Women in Power: World Leaders since 1960

Women in Power profiles 22 women who have been world leaders since 1960. Biographies of these political leaders are embedded within regional analyses that reveal not only the personal circumstances that each woman faced in her quest for power but also the political milieu from which she emerged. We learn about the obstacles as well as the advantages these women faced, and we derive insights into the structures that exist in our own societies regarding the power relations between men and women. Women in Power also devotes a chapter to differing theories of women's leadership and various theories of feminism around the world. Finally, in an effort to understand how the United States can appear to be the bastion of women's liberation around the world and yet have only 15 percent representation of women in power and no female president to date, the authors explore prospects for the upcoming 2008 U.S. presidential election and discuss potential candidates.