| When Women Lead: Integrative Leadership in State Legislatures Contributor(s): Rosenthal, Cindy Simon (Author) |
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ISBN: 0195115406 ISBN-13: 9780195115406 Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA OUR PRICE: $63.65 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: August 1998 Annotation: "When Women lead, a study in integration leadership, is solidly grounded in theory, nicely shaped by empirical method, and admirably informed by practical insight. It makes a unique contribution to the study of women and politics specifically and to legislatures more generally. It is certainly required reading for anyone in either of these fields, and it ought to be read by an even wider audience". -- Alan Rosenthal, Rutgers University. This study of women who chair state Legislative committees examines one of America's largest cohorts of women in institutional Leadership roles, thus making an important contribution to our understanding of gender, organizational leadership, and state legislatures. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Political Science | Political Process - General - Political Science | American Government - State - Social Science | Women's Studies |
| Dewey: 306.23 |
| LCCN: 97053246 |
| Lexile Measure: 1560 |
| Physical Information: 0.84" H x 6.42" W x 9.24" (1.25 lbs) 256 pages |
| Themes: - Sex & Gender - Feminine |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Until recently, the study of legislative leadership has been the study of men. Scholars have taught students that legislative leadership is transactional, a kind of competitive bargaining procedure to broker particular interests. When Women Lead: Integrative Leadership in State Legislatures brings to light the important contributions that women as legislative leaders make to the institutions in which they operate. Cindy Simon Rosenthal shows us how (and where) women are integrating the ranks of the legislative hierarchy, a forum in which they have been all but absent. She also argues that women are doing leadership in an innovative, inclusive style that subtly redefines both the appearance and meaning of political leadership. Contradicting the assumption that legislative leadership is inherently transactional, Rosenthal posits an integrative style emphasizing collaboration, shared problem-solving, and consensus. Further, she argues that women committee chairs come to their roles from different life experiences, and so employ motivations, tactics, and visions of leadership that differ in important ways from their male counterparts. Her findings suggest that women tend to see political leadership as something more than the act of satisfying particular interests. This study of women who chair state legislative committees examines one of America's largest cohorts of women in institutional leadership roles, thus making an important contribution to our understanding of gender, organizational leadership, and state legislatures. Rosenthal ably demonstrates that legislatures are not gender-neutral and that legislative leadership must be understood within a gendered context. Numbers and power therefore constitute critical variables throughout this study. While stereotyping has not disappeared in some states, women across the country--as illustrated in When Women Lead--are effectively redefining the framework and the assumptions central to political leadership in other locales. |