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Strategies for transforming workplace cultures to support a new generation of women leaders.When it comes to the gender gap, it is not enough to ask women to “lean in” and demand promotions and raises. Organizations have an obligation to level up and provide women with more opportunities for advancement. In this book, leadership and governance expert Carol Geffner makes a strong case that for women to reach their full potential, workplaces and their leaders must take a more proactive role in combating gender discrimination.Based on over 200 hours of interviews with women leaders in the United States and abroad, Building a New Leadership Ladder demonstrates that even when women are promoted to leadership positions, they are rarely given access to the same support networks as their male colleagues. Covering sectors as diverse as higher education, health care, law enforcement, and the military, the book identifies common strategies that all organizations can use to remove obstacles for women's advancement.More than a how-to guide on how women can ascend to the top, Building a New Leadership Ladder is a bold call to action for organizations and their leaders to proactively foster the conditions under which women's efforts to rise up are consistently recognized and rewarded.Interviewer:Dr. Carol Geffner, Director of the Executive Master of Leadership Program at the USC's Sol Price School of Public PolicyInterviewees:Alma Burke, former LAPD, currently head of security at USCYasmin Beers, former City Manager, Glendale, CARaShall Brackney, Chief of Police, Charlottesville, VACoco Brown, CEO Athena Alliance (SaaS company for HR)Mary Sue Coleman, chemist, interim president of University of Michigan (she previously served as president from 2002-2014)France Cordova, director of National Science FoundationTiffany Felix, Senior Vice President, Environmental Health and Safety, ParamountJennifer Grasso, LAPD's first female SWAT officerHeidi Hammel, Executive Vice President of the Association of Universities for Research in AstronomyStephanie Jarvis, (couldn't immediately confirm her current role)Nannerl Keohane, former president of Wellesley College and Duke UniversityFiona Ma, California State TreasurerAnni Mu, Deputy Group Commander, CA Air National GuardLaura Mosqueda, Professor of Family Medicine and Geriatrics at USC Keck School of MedicineJanet Napolitano, former Arizona governor, former Secretary of Homeland SecuritySharon Papa, Chief of Police, Hermosa Beach, CAEllen Stofan, Under Secretary for Science and Research, The SmithsonianMirtha Villereal-Younger, multiple leadership roles within CA military, currently President/CEO of Agile ConstructionHiltrud Werner, Volkswagen Board memberJoy White, Executive Director of the Air Force Space and Missile Systems CenterMaria Zuber, Vice President of Research, MITIn addition, three women were interviewed who, due to the nature of their positions and sectors, asked that they not be identified in this book.

You Should Smile More: How to Dismantle Gender Bias in the Workplace empowers women and men to unlock a culture of greatness in the workforce—one little thing at a time. Written by six C-suite women with a collective resume covering 29 industries, the book offers a completely new lens through which to talk about and tackle the stubborn remnants of gender bias at work.“In the business world, barriers to inclusion are barriers to success,” states a line from the book's Introduction. “Diversity breeds better solutions faster if people feel comfortable in their environment.” But from small indignities to unconscious slights, women experience situations at work every day that may seem small or unimportant but that effectively differentiate and exclude them. These are not #MeToo moments - they are micro-offenses; the small, awkward, or uncomfortable moments that slow-build until the unwelcome environment takes hold and women disengage. Situations the authors address range from things like use of the term “girl” versus “woman,” watching male colleagues leave work for a social event where women colleagues were left off the invite list or hearing that a qualified woman shouldn't be offered an assignment because she has small children at home. You Should Smile More shows witnesses, allies, supervisors, and women at every level in their careers how to dismantle everyday gender bias, based upon the latest research, personal accounts, and interviews with dozens of professionals, both women and men. Widely known as a meme, the title itself is now a call-to-action against the very advice women so frequently hear from male colleagues or bosses. The authors spotlight these all-too-familiar moments, offering realistic strategies every witness can use to confront and productively address them. The information within the book finally advances women in the corporate workplace as equals and advances organizations on the path to creating cultures of true inclusion. The authors call themselves “The Band of Sisters” and have collectively seen it all, from the bottom rung to the boardroom. They know firsthand how hard it is to navigate these gendered situations in the moment. Now they share their experience with a forward-looking eye -- often with humor, and in a way that recognizes the realities of the workplace. With this book as a guide, The Band of Sisters are ready to: + Help anyone to recognize and effectively respond to these micro-moments rooted in gender bias. + Pave the way for their ultimate elimination, through shared participation. + Allow organizations to build high-performance cultures that truly value and include diverse perspectives and experiences. Gender bias has been part of our workplaces for too long. We are at the point now where all of us who are in the workplace, around conference tables, water coolers and in Zoom meetings, must make the next push for real change.

