Women as Political Leaders

"Genovese and Steckenrider expand and update Genovese's 1993 Women as National Leaders, which investigated women as political leaders and their pathways to office, leadership styles, and performance acheivements. Here the editors include the question of how much has changed in two decades. Well-known scholars offer case-study chapters on women leaders in the Phillipines, Norway, Pakistan, Nicaragua, India, Israel, Liberia, Germany, Angentina and England. What women have in common is that "they have made it to the top despite significant gender bias"... Summing Up: Recommended"-K. Staudt, University of Texas at El Paso, for CHOICE, November 2013

"Genovese and Steckenrider provide a timely and important look at the women who have held top political positions around the world while at the same time asking the important question, "when will America elect its first woman president?" In answering that question, this book takes a critical look at how women are defined as leaders based on gender, and more importantly, why that matters for women pursuing top political leadership positions in the United States and other countries as well."--Lori Cox Han, PhD, Professor of Political Science, Chapman University, Orange, CA

Genovese and Steckenrider weave together a wide-ranging collection of cases to shed light on the manner in which context, biography, leadership, and performance intersect with gender, as well as how these dynamics vary cross-culturally and cross-nationally. This is a must read for scholars and students interested in the growing number of female heads of state. And it is a stark reminder of how far we remain from true gender parity in political institutions across the globe.--Jennifer L. Lawless, Associate Professor of Government and Director of the Women & Politics Institute, American University

These timely and important essays contain fascinating and genuine insights. The determinative importance of context in the rise to power, family background, the range of leadership styles shown and the diversity of policies pursued by women leaders such as Benazir Bhutto, Indira Ghandi, Golda Meir, Angela Merkel, Margaret Thatcher and others are critically assessed. The result is intelligent scholarship of distinction.--Professor Angus Hawkins FRHistS, Oxford University