Who Said It Would Be Easy?: One Woman's Life in the Political Arena

Who Said It Would Be Easy?: One Woman's Life in the Political Arena
Author: Elizabeth Holtzman
Publisher: Skyhorse
Total Pages: 302
Release: 2012-01-31
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1611459966

A tour through America's changing political climate is seen through the career of former U.S. congresswoman Elizabeth Holtzman, the youngest woman ever to be elected to Congress, and shares her personal experiences and theories about modern government. Skyhorse Publishing, along with our Arcade, Good Books, Sports Publishing, and Yucca imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs. Our list includes biographies on well-known historical figures like Benjamin Franklin, Nelson Mandela, and Alexander Graham Bell, as well as villains from history, such as Heinrich Himmler, John Wayne Gacy, and O. J. Simpson. We have also published survivor stories of World War II, memoirs about overcoming adversity, first-hand tales of adventure, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

One Woman's Political Journey

One Woman's Political Journey
Author: Lynn Musslewhite
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
Total Pages: 268
Release: 2003
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780806135632

Born in Nebraska in 1875, Kate Barnard spent most of her childhood in Kansas, where family dislocation and financial failure darkened her early life. After Barnard and her father moved to Oklahoma Territory in the 1890s, Kate had unsatisfying stints as a schoolteacher and a stenographer before she discovered her life work in politics and social reform. One Woman’s Political Journey: Kate Barnard and Social Reform, 1875—1930 details the life’s work—including the political successes and failures—of a complex and courageous woman who appreciated that she was on the cutting edge of new and novel opportunities for women. Crusading for the disadvantaged, Barnard became a spokeswoman for child labor laws, a compulsory school attendance law, a juvenile justice system, and a modern penal structure. In 1907, at age thirty-two, she became the first woman in the nation elected to a state post—Commissioner of Charities and Corrections, a post created specifically for her by Oklahoma’s constitutional convention. Her dramatic rhetoric and favorable publicity attracted national attention and the admiration of Oklahomans. Convinced that women could effect positive change, she encouraged them to move into the public arena and embrace social justice reform. She also formed a coalition of farmers and laborers that led to the creation of Oklahoma’s Democratic Party. In her first term, Barnard persuaded Oklahoma’s all-male legislature to pass reforms announcing state responsibility for the welfare of children and forced changes in the state’s humanitarian institutions. In her second term, she sought protection for property rights of American Indian children. But Barnard’s career was not without obstacles. Her lack of control over budgets and personnel, along with her frequent clashing with male politicians limited her effectiveness and fueled her growing discouragement with politics. Named by Oklahoma Today as one of the fifty most influential Oklahomans in the past one hundred years, Kate Barnard is finally the deserved focus of a full-length scholarly biography.

Use the Power You Have

Use the Power You Have
Author: Pramila Jayapal
Publisher: The New Press
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2020-07-14
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1620971453

Washington's progressive champion explains how we can achieve a truly inclusive America that works for all of us In November 2016, Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, the first Indian American woman to serve in that role. Two years later, the "fast-rising Democratic star and determined critic of President Donald Trump," according to Politico's Playbook 2017 "Power List," won reelection with more votes than any other member of the House. Jayapal, co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, proved her progressive bonafides when she introduced the most comprehensive Medicare-for-all bill to Congress in February. Behind the story of Jayapal's rise to political prominence lie over two decades of devoted advocacy on behalf of immigrants and progressive causes—and years of learning how to turn activism into public policy that serves all Americans. Use the Power You Have is Jayapal's account of the path from sixteen-year-old Indian immigrant to grassroots activist, state senator, and now progressive powerhouse in Washington, DC. Written with passion and insight, Use the Power You Have offers a wealth of ideas and inspiration for a new generation of engaged citizens interested in fighting back and making change, whether in Washington or in their own communities.

I'm Not who You Think I Am

I'm Not who You Think I Am
Author: Maeley Tom
Publisher:
Total Pages: 229
Release: 2020
Genre: Asian American women
ISBN:

"This book is both a memoir and a political history. It is the personal story of an Asian American woman’s journey from political neophyte to seasoned insider, the first to reach the top of an all-male, nearly all-white power elite in the California capitol. And it is the story of a political movement’s coming of age, founded in California, but leading all the way to Washington, D.C. and beyond." -- Amazon.com.

