It's just that easy. Wilson draws on more than 30 years of experience as an advocate of women's issues to create a virtual road map for women who aspire to be leaders, no matter where they live, no matter what they do or who they are. She reveals where cultural obstacles are, why they exist and why we must not let them stand in our way. In this, Wilson leads first by example. Founder and president of The White House Project and co-creator of Take Our Daughters to Work Day, she dives through layers of surveys and research to reveal deeply rooted cultural biases that keep women from bringing their unique contributions to the head table. Wilson founded The White House Project in 1998 to address one of the biggest impediments to women's leadership - the lack of a real pipeline. Reports that President George W. Bush is encouraging his brother Jeb to run for the office in 2008 shine a bright spotlight on this phenomenon among men, who start running for office earlier in life and work their way to the top through connections and raw ambition, a quality often criticized in women. Wilson's recap of studies that show how women politicians fare in the media is nothing short of infuriating. Now more than ever, we need the outrage driven by America's stubborn loyalty to the male leadership paradigm. We need it to overcome the inertia of a life that's not so bad, even though it's not so good, either. And as Wilson does in this book, we need to encourage other women, to inspire other women to live their best and highest dreams.

"Challenging Comfort"

Marie C. Wilson is absolutely correct in stating that women can and must help run the world. The book is well written and inspiring. However, the tone of the book directs Wilson's message toward women readers only. This can be extremely detrimental because it fails to speak to the leadership role that male readers play. Both women and men can together bring about change in the workplace but Wilson suggests that women, themselves, must be the only catalysts to bring about change. Although this is true and women must be a catalyst and strive for change, men also have a large part in recognizing the leadership traits of women to and altering the thoughts and perceptions of society. Change cannot be brought about if only one group is emotionally and physically invested, both genders must join together to change the world for the better. The book also talks a lot about the nurturing traits of women. These traits of nurture, self-sacrifice and sensitivity are both valued by society and by women themselves. Wilson states that the qualities women bring do not match the traditional actions of a leader. This statement groups all women together and further stereotypes the roles and attributes of women. All women are different and hence their leadership characteristics are different. On the other hand, Wilson does a better job in diversifying the occupations and types of women involved in leadership positions. From the United States government and military positions to British parliament, Wilson shows the importance and benefits of female leadership all over the world. The author also makes it a point to state that gender biases are products of television, Hollywood and advertising. One of the movies Wilson feels combats these biases is the movie Legally Blond starring Reese Witherspoon. I feel that this movie contradicts Wilson's message. In fact, the main character had many attributes that contributed to the biases and gender stereotypes of women. In the movie, Reese Witherspoon is overwhelmingly concerned over her hair, nails and clothing and entered law school not for herself but to gain admiration from her boyfriend. This movie is not sending the same message that Wilson is trying to get across in her book. In general, Wilson's book brings up many points that are overlooked by society. The book is an inspiration for women who, in the twenty first century, strive to become the next leaders of the world and challenge the "comforts" of business, politics and domestic life. This book should be read by everyone, men and women, who strive to be a leader and make a difference.

Read this book before November 2!

As we enter an important presidential election, this book's message holds even more import. Marie Wilson eloquently writes about how we can and must begin to change women's level of participation in the leadership of our country, and indeed, the world. This is true regardless of one's political orientation. And, while this book speaks to me so strongly on a political level, it is much more than that. It is a cultural and economic examination of women's role in our society and is the type of book that makes you, as a reader, think and re-think your values and how you participate in effecting change in our society.But this is no hard-line, soap-boxy type of overwrought treatise. It is warmly written and totally engaging. You will be inspired by this book.

An inspiring book

This is a great book, but I can not decide whether it should be in the political section or the business section or in the self help section. What the author has done is created the story of what obstacles women as leaders have faced, and what the impact on society has been as a result. As a political book, she maps all the possibilities that women can create to change the stagnant way of politics by achieving leadership in that realm, and working for the common good of all, like education, child and eldercare, as well as taking a pro-active role in foreign affairs. As a business book, the author demonstrates the value of women leaders who are more in touch with the ways the business can be done to bring all to the table to achieve greater productivity with more humane and less stressful ways of getting there. As a self help book, she gives women the courage to create themselves as leaders, shows us the value of our leadership, and provides ideas and resources to become leaders, in all realms of life. She sees the importance of inclusion and recognizes that we must learn to lead as partners with men, and together, achieve the possibilities of a more just and more powerful society. It's also a fun book filled with surprises, as she wonderfully weaves the story of Hester Prynne of the Scarlet Letter into the body of this book, reminding us that though Hester was branded with the A of adultery, she rose to display the "A" of authenticity, ambition, authority, and ability, as she lived her life. Marie Wilson challenges us to do the same.