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What Will It Take To Make a Woman President?

Featuring interviews with politicians, public officials, thought leaders, writers, artists, and activists, What Will It Take to Make A Woman President? Conversations About Women, Leadership, and Power (Seal Press / November 2013 / $17.00) by Marianne Schnall—a widely published writer, author, interviewer, and the Executive Director of Feminist.com—delves deeply into these conversation-starters and much more.

Prompted by a question from her then-eight-year-old daughter during the 2008 election of Barack Obama—“Why haven’t we ever had a woman president?”—Schnall set out on a journey to find the answer, looking at the issues from a variety of angles and perspectives, and gathering viewpoints from high profile, influential people from all sectors.

With insights and personal anecdotes from Sheryl Sandberg, Maya Angelou, Gloria Steinem, Nancy Pelosi, Nicholas Kristof, Melissa Etheridge, Olympia Snowe, and many more, What Will It Take to Make a Woman President? addresses the timely, provocative issues involving women, politics, and power at the right time. With a broader goal of encouraging women and girls to be leaders and change agents in their lives, their communities, and the larger world, Schnall and her interviewees explore the changing paradigms occurring in politics and in our culture in order to hopefully move closer towards meaningful and effective solutions—and the vision of a world where a woman can be president.

Publisher: Seal Press

November 2013 | 384 pages | $17.00 | Trade paper | ISBN-13: 978-1-58005-496-6

Reviews

“I would love for my younger fans to read What Will It Take to Make a Woman President? by Marianne Schnall. It’s a collection of interviews and essays by great women, including Maya Angelou, Gloria Steinem, and Melissa Etheridge. They will inspire you to become a better leader.”

— Beyoncé

"It is, arguably, the most pertinent question in modern political history: When will there be a woman president? When posed by Schnall’s young daughter, the topic took on a whole new sense of urgency. To find the answer, the author and founder of Feminist.com interviewed a dazzling and diverse array of distinguished politicians, journalists, corporate executives, writers, and entertainers. Everyone from Gloria Steinem to Nancy Pelosi, Donna Brazile to Marianne Williamson, Nicholas Kristof to Michael Kimmel, Anita Hill to Kirsten Gillibrand. Through far-ranging conversations, Schnall gained insight into factors contributing to the country’s failure to elect a woman to its highest office and sought advice as to how we can not only better prepare for the next presidential election but create a world in which today’s young women feel empowered to break out of stereotypical roles. The good news is that there is universal agreement among those profiled that the country will, indeed, elect a woman president. The more disconcerting message is that there is still much work to do in order to achieve true gender parity."

— Carol Haggas, Booklist

“Intriguing interviews exploring the role of women in American political leadership. . . . Barack Obama smashed down one long-closed door in 2008. This book makes a compelling case for another shattering of barriers sooner rather than later.”

— Kirkus Reviews

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