Women and Leadership

Women and Leadership
Author: Julia Gillard
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2022-02-15
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0262543826

A powerful call-to-action for gender equity that offers 10 key lessons for women aspiring to a leadership role—be it in politics, business, law, or their local community. Featuring words of wisdom from female leaders like Hillary Clinton and Theresa May, this empowering study reads like a You Are a Badass volume on world leadership. Women make up fewer than 10% of national leaders worldwide. 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.

Vital Voices

Vital Voices
Author: Alyse Nelson
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 307
Release: 2012-06-05
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1118184777

How women around the world are leading powerful change Women's progress is global progress. Where there is an increase in women's university enrollment rates, women's earnings, and maternal health, and a reduction in violence against women, we see more prosperous communities, better educated, healthier families, and the preservation of equal human rights. Yet globally, women remain the most consistently under-utilized resource. Vital Voices calls for and makes possible transformative leadership around the world. In Vital Voices, CEO Alyse Nelson shares the stories of remarkable, world-changing women, as well as the story of how Vital Voices was founded, crossing lines that typically divide. For 15 years, Vital Voices has brought together women who want to enable others to become change agents in their governments, advocates for social justice, and supporters of democracy. They equip women with management and business development skills to expand their enterprises and create jobs in their communities. Their voices, stories, and hard-earned lessons—shared here for the first time—are deeply authentic and truly vital. Features interviews and first-person accounts of global leaders, such as Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, president of Liberia, and Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Prize-winning Burmese pro-democracy leader, as well as business leaders Draws on the work of the Vital Voices, the organization founded by Hillary Clinton in 1997 as a government initiative that transformed into a leading non-profit, which enables a network of 10,000 emerging women leaders in politics, human rights, and economic development in 127 countries. These women have gone on to mentor and train more than 500,000 Focuses on the key elements of the Vital Voices five-step model of transformational leadership, including how to find a voice, lead with purpose, cross lines that divide, and more Through the firsthand accounts of trail-blazing leaders, Vital Voices introduces unforgettable, inspiring women who are shaping our world.

My Remarkable Journey

My Remarkable Journey
Author: Katherine Johnson
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 255
Release: 2021-05-25
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0062897691

The remarkable woman at heart of the smash New York Times bestseller and Oscar-winning film Hidden Figures tells the full story of her life, including what it took to work at NASA, help land the first man on the moon, and live through a century of turmoil and change. In 2015, at the age of 97, Katherine Johnson became a global celebrity. President Barack Obama awarded her the prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom—the nation’s highest civilian honor—for her pioneering work as a mathematician on NASA’s first flights into space. Her contributions to America’s space program were celebrated in a blockbuster and Academy-award nominated movie. In this memoir, Katherine shares her personal journey from child prodigy in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia to NASA human computer. In her life after retirement, she served as a beacon of light for her family and community alike. Her story is centered around the basic tenets of her life—no one is better than you, education is paramount, and asking questions can break barriers. The memoir captures the many facets of this unique woman: the curious “daddy’s girl,” pioneering professional, and sage elder. This multidimensional portrait is also the record of a century of racial history that reveals the influential role educators at segregated schools and Historically Black Colleges and Universities played in nurturing the dreams of trailblazers like Katherine. The author pays homage to her mentor—the African American professor who inspired her to become a research mathematician despite having his own dream crushed by racism. Infused with the uplifting wisdom of a woman who handled great fame with genuine humility and great tragedy with enduring hope, My Remarkable Journey ultimately brings into focus a determined woman who navigated tough racial terrain with soft-spoken grace—and the unrelenting grit required to make history and inspire future generations.