Power Play is an honest guide for women who aspire to leadership in the workplace and in the world, from the trailblazing Julia Banks. Having won the ‘unwinnable'seat that secured the Coalition Government majority in 2016, Julia Banks shocked Australia when she announced she would stand as an independent MP in 2018, having experienced a toxic workplace culture in the country's centre of power – designed by men for their dominance. Julia doesn't just know what power looks like in a political sense; she made it to the top of her game in the legal and corporate sectors before running for parliament. And at every level, she had to navigate through the bias, barriers and boys'clubs that aim to silence women or deter them from leadership roles. Power Play reveals the unvarnished realities of any workplace where power disparities and gender politics collide: from the unequal opportunities, casual sexism and systemic misogyny, to pressures around looks, age and family responsibilities, and the consequences of speaking out. Julia shares personal stories, practical advice, and a resounding argument for why women aren't the problem – but why more women in decision-making positions will help us find the solution. For anyone who is aspiring to lead, this book will help you to navigate there. And for anyone who believes that women's voices need to be heard equally, it will inspire you to strive until that is our reality.

Written by an award-winning leadership trainer and career coach, Her Allies is a practical toolkit that empowers men to lead through advocacy and champion gender equality.Hira Ali introduces readers to the knowledge, strategies, and confidence needed to embrace the role of an ally and discusses the barriers that might hold them back. Through five interactive sections, she exposes the obstacles that impede women's equality, and encourages readers to not only challenge their own perspectives but also to confront societal norms, organizational dynamics, and the institutional structures that perpetuate gender disparities. Join the movement and turn the page on gender inequality. This book is more than just a guide, it's a call to action!

Government and organisational policies are not enough to challenge socially constructed expectations towards gender. Arts based methods derived from sensemaking, metaphors and storytelling can support women in modifying behaviours triggered by gender stereotype threat and help them cope better in the gendered workplace.The aim of the book is to challenge the contemporary approach of mainstreaming gender in organisations. Starting with individuals'life stories and workplace experiences to understand the common challenges for individuals and organisations, the authors review how women respond to those challenges through strategic choice, and consequences both for the individual and the organisational impact. This book presents two types of arts inspired workshops: sensory and metaphorical engagement as well as storytelling theatre. Gender Bias in Organisations: From the Arts to Individualised Coaching discusses how gender mainstreaming initiatives have failed and proposes an individualised coaching approach based on arts-based methodology for mediating gender stereotype in the workplace. It will be of interest to researchers, academics, and students in the areas of gender, work and organisation.

What does it take for women to succeed in a male-dominated world? The Grit Factor.At age nineteen, Shannon Huffman Polson became the youngest woman ever to climb Denali, the highest mountain in North America. She went on to reach the summits of Mt. Rainier and Mt. Kilimanjaro and spent more than a decade traveling the world. Yet it was during her experience serving as one of the Army's first female attack helicopter pilots, and eventually leading an Apache flight platoon on deployment to Bosnia-Herzegovina, that she learned the lessons of leadership that forever changed her life.Where did these insights come from? From her own crucibles of experience&#8212and from other women. In writing The Grit Factor, Polson made it her mission to connect with an elite pack of tough, impressive female iconoclasts who shared with her their candid stories of combat and career. This slate of decorated leaders includes Heather Penney, one of the first female F-16 pilots, who was put on a suicide mission for 9/11; General Ann Dunwoody, the first female four-star general in the Army; Amy McGrath, the first female Marine to fly the F/A-18 in combat and a 2020 candidate for the US Senate&#8212and dozens of other unstoppable women who got there first, including Polson herself.These women led at the highest levels in the most complicated, challenging, and male-dominated organization in the world. Now, in the post–#MeToo era, when positive role models of women leading are needed as never before, Polson brings these voices together, sharing her own life lessons and theirs with storytelling flair, keen insight, and incisive analysis of current research.With its gripping narrative and relatable takeaways, The Grit Factor is both inspiring and pragmatic, a book that will energize and enlighten current and aspiring leaders everywhere&#8212whether male or female.

