When Women Lead: or Some of the Myriad Reasons why Many Women in Leadership = A Better World

The world - our world - this world that is inhabited by women as well as men, is desperately in need of having some good things happen.

So, it is necessary that women step up boldly, confidently and unapologetically, and that women be supported in this, by men and by other women.

The evidence is clear that women make very good leaders, Furthermore, women have a right to aspire and ascend to any positions of leadership they desire. For the good of us all, "woman as leader" must become as "natural" and unremarkable - and common - as it is for men.

Recorded history and women's personal stories provide undeniable evidence that for millennia, women have been systematically denied full engagement in the development of our societies. Women have, especially, been shut out of leadership positions, everywhere. This exclusion has meant that human civilisation has been deprived of countless opportunities for progress and advancement - would, very likely, have been more advanced and enlightened, evolved and secure, had the abilities of women been always allowed maximum expression.

In When Women Lead or Some of the Myriad Reasons why Many Women in Leadership = A Better World, Shirley Osborne cites evidence from many sources that clearly demonstrate the ways in which women's leadership has proven to be of indubitable and universal benefit. She tells the names of women who have made significant and lasting contributions, and of others who were ignored, forgotten or denied acknowledgment, in media, academia, the arts, government and other sectors.

The author asserts that women truly want leadership structures that comprise "both women and men", not "either...or". Women, she says, acknowledge the natural abilities and honed skills of men, and believe that there is a relationship of equivalence in diversity between those and the skills and abilities of women. Women want that equivalence recognised, and it should be, and she advises women to not shy away from creating strategic alliances with male colleagues, but ensure they are grounded in parity and mutual respect.

When Women Lead is a book for women who want to lead at the highest levels and for those who choose to lead in less visible roles and spaces. It is a book about self-leadership. This is important and inspirational information written in language that flows easily and a tone keeps the reader captivated.

In this book, Osborne, a Simmons University MBA whose leadership work has included holding positions such as Vice-Chair of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, urges women to intentionally adopt - and adapt - some of the strategies that men have used to get to the top, to seek out opportunities for leadership boldly, with confidence and without apology, join and where necessary, create networks of sisterhood, and support other women they meet along the path.