Members of the Club
The Coming of Age of Executive Women
Description:... In Members of the Club, an insightful look at life at the top for senior women executives, Driscoll and Goldberg suggest that the well-publicized but outdated concept of the "glass ceiling" masks the real issues at stake. Drawing on in-depth interviews with many of America's women corporate leaders, the authors persuasively demonstrate that a woman can reach the top of the corporate world if she knows the correct strategies. To illustrate their point, the authors clearly lay out the routes that these and other women have successfully used to move into the exclusive circle of economic leaders. They show how women executives are becoming adept at bringing in business clients and detail the powerful "rainmaking" strategies corporate women are now using. They also discuss the importance of establishing one's personal influence in the larger business community and beyond, revealing the effective communication styles and sophisticated media relations employed by top women executives. In addition, the authors show how women are finally overcoming the traditional corporate bias against utilizing female executives in international assignments as they move into key overseas posts so critical to professional success. And Driscoll and Goldberg demonstrate the importance of women's professional networks as leadership training grounds for women at all levels. Finally, the authors explain that while the reported glass ceiling has not deterred today's senior women executives, these and younger women do still experience a much subtler form of bias, which they label "the comfort zone" - an apt name for the habits and practices of some corporate executives who unconsciously still exclude women from thebreakfast powwow or the client golf game. However, as Driscoll and Goldberg point out, even the most clannish executives are beginning to wake up and understand how the talent pool of women in The Club can help make America more productive.
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