Customer Reviews

Why Women Should Rule the World

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I'll be honest, around page 190 I stopped reading. Not because the book was terrible, but because it seemed to repeat the same stories over and over (just in different situations); women empowerment.

I'm all for equality between the sexes, but when I picked up this book I thought the reader would get a woman's perspective on curing some of the ills of the world. Instead, Mrs. Myers' audience gets that standard female pep talk you hear all over the place these days - "Woman can do anything a man can do; often differently and sometimes better."

It's not the worst read I've ever expierenced, but I know I won't be going out of my way to read any future contributions she makes to literature so take that for what it's worth.

"Why women should rule the world" is a book where men get made fun at, poked, insulted, challenged and disrespected. In the beginning I had high hopes with this book, having heard NPR reviews and even on the Colbert Report, where Dee Dee pushed forward the argument of shared responsibility (both men and women ruling the world), but after reading the first 15 pages disillusionment set in.

While exhalting women's different virtues, which includes the ability to read people's emotions and levels of comfort, she seems to have forgo that same rule herself when applying to the "other" gender that might read her book and instead launched forward a series of deep-end attacks on the male constituency, doing very little to remedy what Dee Dee is trying to fix. At others I don't think Dee Dee delves enough into her arguments to convince certain readers, her conclusions, while not quite invalid are so far-removed from the premises that it needs more explanation than one sentence.

At other parts, her reading feels confused. On one end (pg 69) Dee Dee creates the premise that there isn't that much difference in intelligence between men and women, but by the end of the chapter she's quoting Brizendine which says that women have "outstanding verbal agility, the ability to connect depply in friendship, and nearly psychic capacity to read faces and tone of voice for emotions and states of mind, the ability to defuse conflict..."

At other her book shows a nice cautionary tale of what is to be the First Women Press Secretary. The book feels is carrying a developing story on her memoirs as press secretary that need to be nurtured out.

In all, after reading Dee Dee's book as a "man" , is a wonder that I can walk straight, read, be socially adept, and actually attract someone from the opposite sex. My main issue is that even though her intentions are good, and she is definitively right in that there is a lot of injustice being done to women, her tone and prose leaves the "male" readership alienated. My guess is that Dee Dee's tone encourages women to stand together, but that same tone deepens the divisions she's trying to overcome.

The last century been "the bloodiest in human history; a tale of war, terrorism, religious extremism, abject poverty and disease." Of course this isn't all men's fault, but the world is certainly run by them. What would happen if women were in charge? That's the intriguing premise behind this book. I found it hard to put down, and the message is inspiring.

The book is divided into three sections: Why Women Don't Rule the World, Why Women Should Rule the World and How Women Can Rule the World.

Myers uncaps her pen by discussing her experience as press secretary to President Clinton. She was the first woman chosen for the job, and the president and senior staff made the job less important than it had been. Myers didn't get a raise that was owed to her; the money went to a man because "he has a family." Over and over Myers tells stories about women that have more responsibility than authority, and that are judged by appearance first and accomplishments later. Frustration spills from the pages.

Why should women rule the world? In a word, empathy. Myers points out that women have experience in having children, which is a primary way to think of someone else before yourself. This skill alone, she argues, would be invaluable in world leaders. Another skill women bring to the table is practicality. Myers received a hand towel from a friend that read: "If the three wise men had been women, they would have asked directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole, brought practical gifts, and there would be Peace on Earth."

The last part of the book discusses how women can -- perish the thought! -- actually take control. Myers argues that women can break down the barriers they have faced throughout history by helping each other out, and by teaching their children to recognize differences while embracing equalities.

As Myers makes clear, this book isn't an attack on men, or an attempt to demean or marginalize them. It's a look at how the world would be different if girls were as valued as boys.

It is a compelling read.

I enjoyed this book. The beginning starts out a bit angry but she quickly moves into a compelling, interesting, and balanced book about the role of women in helping to change the world. Myers does not disparage men in this book, but rather offers a balanced look at the contributions women have made.

Myers offers a number of eye opening examples of womens positive influence in business, politics, education etc. She speaks to the importance of educating women around the globe. One paragraph reads, "When Larry Summers was chief economist at World Bank, he argued that educating girls probably produced better returns than any other investment in the developed world....If fact, when women's incomes go up, child survival rates improve by an astonishing twenty times more than if a mans income increases by a similar amount....And children's weight measures improve eightfold."

