Friday 8 March is International Women’s Day.  For 2024 the theme is ‘Inspire Inclusion’.

As the IWD website says: 

“When we inspire others to understand and value women’s inclusion, we forge a better world.
And when women themselves are inspired to be included, there’s a sense of belonging, relevance, and empowerment.”

We’ve collated a list of recent additions to the WCL collection on inspirational and influential women in leadership and business around the world.

Inspirational women in business : uplifting and motivational stories from extraordinary women / Evans, Dawn
“Inspirational Women in Business is second in the series of empowering and inspirational books that was born out of Dawn Evans and Tracey Smolinski wanting to inspire, uplift and support women around the world during the pandemic and beyond. When you start reading through the chapters that all the fabulous co-authors have written, it will become clear that if ever you feel that you want to give up, your self-belief and determination can make anything possible. By having a ‘get up and go’ attitude, you can achieve anything. Life is a challenge: you need to grab it with both hands, with pure grit and determination, and you will see what can be achieved when you put your mind to it.” (Catalogue)

Leading women : 20 influential women share their secrets to leadership, business, and life / O’Reilly, Nancy D.
“Stop waiting around for the career-and life-that you deserve and start taking the reins! Leading Women shows you how to claim power and respect, conquer your internal barriers, and change the world by helping other women do the same.”  (Catalogue)

 

Real women, real leaders : surviving and succeeding in the business world
“Plan your path to leadership with insight from real women at the top. In Real Women, Real Leadership, twenty-four women leaders describe their personal journeys to the top, providing deep insight and a fascinating perspective on “making it” as a woman in the male-dominated business environment. They discuss their experiences and offer guidance on topics such as balancing family and career, building alliances, mentoring and being mentored, and overcoming obstacles in the business world which is still dominated by men in the senior levels of management. Drawn from a range of industries including higher education, technology, law, the military, politics, the media, and more, these stories provide the details that every ambitious woman needs to know. You’ll learn which skills, attributes, and relationships served these women best, how they overcame the obstacles thrown into their paths, and the people they credit as instrumental along the way.”– Provided by publisher.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

The courage to advance : real life resilience from the world’s most successful women in business / Hagemann, Bonnie
“A powerful collection of 36 stories about how the world’s most successful women have overcome some of life’s biggest challenges to reach the top of their professions. This is a book written for every current and aspiring leader, revealing the things that leaders rarely talk about; the behind the scenes struggles. The women in these stories are powerful, internationally diverse and have impressive leadership accomplishments… After reading this book you will be inspired to lead and make a difference for others whether it’s running a company or leading a division, team, project, community event or your family and home. You will discover that you already have all you need to succeed when it gets hard, to never give up, and how to keep going through life’s difficult and sometimes terrible challenges…”–books.google.com.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Women and leadership : real lives, real lessons / Gillard, Julia
“An inspirational and practical book written by two high-achieving women, sharing the experience and advice of some of our most extraordinary women leaders, in their own words. From their broad experience on the world stage in politics, economics and global not-for-profits, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Julia Gillard have some strong ideas about the impact of gender on the treatment of leaders. Women and Leadership takes a consistent and comprehensive approach to teasing out what is different for women leaders.  Women and Leadership presents a lively analysis of the influence of gender on women’s access to positions of leadership, the perceptions of them as leaders, the trajectory of their leadership and the circumstances in which it comes to an end, featuring Jacinda Ardern, Hillary Clinton, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Theresa May, Michelle Bachelet, Joyce Banda, Erna Solberg, Christine Lagarde and more.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

What I told my daughter : lessons from leaders on raising the next generation of empowered women
“A “diverse group of women–from Madeleine Albright To Ruth Bader Ginsburg, from Dr. Susan Love to Whoopi Goldberg and more…reflect on the best advice and counsel they have given their daughters either by example, throughout their lives, or in character-building, teachable moments between parent and child.”–Book jacket.” (Catalogue)

 

This is how we rise : reach your highest potential, empower women, lead change in the world / Chan, Claudia
“We live in a time of unprecedented opportunity for women. Yet despite centuries of progress, true equality remains out of reach. What will it take to bring us to a tipping point? To leadership expert and social entrepreneur Claudia Chan, the key is shifting to a “me for we” mindset, where individuals root their effort in a mission far bigger than personal success, and getting everyone–women and men–to work together for social change. By lifting others, we not only make the world better, but we can also discover our greatest meaning and achieve lasting fulfillment. In This Is How We Rise, Claudia encourages readers to join a new breed of leaders and become change makers for gender equality. Distilling wisdom and insights from her own personal and professional journey, she shares key lessons learned and offers a toolbox of thirteen foundational habits…” (adapted from Catalogue)

