Secrets of Powerful Women: Leading Change for a New Generation

by Andrea Wong and Rosario Dawson

"There is something special that happens when you get a group of powerful women in a room . . . and shut the door." -- Andrea Wong, President and CEO, Lifetime Networks "There's such a reservoir of power among us when we pool our resources and uplift each other. We are limitless in our power when we understand that . . . To read this book is to know that change is possible." -- Rosario Dawson, Activist and Co-Founder, Voto Latino In the summer of...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 140134111X
• ISBN13: 9781401341114
• Release Date: February 2010
• Publisher: Hachette Books
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.4" x 8.1"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

...inspirational, emotional, stirring!

Secrets of Powerful Women: Leading Change for a New Generation ...inspirational, emotional, stirring! Secrets of Powerful Women: Leading Change for a New Generation is a delightful little read, something you will certainly want to add to your bookshelf, or give as a gift. --Katharena Eiermann, 2010

Outstanding for all women, and maybe a few men too

This is a great book for anyone interested in SUCCESSFUL women. It was such a great, easy to read book that I ordered an extra copy to give to a friend's daughter who is graduating from college. This book is a collection of thoughts from many different SUCCESSFUL women -- advice from them to up and coming women on what can make them successful. It is simple, easy to read, and very insighful. I stress that this book is about SUCCESSFUL women, and successful from the standards that most of society uses to define success. They are successful politicians, businesswomen, media personalities, etc. This isn't a book about feminist literature, but a real-world book on what women had to do to either overcome being a female, or more accurately, work with the assests of being a female in order to succeed. Excerpt from the forward: "For any men who may pick up this tome, please know that our purpose is not to debate the effectiveness of male versus female leadership...to be for women is NOT to be against men." What a refreshing POV for a book like this! This is a book full of "advice" from successful women, not a book written by a womens' studies academic on the way things SHOULD be, or an utopian view of society. It is the real world. This book is insightful, positive, and authoritative. As a women with a few decades of professional career behind her, I found the book very interesting thinking, "Of course!!" quite often while I read it. Best of all, it does offer some good words of wisdom for the next generation of women. For the men out there -- there is some interesting biographical stories in there about successful people (they just happen to be women). Recommend to everyone, strongly recommend to young female graduates!

Your daily dose of girl power

"There is something special that happens when you get a group of powerful women in a room...and shut the door," writes Andrea Wong in her forward to Secrets of Powerful Women: Leading Change for a New Generation. In the summer 2008, 16 teenage girls were given exclusive access to dozens of the most politically powerful women in America, learning from these women's experiences and encouraged by their enlightening speeches. This conference inspired the creation of this book and the compilation of these speeches in essay format. "[We] realized that if we are ever going to crash through that ceiling altogether, it's not enough to let only a handful of women at a time in on the secrets," Wong writes, "We wanted to share them far and wide so that women and girls everywhere could benefit." This is one book I couldn't help but read with a pen in hand to underline the many inspiring quotes. Secrets of Powerful Women is full of good advice: standing up for yourself as a woman, dressing for success, getting ahead at work, beating the double standard, and more. Susan Bevan, Co-Chair of the Republican Majority for Choice, recommends, "Never compromise on your values. You must be willing to stand up for your beliefs, willing to lose a race or an election, in order to have credibility." Fran Drescher, actress and activist, advises women, "Don't try and emulate a man. Be a woman; it's your greatest strength." There are too many great quotes in this book to list them all, and you'll have to read each of them with their author's personal essay to get the full effect. This is an inspirational book for any girl graduating from high school or college, or just a great read for that extra dose of girl power that might be missing from your life. It took me a while to get through it, but it was definitely worth the effort. I found I could only read one story per day to digest fully the importance of each woman's tale. This well-marked and dog-eared collection of stories will be on my library shelf for a long time to come. by Jennifer Melville for Story Circle Book Reviews reviewing books by, for, and about women

Inspiring!

Secrets of Powerful Women is a collection of the personal stories of 22 successful female leaders in today's political landscape. These women are governors, senators, congresswomen, city council members, foundation directors, journalists, authors, legal advisors, activists, and political analysts -- and their stories will inspire and resonate deeply with readers. During both the Democratic and Republican conventions of 2008, an exclusive women's Future Frontrunners Summit was conducted for sixteen young essay winners. The Summit featured a panel of women leaders and was organized to "empower and inspire women and girls to make their voices heard in every hall of power." The panelists from the Summit are the same women who contributed to this book. Each chapter is an informal, conversational-type interview with a woman currently in a prominent political position. The women in these interviews come from all backgrounds and political parties, each with her own unique heritage and story; but the thread that unites them is a deep passion for social/civic improvement through leadership in politics. Some common themes that these women discuss are the inspirational figures from their childhood, how they first became involved with politics, struggles they have personally faced in their careers, what it means to lead as a woman, and advice they would give to young women. There are equal voices coming from the left and right sides of the political spectrum: six women are listed as Democrats, five are listed as Republicans, and the rest (as city council members, foundation leaders, etc.) are not listed as affiliated with any political party. Some of the interviewees include: - Carolyn Maloney, NYC City Council Member and author of Rumors of Our Progress Have Been Greatly Exaggerated - Martha Burk, social activist who led the 2003 fight against Augusta National Golf Club's men-only membership policy - Susan Bevan, Co-Chair of Republican Majority for Choice - Maria Teresa Petersen, founder and Executive Director of Voto Latino - Fran Drescher -- yes, that Fran Drescher! -- comedienne-turned-women's-health-advocate - Carol Jenkins, Emmy-winning newscaster and President of the Women's Media Center This book would make a great gift for the young women in your life, whether for birthdays, graduation, special milestones, or any/no occasion at all. Based on the advice given by the interviewees and the level of self-awareness the reader needs to have to get the most value out of this book, I would say that it's most appropriate for those aged 16-22. However, girls younger than that -- perhaps as young as 12 -- will certainly be able to read it, and those older than 22 will likely still find it an inspiring pick-me-up. Recommended!

Information you want your daughter to know

I loved this book. Every mother will want her daughter to read it! This book is a straightforward inspiring guide to finding power within and practical tips to realizing your dreams. A great gift for every graduate.