Pearls, Politics, and Power: How Women Can Win and Lead
With the 2008 election, we saw the first woman candidate who could win, but why did it take this long? Too few women have run for office in both the state and federal level. Madeleine M. Kunin, the first female governor of Vermont and the Deputy Secretary of Education and Ambassador to Switzerland under former President Bill Clinton, explains in her book why women don’t run, and how they can overcome that and win in Pearls, Politics, and Power
Kunin discusses her own campaign and election, as well as other U.S. female politicians, and shows how women from different backgrounds and political views can become effective leaders. And it’s not just running for office! Kunin inspires women to be part of other campaigns or to be part of grassroots organizations, as this is part of the political process.
A nice bonus in the book is the section of small biographies on women who increased the presence of women in the political sphere: Mary Wollstonecraft, Betty Friedan, Bella Abzug, Alice Paul, Gloria Steinem, Abigail Adams, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Simone de Beauvoir. At the end of the book, Kunin also includes a list of resources that are helping to get women into office.
If you have ever considered running for office, or engaging in politics at any level, this is a definite must read. Even if you haven’t, Kunin might just change your mind.