The Difference "Difference" Makes: Women and Leadership [Paperback]

Deborah Rhode (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2003

Why are women so dramatically underrepresented in formal leadership positions—and what can be done to improve the situation? This unique collection takes up these questions in the crucial practical concepts of law, politics, and business—the arenas in which women’s leadership has the most public influence. Bridging the worlds of theory and practice, the essays in this collection bring new insights to long-standing questions about the difference gender difference makes, both in access to leadership and in its exercise.

The contributors to this collection represent some of the nation’s most distinguished women leaders and most respected scholars on women and leadership, and reflect a distinctive array of perspectives and backgrounds. Among others, they include former Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder; former NOW president Patricia Ireland; the Right Honorable Kim Campbell, former prime minister of Canada; and Judith Resnik, the Arthur Liman Professor of Law, Yale Law School. Written in accessible, lively prose, and informed by a wealth of scholarship and personal experience, this collection should appeal to a broad audience.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“This necessary and comprehensive survey of ‘difference’ will increase awareness of the importance of including women in all aspects of public life. Rhode's research illustrates the lingering inequities of the leadership opportunities available to women.”
—Marie C. Wilson,
President, The White House Project

“The times cry out for democratic leadership. The Difference ‘Difference’ Makes is an invaluable exploration of the progress America, and its lawyers, have made in trusting women to be among our leaders.” —Catharine R. Stimpson, University Professor and Dean, Graduate School of Arts and Science, New York University

“This diverse compendium includes personal and professional accounts of how influential women leaders got to the top of their fields. Deborah Rhode, a significant thinker on gender issues today, provides a rich framework for understanding the obstacles women contend with and the ways in which they can influence major social institutions. This book dispels stereotypes, provides inspiration, and offers sound advice for women getting on the track to success.” —Cynthia Fuchs Epstein, Distinguished Professor, Sociology
City University of New York

“Extremely timely and useful, it contributes importantly to the problem of women and leadership in an original and stimulating way.”—Herma Hill Kay, University of California, Berkeley

“The folks who contributed to The Difference ‘Difference’ Makes are clearly heavy-hitters....collectively this set of papers is an instructive balance between practical advice and theoretical sophistication. Taken together, the contributions to this collection exemplify a central strength of feminist scholarship, speaking in a practical voice informed by theory.”——Law and Politics Book Review

From the Inside Flap

Why are women so dramatically underrepresented in formal leadership positions—and what can be done to improve the situation? This unique collection takes up these questions in the crucial practical concepts of law, politics, and business—the arenas in which women’s leadership has the most public influence. Bridging the worlds of theory and practice, the essays in this collection bring new insights to long-standing questions about the difference gender difference makes, both in access to leadership and in its exercise.
The contributors to this collection represent some of the nation’s most distinguished women leaders and most respected scholars on women and leadership, and reflect a distinctive array of perspectives and backgrounds. Among others, they include former Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder; former NOW president Patricia Ireland; the Right Honorable Kim Campbell, former prime minister of Canada; and Judith Resnik, the Arthur Liman Professor of Law, Yale Law School. Written in accessible, lively prose, and informed by a wealth of scholarship and personal experience, this collection should appeal to a broad audience.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Stanford Law and Politics; 1 edition (January 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804746354
• ISBN-13: 978-0804746359
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #544,497 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Deborah L. Rhode is the Ernest W. McFarland Professor of Law and the Director of the Center on the Legal Profession at Stanford University. She has a Yale BA and JD, and is a former law clerk of Justice Thurgood Marshall, a former president of the Association of American Law Schools, a former chair of the American Bar Association's Commission on Women in the Profession, and a former director of both Stanford's Center on Ethics and its Institute for Research on Women and Gender. She is the author or coauthor of twenty books and over 200 articles, and is the nation's most cited scholar on professional responsibility.

Author Photo by David Weintraub, photographer.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A book that makes a Difference, April 4, 2004

By 

Cortney L. Thomas (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Difference "Difference" Makes: Women and Leadership (Paperback)

As a female college student approaching graduation and faced with the prospect of beginning my career, this book offered insightful information and suggestions concerning women and leadership. This book includes a compilation of several essays written by successful and powerful women and men in response to discussions that took place during a Women's Leadership Summit. According to the foreword by Martha Barnett the women and men contributing to this piece are leaders "in government, law firms, bar associations, corporations, and academia." The editor, Deborah Rhode, introduces the book with an essay that explores `the difference difference makes'. She describes several of the obstacles still facing women in obtaining leadership positions today. She begins with overwhelming statistics that prove just how underrepresented women are in leadership positions. She identifies gender stereotypes, the lack of mentoring and networking available to women, and inflexible workplace structures that do not accommodate families as the major sources that contribute to the lack of women in leadership roles. She proposes solutions to the problem that include creating equal opportunities for women by developing mentoring programs and creating flexible and family friendly workplace schedules. She also adds that once one woman has obtained a leadership position there should be a sense of social responsibility to keep the doors open for those that follow. The rest of the book includes great essays written by prominent male and female leaders in the legal profession and government. The essays include historical facts concerning women's rights, offer suggestions for how to level the playing field, personal success stories, and the issue of racial discrimination in leadership positions. I found this book to be extremely helpful in offering several perspectives on the problem of gender and racial discrimination in the workplace. The essays provided excellent, practical knowledge that I can one day utilize to help advance my career. The reality of discrimination in the workplace was definitely a wake up call to what I will soon face, yet the advice and personal experiences of success offered encouragement that progress is possible.