Myers addresses the role of women in the corporate arena. She writes "Women make the vast majority of consumer decisions in this country - by many accounts, more than 80 percent. But we still don't have enough influence at the top of corporations that make and sell those goods and services. True, women now fill about half of all managerial positions, but among Fortune 500 companies, women account for only 16% of corporate officers, 5% of top earners - and an anemic 2% of CEOs".

Myers uses Revlon as an example to illustrate her point. The company is known for making womens products and yet "all of the company's senior managers and all but 3 members of its board were men".

Dee Dee Myers gives some very interesting behind-the-scenes insights into the Clinton White House. She was the first female White House Press Secretary, but as she explains in this book, she fell into the typical trap for women trying to break the glass ceiling - she was given all of the work and responsibility, but little of the credit or pay that would go to a man in the same position.

It is a fact that women, whether by nature or nurture, think and see situations differently than men do. In this book Myers urges women to embrace their differences and argues that the different perspective will enhance society, as illustrated by quoting many studies and anecdotes from women in positions of power.

Some may view this book as man-bashing, but I do not. My only problem with the book was the endless repetition - Myers stated the same things over and over again, and it was very hard to find the energy to finish the last few chapters. However, if I had not, I would not have found out what she *really* thought about Hillary Clinton.

I will say at the outset, this book was required reading, and as such I was offended, but have grown to expect misandry on campuses being the perpetuated norm. Despite the overt misandry which I find wholly unacceptable, the book does address two areas that I think are valid. One, more equality in numbers between men and women in government, and two, that men and women do work at problem solving differently. I think she makes valid cases for this assertion. Ms. Meyers also spoke at our campus regarding the book and lamented the title and said she meant it tongue and cheek and blamed the publisher; that said, I would have expected her to apologize to the male students and not resort to some victimization at the hands of the publisher excuse, I hold her accountable. Plus I did not realize that she considered a sexist title humorous as in tongue and cheek, so that level of misandry is inexcusable to me. Also, another flaw in this book is that it overlooks, that most of the legislation and programs for the last 50 years have been directed for the benefit of women in education, health, reproduction and social services. So a question she did not address was would women in power be willing to address the inequalities in society that men face in the same manner that male legislators have done for women. Sadly, based on the anecdotal examples and interesting stories from her her book and her campus visit, I would say the answer is no. Lastly, I feel sorry for her son, what a role model as a mom, one that thinks a title disparaging men is tongue and cheek. Sorry Dee Dee, the writing is fine, and the memoirs aspect is decent, and yes you make some valid points, but sadly I cannot excuse the misandry and sexism- those are unforgiveable. I feel badly for your son.

I thought this kind of gender bashing went out in the late seventies. Dee Dee Myers views the world with one eye blind and thinks she sees the truth. If her premise were that half the decision makers in the world should be women who could disagree? But I read her premise to be that all of the decision makers should be women. Then we could all live together in harmony if the males did not mind being repressed. I wonder how consensus building would proceed when the next wave of Vandals swept down out of the north?

Wow. I don't feel so alone after reading this book.

So there ARE high ranking, public women willing to share their stories of success while simultaneously admitting to the humiliation and alienation the female gender can experience. Thank God, because in the trenches I often feel it's just me who has days of darkness as I struggle to pretend I don't know that many of the men I work with consider me a lesser being.

For those of us who has faced sexism in the work place, reading Ms. Myers account of her time in the White House as the first woman press secretary is quite instructive and nothing short of a huge relief. In fact, were it not that Ms. Myers is a very public figure dealing on a very public stage, I could be reading my own story.

Is there only one man in the world?

And speaking of One Man, there is one man in the White House I will never think the same of again. He now makes me so angry -probably because he so perfectly personifies that which all women face at some point in their careers- I will never think of him again without a level of disdain.

Myers doesn't simply talk about her time in the White House. She helps navigate the myriad of issues surrounding women the world over. And she affords a calmness and grace toward both genders that takes care not to alienate. I'm not sure I could have done the same.

The book's title is a bit misleading--Myers is not advocating that women rule instead of men. Myers advocates that women and men should share rule of the world. Her book is half a memoir of the challenges she faced as Clinton's press secretary, and half a survey of the literature showing that we should expect women in leadership positions to have different priorities, different ways of looking at the world, and different ways of leading than men. Her voice is fresh and articulate, and I recommend this book.

