IWD 2019: Books By/About Women That Balanced Me for the Better

If you study the habits of leaders, whether male or female, I think you would find a key contributor to their success was the habit of READING and one that remains steadfast in their lives. The books they read challenged their thinking models, grew their curiosity, as well as their skill sets, and kept feeding their dreams.

As a kid, I could be found wandering the endless rows of our local library. It’s little wonder that when I graduated college, I ended up as a reading teacher in the South Bronx. I especially encouraged the girls (my ‘ladies’ as I called them) to find their destinies, futures, and possible selves on bookshelves rather than on the streets. Now, as a coach focused on advancing women in the workplace, I encourage my clients to do the same.

Today on International Women’s Day 2019, I'd like to share a few of the books about and by women (and men) that shaped my thinking. While the pages of some of these books have yellowed, the challenges described in them still exist. Here are the ones I selected:

The Natural Superiority of Women by Ashley Montagu (4th Edition 1977): This book reflects my undergrad ‘flirtation’ with anthropology and sociology. I was especially intrigued by how women have been historically positioned as second-class citizens in society despite time passing remain so. Originally published in 1952, as it says on the back cover, this book speaks to the ‘biological superiority of women’ not as an eye-catching blurb but as a biological fact. With chapters like “Who Said the Inferior Sex?” and “The Genius of Woman as the Genius of Humanity”, I now (re)read this classic through the eyes, heart and hard-won experiences of a someone who grew into womanhood during women’s liberation movement and who lives in a world still with a dearth of opportunities for women.

Eleanor Roosevelt, Volume 2: The Defining Years by Blanche Weisen Cooke (1999): Cooke is the biographer of this 20th century icon having written three fascinating volumes about ER, a visionary and woman way ahead of her time. An all-encompassing statement, underlined and highlighted by yours truly years ago, captures what has inspired me about this remarkable woman who changed the world: ‘ ER’s life was about controversy and compromise; power and action.’

 The Female Brain by Louann Brizendine, M.D.(2006): Referred to ‘[an emerging] classic in the field of gender studies’. As most of my speaking is offered to women in the workplace, I, as a neuroscientist wanna-be, thought I’d better learn as much as I could about the brain and, specifically, the female brain. This book serves as a reference and reads like a novel, walking the reader through phases of a female’s life, how hormones affect the female brain, from in utero to the mature, post-menopausal brain.

‘We Should All Be Feminists’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2012,2014): How I got this book was weird (cue the Twilight Zone theme!) Walking through a book store. I stopped at the store’s ‘You Should Read This’ table, picked this up, walked around with it but at the last moment I put it back. When I got home, there was a package from my best friend. In it was…you guessed it – this book. It’s a powerful read that drives home the pressing need to raise our sons (and grandsons) differently in order to pivot our society so we all can realize a #Balancedforthebetter world.

Year of Yes: Shonda Rimes (2015) So, why is this on my list? First, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Shonda Rimes and her shows. But the title inspired me to think strategically to what I say ‘Yes’ to and, maybe more important (given the demands made of me) when to say ‘No’.

How Women Decide by Therese Huston (2016): This is one of my ‘go-to’ references whenever preparing for one of my workshops for women. It’s well-researched, well-written and presents the hard evidence that shows women are outstanding decision makers – nothing wishy-washy about us.

I'm taking one to the beach with me this weekend - which would you take?

Happy #IWD2019.