Junctures in Women's Leadership: Business
Edited by Lisa Hetfield and Dana M. Britton
Rutgers University Press
How have women managed to break through the glass ceiling of the business world, and what management techniques do they employ once they ascend to the upper echelons of power? What difficult situations have these female business leaders faced, and what strategies have they used to resolve those challenges?
Junctures in Women’s Leadership: Business answers these questions by highlighting the professional accomplishments of twelve remarkable women and examining how they responded to critical leadership challenges. Some of the figures profiled in the book are household names, including lifestyle maven Martha Stewart, influential chef Alice Waters, and trailblazing African-American entrepreneur Madame C.J. Walker. Others have spent less time in the public eye, such as Johnson & Johnson executive JoAnn Heffernan Heisen, Verizon Senior Vice President Diane McCarthy, Wells Fargo technology leader Avid Modjtabai, Xerox CEO Ursula Burns, Spanx founder Sara Blakely, inventor Jane ni Dhulchaointigh, engineering firm President Roseline Marston, Calvert Investments President and CEO Barbara Krumsiek, and Merrill Lynch executive Subha Barry. These women, from diverse backgrounds, have played important roles in their respective corporations and many have worked to improve the climate for women in male-dominated industries.
This is a book about women who are leading change in business. Their stories illuminate the ways women are using their power and positions—whether from the middle ranks or the top, whether from within companies or by creating their own companies. Each case study in Junctures in Women’s Leadership: Business includes a compelling and instructive story of how a woman business leader handled a critical juncture or crisis in her career. Not only does the book offer an inspiring composite portrait of women succeeding in the business world, it also provides leadership lessons that will benefit readers regardless of gender.
This unique and bold publication is an extremely useful book for teaching, provoking self-reflection and analysis of the choices made by women in business.
LISA HETFIELD is an associate director and director of development for the Institute for Women’s Leadership at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. She is a co-founder of several leadership programs, including the Rutgers Executive Leadership Program for Professional Women.
DANA M. BRITTON is a professor of labor studies and director of the Center for Women and Work at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. She is the author of At Work in the Iron Cage and The Gender of Crime, and is editor emerita of the journal Gender & Society.
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
JoAnn Heffernan Heisen: Enabling Women’s Leadership at Johnson & Johnson
Grace Howard and Dana M. Britton
Sara Blakely: Reinventing Women’s Shapewear with Spanx
Amanda Roberti and Lisa Hetfield
Madam C. J. Walker: Leadership Grounded in Social and Racial Uplift
Rosemary Ndubuizu and Lisa Hetfield
Diane McCarthy: Responding to Crisis through Connected Leadership at Verizon
Kathleen E. McCollough and Lisa Hetfield
Jane Ni Dhulchaointigh: Changing the World through Participatory Design
Laura Lovin and Dana M. Britton
Ursula Burns: Restructuring an American Icon at Xerox
Rosemary Ndubuizu and Dana M. Britton
Alice Waters: Transforming American Food
Stina Soderling and Lisa Hetfield
Avid Modjtabai: Leading Change at Wells Fargo
Amanda Roberti and Dana M. Britton
Martha Stewart: The Rise, Fall, and Comeback of a Brand
Carolina Alonso Bejarano and Lisa Hetfield
Barbara Krumsiek: Putting Social Responsibility on the Investment Agenda
Crystal Bedley and Lisa Hetfield
Roseline Marston: Navigating Transition in an Employee-Owned Firm at A. D. Marble & Company
Carolina Alonso Bejarano and Dana M. Britton
Subha Barry: Changing the Cultural DNA at Merrill Lynch
Grace Howard and Dana M. Britton
Contributors