This is the story of how and why women's full participation in leadership matters is still seemingly a well-kept secret. To have the future we all want, women must play a more robust role in setting priorities and allocating resources. Women Lead the Way presents argument, research, and tactical guidance to help readers wedge the door open and bring more women through and up. The evidence from around the world validates the findings of the United Nations General Assembly in 1995, which set a baseline of at least 30 per cent women at the table as a prerequisite for genuine partnership and lasting, positive change in the international arena. We see the same phenomena in the business world. More women as corporate officers and members of boards of directors results in stronger financial performance. At 30 per cent representation, we see concrete, positive outcomes for everyone not just women including increased shareholder value, more flexible management approaches, a broader definition of success, and better bottom lines. More women at the table means more progress for all of us. This book helps readers get started on a win-win women-led strategy to bring about the leadership balance we all need. You will learn how to do away with cultural baggage that boxes us in, gain a clear understanding of how and why Women Lead the Way, and receive practical, road-tested tactics to help you and other women step up and into leadership.
Linda Tarr-Whelan is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Demos and leader of the Women's Leadership Initiative (www.demos.org/wli). Her new book is informed by her varied career as a nurse, management consultant, advocate, non-profit leader, communicator, union negotiator and government official at the state, national and international levels. Follow her via her website www.lindatarrwhelan.com or her Twitter, @womenleadtheway.
Tarr-Whelan served as Ambassador to the UN Commission on the Status of Women in the Clinton Administration and as Deputy Assistant for Women's Concerns to President Jimmy Carter in the Carter White House. She was the first nurse appointed to these positions. Ladies Home Journal named her as one of the 50 most powerful women in Washington. She also serves as Chair of the National Advisory Council for the Pax World Resources Women's Equity Fund.
Her policy experience has also included a sub-cabinet appointment in New York State government, director of policy for a large public sector union and chief lobbyist for the National Education Association. As CEO of the Center for Policy Alternatives, the leading progressive policy and leadership center for the 50 states, she focused on women and the economy. She and her husband created a successful international management consultancy that worked with leaders of foundations, non-profits and international organizations.
Linda began her career as a nurse and holds a BSN from Johns Hopkins, an MS from the University of Maryland, and honorary PhDs from Chatham University in Pittsburgh and Plymouth State University in New Hampshire. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. Linda and Keith, who have two adult children and three grandchildren, live on St. Helena Island, SC.