Women kind : unlocking the power of women supporting women / Ferguson, Kirstin
“Women are rallying together in a massive and unstoppable force to make their voices heard around the world in ways we have never seen before. When Dr Kirstin Ferguson, an Australian company director, decided she was fed up with the vicious online abuse of women, she turned the tables and used social media to create the #CelebratingWomen campaign, profiling two women from anywhere in the world and every walk of life, every day for a year. The response was overwhelming. In Women Kind, Ferguson joins Walkley award-winning journalist and leading commentator on women in the workplace, Catherine Fox, to examine how women’s shared clout is transforming communities, workplaces and leadership… Ferguson and Fox urge us to get on board and forget the old saying that when a woman climbs the corporate ladder, she needs to send it back down to help one other woman. What’s needed is a fishing net to bring up many women together, all supporting each other.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Me and my mentor : how mentoring supercharged the careers of 11 extraordinary women / Breekveldt, Norah
“How important is mentoring in accelerating my career success and helping me realise my potential? Why are men more likely to have mentors than women? How do I proactively pursue a mentoring relationship? What is more effective — formal mentoring programs or informal mentoring relationships? Me and My Mentor explores these and other questions mentors and mentees face in their working life. Eleven mentor and mentee couples talk openly about their experiences, the professional and personal friendships that evolved, the challenges they worked through, the career and learning opportunities that opened up for them and the mutual benefits they received from the relationship… If you’ve ever been curious about how mentoring can advance your career, or how you can apply mentoring to achieve true diversity in your workplace, then Me and My Mentor is a must read!” (Adapted from Catalogue)

The Leadership Compass: The ultimate guide for women leaders to reach their full potential / Redfern, Michelle
“Diversity, equity and inclusion leader Michelle Redfern believes closing the gender leadership gap isn’t about fixing women. It’s about providing them with a human compass to navigate their way to leadership success. Rather than change their behaviour, they need to learn the skills and gain the confidence required to reach their potential.” (Catalogue)

The gender bias : the barriers that hold women back, and how to break them / Cohen-Hatton, Sabrina
“Two people do the same job and are both firefighters. When one is asked what they do for a living, their response is met with: ‘That’s amazing, you are so brave!’, while the other is asked: ‘Isn’t that dangerous? Aren’t you scared? What about your kids?’ Can you guess the difference between the two? These comments are the reality for Dr Sabrina Cohen-Hatton and many other women at work and in life. Gender biases stop women from succeeding – but why are certain qualities associated with success viewed less favourably for women? After leaving home at 15, going through extreme personal adversity and a period of homelessness, Sabrina gained first-hand experience of the hurdles women face to become successful. In The Gender Bias, she explores the everyday prejudices women experience through the prism of success. From leadership, to risk-taking, perception and failure, Sabrina exposes the invisible barriers that are holding women back. Through an analysis of studies and data, Sabrina unpicks why women are judged differently, examines why that matters and offers practical solutions on how we can tackle our biases and overcome sustained systems”–Publisher’s description.” (Catalogue)

Glass half-broken : shattering the barriers that still hold women back at work / Ammerman, Colleen
“Why the gender gap persists and how we can close it. Women have made up roughly half of the college-educated workforce for years, and before the onset of the economic crisis of 2020, the gap between the percentage of women and the percentage of men in the labor force was the lowest on record. But women remain underrepresented in positions of power and status. The gender pay gap, for example, shows little movement, largely because high-paying jobs are the most gender-imbalanced. Even in areas where there are roughly equal numbers of men and women, or where women actually make up the majority, leadership ranks remain male-dominated. The endurance of these inequalities begs the question: Why haven’t we made more progress? A 2020 analysis by a team of sociologists affirms that progress, as measured by rates of women’s employment, earnings, and the types of fields and jobs they work in, has either stalled completely or slowed. With fifty years of sweeping reforms in educational and corporate policy, it’s tempting to think that any remaining gender imbalances reflect differences in individual merit or behavior, not organizational barriers. Much of the popular media supports this idea, with countless books and articles offering advice on what women should do to overcome challenges: lean in, speak up, do power poses, stop apologizing, and delegate more. Ammerman and Groysberg focus instead on the pervasive organizational obstacles and managerial actions that create gender imbalance. Bringing to light the key findings from the latest research in psychology, sociology, and economics, Glass Half-Broken shows that along their entire career path-from entry- to mid- to senior-level positions-women get pushed out of the leadership pipeline and, at each point, for different reasons. Presenting institutional and managerial strategies designed to overcome and mitigate these barriers at each step in the career path, Glass Half-Broken is the authoritative resource that managers and leaders at all levels can use to finally shatter the glass ceiling”– Provided by publisher.” (Catalogue)

What she said : the art of inspiring action through speech / Lunin, Monica
“Learn how spoken words can change a mind, a community and the world with this collection of remarkable speeches by women. What She Said is an inspiring collection of speeches from passionate and persuasive women from around the world and throughout history. The included speakers come from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, ages, and education levels, demonstrating how women from all walks of life can use the power of speech to bring change. Author Monica Lunin has curated and analysed 40 of the greatest speeches made by strong and empowering women from all around the world. — Provided by publisher.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Not now, not ever : ten years on from the misogyny speech
“On 9 October 2012, Prime Minister Julia Gillard stood up and proceeded to make all present in Parliament House that day pay attention – and left many of them squirming in their seats. The incisive ‘misogyny speech’, as her words came to be known, challenged not only Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott, on his words and actions but, over time, all of us. How had we come to condone the public and private behaviours of some very public men? With contributions from Mary Beard, Jess Hill, Jennifer Palmieri, Katharine Murphy and members of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, Julia Gillard explores the history and culture of misogyny, tools in the patriarchy’s toolbox, intersectionality, and gender and misogyny in the media and politics… (Adapted from Catalogue)
Also available in the following formats: EAudiobook Libby and  EBook Libby

 

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