Given the highly interesting and history-making events that culminated on June 3, 2008 - this book could easily afford a few more chapters, not just about Hillary Clinton, but of the women she met (some of them who were born BEFORE women received the right to vote) and the women who supported her during her long and tenacious campaign for presidential nomination. Hillary's "loss" is still women's gain - and clearly needs to be chronicled for future generations.

When I first started reading this book, I thought I was reading yet another litany of "This is what was done to me because I am a woman" complaints. But No!! I was wrong -- Kudos to you, Dee Dee Myers!. As I read further, I happily realized that Ms. Myers has not only benefited from her mistakes and passes on what she has learned to her readers - but she also informs us of the subtle and not-so-subtle ways she and women in positions of power were and are still discriminated against nowadays, AND what these women have done about it.

She quotes individuals, such as Amartya Sen, on the benefits of empowering women (p 60, hardcover edition), talks about "building bridges" in Kenya (110) with women as the peace educators, Swanee Hunt (111) "....Women think long and hard before they send their children out to kill other peoples' children" Of note is the passage (113) about the women who participated, during the post-apartheid transition, in the South African Truth and Reconciliation Committee which "has become model for societies facing similar transitions"..

Networking among women of power, as described in Ms Myer's book-- in addition to being a great "buddy system" is definitely the way to benefit from mistakes, exchange ideas, gain knowledge and information. But what about women in lesser positions-- women (holding more than one job, in many cases, with a family to take care of as well) who have no career other than the "grunt" work they do for minimum or subsistence wages, or women who are unemployed / on welfare and are trying to put some direction in their lives but who do not have a network like these professional women do? Ms Myers needs to consider addressing this, because not only is it an epidemic of lack -- that needs to be healed - but these are the women who (and their daughters as well) could be future leaders, if given the recognition, the self-empowerment, and the opportunities for advancement.

Yes - women SHOULD create "their own story lines" (225) to "rewrite history". But how complete is their raw material???

If Ms Myers is familiar with this book: "If They Only Listened to Us - What Women Voters Want Politicians to Hear" she will note the huge communication gap that appears to exist throughout this country between women - from those who are on welfare, on up to those who have careers and political clout in their communities. The former group struggles to make their needs known to those in power - the latter do not. Would having women in top positions guarantee that the needs of every woman in this widely diverse group will be heard AND addressed? Look at Rita Levi Montalcini--an Italian Nobel Prize winner (science) who at the age of 94, (2001) was creating opportunities for women in poverty stricken lands to achieve their goals of education and careers in Science. Women in power should actively seek out and address the genuine needs of other women - in their country and others.

I do not agree with what I perceive to be Ms Myer's advice that women need to be Assertive rather than Aggressive. I make no excuses for my aggression. I believe that Aggression and Assertiveness in the same person (male OR female) DO mix, just as I believe that a timid or a quiet person's presentation of their opinion or advice is as valid as a forceful presentation. I'm also at odds with what she considers men's testosterone-fueled inclination to violence. It starts with the family--Raise both genders of kids to recognize empathy and compassion as two of the greatest powers in this world, teach them to reach out to others from an early age, and find out what they are doing in their spare time ("hacking into the NY Times"?? - re: Shirley Tilghman Page 165) - will help to build a decent kid, male or female, mold them to become the generation that will help heal the world.

Is Ms Myers acquainted with some of the lesser known, but equally notable women of the 19th century who lived as they wanted to, inspiring those around them with their valor and determination? Women like Nellie Cashman, who settled in the Wild West during the California Gold Rush -- owned saloons, hotels, restaurants, raised orphans, helped build her community and then left to mine diamonds in Africa, and then, in her 70's, to pan for gold in the Arctic Circle? Or how about "Albert Cashier" (Jennie Hodger) - a valorous Civil War Veteran (Union) who received a pension until the end of her life? Or Rosetta Wakeman, who also fought for the Union (as Private Lyons Wakeman). What about some of the women of Ancient Rome, Greece and Persia/India, who owned property and were part of the ruling class of that time? What about the lists and biographies of notable women since the beginning of recorded history - in bound books and on the Internet? Knowledge of this is empowering. And of course, there is Victoria Woodhull, stockbroker, suffragette, and founder of two newspapers, who ran for President (even though women could not vote at that time) in 1872. These women are role models as surely as their contemporaries are nowadays. But what if any of their history is taught regularly in schools today? What, if any of this, is known by the average woman / the schoolgirl / the female CEO or University president, the woman on welfare or the woman who holds a position of leadership? Will you, Ms Myers-- consider addressing this in your next book?