In the age of multiple equity movements, it is critical to explore an unspoken nuance—the silencing of women leaders. Carrie Lynn Arnold calls attention to the history and complex dynamics that can suppress a leader's voice while offering solutions for change.Women are taught to speak up, develop confidence, leverage their strengths, polish their interpersonal skills, widen their competencies, and fight to sit at the table. But once they make it to that executive chair, they rarely examine the unspoken dynamics that impact their success. The silencing of female voices is an all too common epidemic, preventing women from harnessing their full capabilities and leading with maximum potential. This phenomenon of isolating women by subduing their voices is a decades-old tradition. It can be impossible to avoid encounters, organizational cultures, and even feelings of self-suppression that all foster silencing. It is no longer about questioning competency or confidence. It is about understanding the complex factors and biases that are deeply embedded in relationships between men and women, amongst women, and within the dynamics of systems and the self that allows for this trend to continue despite growing successes in equity.Carrie Lynn Arnold examines silencing, which is essential to name and recognize, as a pre-requisite to effective leadership. By understanding where we have been before, we may fully appreciate and call attention to where we need to go. Regardless of your gender or whether you are an emerging leader or a CEO of a large corporation, the silencing virus is capable of infecting everyone. Silenced and Sidelined explores what it means to feel suppressed, giving words to the experience so that leaders can begin different types of conversations about voice and leadership. There are no shortcuts or simple, easy steps; this call to leadership is a call for courage. It requires the ability to communicate with a voice that carries currency—one, people will not just hear, but follow. Given the complexity of our world and the challenges society faces, we can no longer afford leaders with silenced voices.

A powerful clarion call for women leaders to harness their faith to transform the world of business—and cultivate a more diverse, supportive system for allWomen around the globe are being divinely called to change the world of business with a new kind of leadership. It's time for us to wake up and prepare for the challenge. Why are we still seeing gender pay gaps and a lack of diversity in our workforces? We all know these systemic inequalities persist, so why haven't we fixed them yet? Dion Johnson has excelled in her field as a black woman in a white man's world; facially disfigured in a beauty-obsessed world; a devoted Christian in a secular world. She knows first-hand how unequal the system can be. In 2013, Dion, led by God, began challenging women leaders to respond to the call to show up, speak up and shake things the hell up in their industry. Since then, Dion has served passionately as a strategic ally supporting women to evolve, rise above leadership challenges, and be more influential in their role. In this book she offers a development framework for senior leaders who want to initiate hard change without sabotaging their health or self-esteem. Influential Woman has the power to spark a revolution in the way we lead and do business—to make the marketplace a force for love, justice and equality. We are influential women and now is our time to rise up and take action!

