This article was downloaded by: [The Aga Khan University]On: 07 December 2014, At: 21:57Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House,37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

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Where Have All the Women Gone?Devi Akella aa College of Business, Albany State University , Albany , Georgia , USAPublished online: 01 Jul 2013.

To cite this article: Devi Akella (2013) Where Have All the Women Gone?, Organization Management Journal, 10:2, 148-148,DOI: 10.1080/15416518.2013.801749

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Organization Management Journal, 10: 148, 2013Copyright © Eastern Academy of ManagementISSN: 1541-6518 onlineDOI: 10.1080/15416518.2013.801749

REVIEWS & RESEARCH OF NOTE

Where Have All the Women Gone?

Devi Akella1

Co-Editor1College of Business, Albany State University, Albany, Georgia, USA

That question forms the focus of the book reviewed next inthis issue. The United States, the world leader in equal opportu-nity and equality, displays an alarming dearth of women leadersin varied fields of politics, law, academics, and religion—“theallocation of power remains stunningly lopsided!” (Bennetts,2012). The contemporary United States ranks 71st in femalelegislative representatives, behind Bangladesh, Sudan, andUnited Arab Emirates (Bennetts, 2012).

Seventeen percent of U.S. senators are women and only16.8% hold sway in the House of Representatives. Three outof nine Supreme Court justices are women and out of 50 gov-ernors, six are women. In state legislatures only 23.6% of theelected representatives are female, with 9% of mayors beingwomen. In management, women account for only one-thirdof MBA classes, 2% of Fortune 500 chief executive officers(CEOs), and 16% of board directors and corporate officers(Bennetts, 2012). Where are the women? Where have thewomen disappeared? How are we to reduce this gap?

Kathy Cloninger answers in a crisp fashion—“the best wayto solve America’s leadership crisis is to put more women in topleadership roles. And the best way to grow tomorrow’s womenleaders is to grow strong girl leaders today.” Cloninger sup-ports her view convincingly by citing that 80% of Americanwomen business executives and entrepreneurs were former GirlScouts. Tough Cookies: Leadership Lessons From 100 Years of

Address correspondence to Devi Akella, College of Business,Albany State University, 504 College Drive, Albany, GA 31705, USA.E-mail: devi.akella@asurams.edu

Girl Scouts by Kathy Cloninger with Fiona Soltes is a bookthat explains and scrutinizes this perspective in a nutshell. Theauthor traces the legacy of transforming girls and young womeninto ethical and confident leaders. The book draws upon per-sonal experience and extensive research to offer a road mapto develop women leaders. Tough Cookies outlines the rise ofGirl Scouts; it uses various Girl Scouting examples to offerlessons that can be effectively applied to any corporation orbusiness.

In her concise and sharp review, Claudia Harris lauds theapproach of the author. She summarizes the rich content ofthis short book in 10 brief paragraphs. Her review succeedsadmirably in capturing the basic essence of each chapter,allowing the reader to gauge the overall usefulness of the book.She also pinpoints the areas where the book might effectivelycontribute when teaching management, leadership, problemsolving, performance management, and organizational transfor-mation. Harris describes the book as a fast read that wouldcertainly supplement an academic library, adding to its depth,variety, and novelty.

REFERENCEBennetts, L. (2012, March 5). Women and the leadership gap. The Daily Beast,

in Newsweek. Retrieved from http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/03/04/the-stubborn-gender-gap.html

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