Book Reviews: Weekend for Women
Wednesday, October 26th, 2016Welcome participants in the Duke MBA Weekend for Women. Congratulations on your determination to develop your own potential by earning an MBA. You are already on the road to achieving power and purpose in your life.
Three new books in the Ford Library provide insights about women in business.
Traister, Rebecca. All the Single Ladies. Simon & Schuster, 2016.
Today only 20% of Americans marry by age 29. For the first time in history, it is normal in America to be a young adult and unmarried. Journalist Rebecca Traister tells the life stories of dozens of single women to highlight how society has changed and how women have benefited. Women are choosing to complete their educations and to dedicate themselves to thriving careers, earning an independence never before experienced. Singleness is not necessarily more desirable than being married, but women have more options than ever before and are free to make their own choices about marriage, sex, careers, parenting and friendship.
Verveer, Melanne and Kim K. Azzarelli. Fast Forward. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015.
Hillary Clinton wrote the introduction to this new book by two of the founders of Seneca Women, a global leadership community centered on the principle that advancing women and girls creates an equitable and prosperous world. In Fast Forward, authors Verveer and Azzarelli make the case that women are the drivers of economic growth and social progress. Companies with more women in their top ranks outperform their peers; Women entrepreneurs reinvest their earnings in their communities; Women promoted to the highest ranks in business and government leverage their influence to help other women and families. Fast Forward outlines a simple approach to achieve one’s potential: Know your power. Find your purpose. Connect with others.
Huston, Therese. How Women Decide. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016.
Seattle University cognitive neuroscientist Therese Huston explains that in professional organizations, when a tough call must be made, both men and women are more willing to accept a man’s decision than a woman’s. People sense that those who project confidence make better choices and they assume that those who collaborate are indecisive, both of which are false. Yet these hidden biases exist in every workplace. In her new book, Huston uses research findings and true stories of 34 women to explore how women make decisions and how they navigate judgments at work. In the end, she concludes that under pressure, having both men and women involved in decision making creates the best outcomes.
Also available as an audiobook on OverDrive and as an eBook on OverDrive.
© Meg Trauner & Ford Library – Fuqua School of Business.
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