Going beyond the message of Lean In and The Confidence Code, Gannett's Chief Content Officer contends that to achieve parity in the office, women don't have to change—men do—and in this inclusive and realistic handbook, offers solutions to help professionals solve gender gap issues and achieve parity at work.Companies with more women in senior leadership perform better by virtually every financial measure, and women employees help boost creativity and can temper risky behavior—such as the financial gambles behind the 2008 economic collapse. Yet in the United States, ninety-five percent of Fortune 500 chief executives are men, and women hold only seventeen percent of seats on corporate boards. More men are reaching across the gender divide, genuinely trying to reinvent the culture and transform the way we work together. Despite these good intentions, fumbles, missteps, frustration, and misunderstanding continue to inflict real and lasting damage on women's careers.What can the Enron scandal teach us about the way men and women communicate professionally? How does brain circuitry help explain men's fear of women's emotions at work? Why did Kimberly Clark blindly have an all-male team of executives in charge of their Kotex tampon line? In That's What She Said, veteran media executive Joanne Lipman raises these intriguing questions and more to find workable solutions that individual managers, organizations, and policy makers can employ to make work more equitable and rewarding for all professionals.Filled with illuminating anecdotes, data from the most recent relevant studies, and stories from Lipman's own journey to the top of a male-dominated industry, That's What She Said is a book about success that persuasively shows why empowering women as true equals is an essential goal for us all—and offers a roadmap for getting there.

The Power of Perception: Leadership, Emotional Intelligence and the Gender Divide serves as a practical guide to educate women, men and organizations on the barriers that keep women from fully contributing in the workplace. These include differences in leadership style and emotional intelligence, gender bias and stereotypes, breadwinner and caregiver responsibilities, and differences in gender culture which show up every day at work and home. The Power of Perception also explores significant changes in global demographic trends and how our youngest generations are impacting the workplace.The Power of Perception clearly illustrates the reasons that we don't see more women leading our global businesses. It has nothing to do with women's skills and competencies and everything to do with perceptions of women as leaders, as workers, as mothers, and as wives. These perceptions have a significant impact on promotion for many women. Perception is reality—and it's powerful.The Power of Perception provides personal stories of women's journeys, real-world examples, and is based on the author's own research as well as that of many others. Every chapter includes practical, easy-to-apply strategies, summary points, and reflection questions to empower women, men, and organizations to fully leverage talent and diversity.

This book presents and deconstructs the existing explanations for the differential career development of qualified men and women. It reframes the problem of discrimination in the workplace as a matter of organizational ethics, social responsibility and compliance with existing equal opportunity laws. Sensitive points are identified where social biases, decision-makers'individual economic interests and shortcomings of organizational incentive policies may lead to discrimination against qualified women. The ideas put forward are empirically tested in an original laboratory experiment that examines personnel selection in the male-dominated field of science and technology. It contrasts the selection of applicants with gendered and gender-blind applications available to subjects under controlled conditions. 30% of participants were high-level decision-makers, which is unprecedented in this field of research. The results, highly relevant for organizational practice, are explained and discussed in detail.

When women succeed, we all win. Breaking Through explores the mentoring relationship, and unravels its effects on women, businesses, society, and the economy. In 2010, author Martine Liautaud founded the Women Business Mentoring Initiative (WBMI) to support women entrepreneurs with the targeted advice and personalized guidance that can only come from a mentor. In late 2015, she set up the Women Initiative Foundation to broaden her action in favor of women in the business world. This book encapsulates the WBMI mission and other similar experiences inside international and US corporations, showing how mentoring and sponsorship can take many forms—and how each form benefits women in business. Through evidence-based narratives, you'll learn what real women have gained from both sides of the dynamic, and why they credit mentoring with the strength of their business success. These stories show how mentoring yields increased efficiency, improved financials, more effective management, increased innovation, a broader talent pool, and increased revenues, and how helping women succeed in business leads to increased philanthropy and improves community sustainability. Gender equality has made huge strides in the US and Western Europe, but this progress is only apparent in the junior levels of the workplace. This book shows how mentoring women entrepreneurs and women managers provides the key that opens the door to the new economy. Understand why mentoring is key to women's economic advancement Learn how mentoring yields tangible benefits beyond the workplace Delve into the experiences of real mentor/mentee pairs Consider the effectiveness of various types of mentoring Despite the increasing opportunities for women in business, statistics and pervading stereotypes suggest that true gender equality is still far on the horizon. Mentoring and sponsorship can be tremendously helpful to women looking to achieve great things—the wisdom of experience is a powerful asset in business strategy and decision-making, and the mentor/mentee relationship benefits everyone. Breaking Through makes a compelling case for the effectiveness of mentoring, with real women's stories of success.