Revolutionary Backlash

Revolutionary Backlash
Author: Rosemarie Zagarri
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2011-06-03
Genre: History
ISBN: 0812205553

The Seneca Falls Convention is typically seen as the beginning of the first women's rights movement in the United States. Revolutionary Backlash argues otherwise. According to Rosemarie Zagarri, the debate over women's rights began not in the decades prior to 1848 but during the American Revolution itself. Integrating the approaches of women's historians and political historians, this book explores changes in women's status that occurred from the time of the American Revolution until the election of Andrew Jackson. Although the period after the Revolution produced no collective movement for women's rights, women built on precedents established during the Revolution and gained an informal foothold in party politics and male electoral activities. Federalists and Jeffersonians vied for women's allegiance and sought their support in times of national crisis. Women, in turn, attended rallies, organized political activities, and voiced their opinions on the issues of the day. After the publication of Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, a widespread debate about the nature of women's rights ensued. The state of New Jersey attempted a bold experiment: for a brief time, women there voted on the same terms as men. Yet as Rosemarie Zagarri argues in Revolutionary Backlash, this opening for women soon closed. By 1828, women's politicization was seen more as a liability than as a strength, contributing to a divisive political climate that repeatedly brought the country to the brink of civil war. The increasing sophistication of party organizations and triumph of universal suffrage for white males marginalized those who could not vote, especially women. Yet all was not lost. Women had already begun to participate in charitable movements, benevolent societies, and social reform organizations. Through these organizations, women found another way to practice politics.

Career and Family

Career and Family
Author: Claudia Goldin
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 344
Release: 2023-05-09
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0691228663

In this book, the author builds on decades of complex research to examine the gender pay gap and the unequal distribution of labor between couples in the home. The author argues that although public and private discourse has brought these concerns to light, the actions taken - such as a single company slapped on the wrist or a few progressive leaders going on paternity leave - are the economic equivalent of tossing a band-aid to someone with cancer. These solutions, the author writes, treat the symptoms and not the disease of gender inequality in the workplace and economy. Here, the author points to data that reveals how the pay gap widens further down the line in women's careers, about 10 to 15 years out, as opposed to those beginning careers after college. She examines five distinct groups of women over the course of the twentieth century: cohorts of women who differ in terms of career, job, marriage, and children, in approximated years of graduation - 1900s, 1920s, 1950s, 1970s, and 1990s - based on various demographic, labor force, and occupational outcomes. The book argues that our entire economy is trapped in an old way of doing business; work structures have not adapted as more women enter the workforce. Gender equality in pay and equity in home and childcare labor are flip sides of the same issue, and the author frames both in the context of a serious empirical exploration that has not yet been put in a long-run historical context. This book offers a deep look into census data, rich information about individual college graduates over their lifetimes, and various records and sources of material to offer a new model to restructure the home and school systems that contribute to the gender pay gap and the quest for both family and career. --

For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Politics

For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Politics
Author: Donna Brazile
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2018-10-02
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1250137721

“For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Politics. It’s a wonderful, necessary book.” – Hillary Clinton The four most powerful African American women in politics share the story of their friendship and how it has changed politics in America. The lives of black women in American politics are remarkably absent from the shelves of bookstores and libraries. For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Politics is a sweeping view of American history from the vantage points of four women who have lived and worked behind the scenes in politics for over thirty years—Donna Brazile, Yolanda Caraway, Leah Daughtry, and Minyon Moore—a group of women who call themselves The Colored Girls. Like many people who have spent their careers in public service, they view their lives in four-year waves where presidential campaigns and elections have been common threads. For most of the Colored Girls, their story starts with Jesse Jackson’s first campaign for president. From there, they went on to work on the presidential campaigns of Walter Mondale, Michael Dukakis, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton. Over the years, they’ve filled many roles: in the corporate world, on campaigns, in unions, in churches, in their own businesses and in the White House. Through all of this, they’ve worked with those who have shaped our country’s history—US Presidents such as Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, well-known political figures such as Terry McAuliffe and Howard Dean, and legendary activists and historical figures such as Jesse Jackson, Coretta Scott King, and Betty Shabazz. For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Politics is filled with personal stories that bring to life heroic figures we all know and introduce us to some of those who’ve worked behind the scenes but are still hidden. Whatever their perch, the Colored Girls are always focused on the larger goal of “hurrying history” so that every American — regardless of race, gender or religious background — can have a seat at the table. This is their story.