The Difference "Difference" Makes: Women and Leadership

by Deborah L. Rhode

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780804746342
Publisher:	Stanford University Press
Publication date:	12/17/2002
Edition description:	1
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Deborah L. Rhode is the Ernest W. McFarland Professor of Law and Director of the Keck Center on Legal Ethics and the Legal Profession at Stanford Law School.

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	xi
	Contributors	xiii
	Foreword	xix
I	Introduction
1	The Difference "Difference" Makes	3
II	What Difference Does Difference Make?
2	You've Come a Long Way, Baby--and You've Got Miles to Go	53
3	What's the Difference? A Comment on Deborah Rhode's "The Difference 'Difference' Makes"	59
4	A Question About Women and the Leadership Option	66
5	Can They Do It? Can Law Firms, Corporate Counsel Departments, and Governmental Agencies Create a Level Playing Field for Women Attorneys?	76
III	When Does Difference Make a Difference?
6	Women's Leadership: Perspectives from a Recovering Politician	85
7	Making the Case: Women in Law	90
8	Where Have All the Sisters Gone?	98
9	Multicultural Women and Leadership Opportunities: Meeting the Challenges of Diversity in the American Legal Profession	102
10	Elected to Lead: A Challenge to Women in Public Office	109
11	Different Rulers--Different Rules	121
IV	Changing the Context and Changing the Cast: Breaking the Barriers to Gender Equality
12	Using Difference to Make a Difference	129
13	Are We Preparing Ourselves to Lead?	144
14	Breaking the Barriers to Equality	168
15	Did I Forget to Tell You I'm in Control?	172
16	Some Thoughts on Dealing with Cultural Bias Against Women	176
V	What about Men?
17	Strategies for Developing White Men as Change Agents for Women Leaders	181
18	What Men Can Give to Women's Quest for Leadership	185
VI	Meeting the Challenges
19	Progress Versus Equality: Are We There Yet?	193
20	Women, Meeting (Again), in and Beyond the United States	203
	Selected Bibliography	217
	Index	225

What People are Saying About This

Marie C. Wilson

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.
—President, The White House Project

Editorial Reviews

"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."

Sociology City University of New York - Cynthia Fuchs Epstein

"Extremely timely and useful, it contributes importantly to the problem of women and leadership in an original and stimulating way."

Berkeley - Herma Hill Kay

"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

"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

From the Publisher

"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."

New York University - Catharine R. Stimpson

"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