Julia Gillard was the 27th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 2010 to 2013. She currently serves as the Chair of Beyond Blue, one of Australia’s leading mental health awareness bodies; is Chair of the global funding body for education in developing countries, the Global Partnership for Education; and is the inaugural Chair of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at Kings College London, which through research, practice and advocacy, is addressing women’s under-representation in leadership.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was Nigeria’s Minister of Finance from 2003 to 2006 and from 2011 to 2015, and Foreign Minister in 2006. She was Managing Director of the World Bank from 2007 to 2011, overseeing South Asia, Europe, Central Asia, and Africa, and is currently Board Chair of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and Chair of the African Risk Capacity (ARC). She is the author of Reforming the Unreformable and Fighting Corruption Is Dangerous (both published by the MIT Press).
About Women and Leadership: Real Lives, Real Lessons
A powerful call to action for achieving equality in leadership.
Women make up fewer than ten per cent of national leaders worldwide, and behind this eye-opening statistic lies a pattern of unequal access to power. Through conversations with some of the world’s most powerful and interesting women–including Jacinda Ardern, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Christine Lagarde, Michelle Bachelet, and Theresa May–Women and Leadership explores gender bias and asks why there aren’t more women in leadership roles.
Speaking honestly and freely, these women talk about having their ideas stolen by male colleagues, what it’s like to be called fat or a slut in the media, and what things they wish they had done differently. The stories they tell reveal vividly how gender and sexism affect perceptions of women as leaders. Using current research as a starting point, Julia Gillard and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala—both political leaders in their own countries—analyze the lived experiences of these women leaders. The result is a rare insight into life as a leader and a powerful call to arms for women everywhere.
