If Women Ruled the World: How to Create the World We Want to Live In [Paperback]

Sheila Ellison (Editor), Marie C. Wilson (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 13, 2004

With women making up only 14 percent of Congress and eight women CEOs in the entire group of Fortune 500 companies, women's collective voices are clearly underrepresented. Nor are they proportionately present on the airwaves or the op-ed pages of the country's newspapers. This book helps right that imbalance by giving women a platform for voicing their opinions, priorities, hopes, and ideas for change. The book includes short experiences, stories, thoughts, and meditations written and shared by women around the world. Authors, celebrities, experts, and politicians are included, along with soccer moms and teenage girls, creating a work that is humorous, moving, questioning, opinionated, warm, and informative as it examines what women would choose if they had a chance to participate in ruling the world. Note: A portion of this book's royalties will be donated to the Feminist Majority.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

I received hundreds of essay submissions for this book from women of every background--with and without kids, old and young, from those who had a humorous experience with the issue they wanted to address, to those whose words screamed of injustice, inequality, and world problems so big that I would set the essay aside and stare at my computer screen, unable to move, unsure if the world was actually ready to hear the truth. What moved me most was how alike we are. Regardless of upbringing, economics, or education, underneath the skin of women is a wild, protective, nurturing strength that knows we're in trouble. We know somehow we have to rise together and take a stand. We may disagree on the direction society needs to move in, but we all agree it needs to get moving. Women's voices fill these pages--women who see a new world rising from the ashes of mistakes, poor choices, and lack of direction. The intent of this book is to engage your mind, heart, and imagination to the point where you feel uniquely called to participate. Change is about movement, and movement in any direction is impossible without an idea—If Women Ruled the World is full of ideas.

From the Inside Flap

How can we support work and family balance, improve our health-care system, and protect the environment? What could be different in our schools and communities? How can women everywhere stand up for compassion, peace, and equality?

"If Women Ruled the World" shines the spotlight on women’s opinions and ideas and suggests concrete calls-to-action, challenging women to be true participants in leading the world. With poignant personal essays from more than 150 women, this visionary book invites women to take on today’s issues—from the personal to the political0-0and asks that we all rise to the occasion to create a world of grace and humanity.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: New World Library (September 13, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1930722362
• ISBN-13: 978-1930722361
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,216,004 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An inspiration and a call to action..., December 27, 2004

By 

Suzannah DiMarzio (Outside Tampa, FL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: If Women Ruled the World: How to Create the World We Want to Live In (Paperback)

I was truly honored to be a part of this piece of work. While my essay (A Room of Our Own) and some others within the book are based in humor and meant to lighten the mood, there are many more meant to make you pause, reflect, then ask (and answer) the questions, 'what IF?' 'why not?' and 'what can I do?'.

Some essays will break your heart or bring a tear to your eye, others will call you to act now in hopes of truly changing the world we live in for the better. Share it with a mother, a sister, a friend and then imagine the possibilities if we really did rule the world.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for anyone in this election year, October 12, 2004

By 

Allison Beltz "papercuts & promises" (mountain view, ca) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: If Women Ruled the World: How to Create the World We Want to Live In (Paperback)

This book is an impressive compilation of essays by a multitude of women on topics as varied as our individual histories. As a contributor, I was excited to be a part of this amazing project, but the end result surpassed even my expectations. The essays are engrossing and thought-provoking, backed up by facts and resources for the reader to continue her or his own research on the subject. This is a must-read for anyone, especially in such a deciding election year.

I have heard some people get defensive when I tell them about the book, saying that the title and subject overlooks bigger problems with government and the way things are run. However, they are missing the main point -- that women's voices need to be heard, our concerns addressed, and our governments equally represented by women as they are by men. This book does not assert that women are superior to men, or that we SHOULD run the world, but that perhaps if women were given an equal voice and representation, things might be different.

This book is an excellent representation of what is important to women right now. I want women to read this book and find themselves here, men to read it and take it to heart, and politicians to read it and think about who they are representing. Oh, and don't forget to VOTE!

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a different world we'd have if women ruled the world..., September 24, 2004

By 

Lydia "Lydia" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: If Women Ruled the World: How to Create the World We Want to Live In (Paperback)

This book initiates a dialogue that everyone needs to take part in. What would happen if more women were at the table when decisions were being made about how much money we should allocate to education or whether we should go to war or not? If there were more women CEO's, how would that affect policies on maternity leave? This book is not about how women would do things better. In a nation that has 88% of the government run by men, it's about righting the imbalance and getting the essential perspective from women. And how new ideas and solutions can come from it. Bravo to Sheila Ellision for putting together all these women to make that simple point known.