First, the caveat: I love Gloria Feldt. I met her one year when I spoke at a Planned Parenthood conference, when she was President of the organization. She is a powerhouse when it comes to the fight for women’s reproductive rights. Her previous book, The War on Choice, hit this topic hard.
With this great book for women, she injects new urgency into the question of the gender gap in the workplace. Despite more qualified women entering the workplace than ever, a stubborn 20% pay gap lingers, and women account for only 3% of Fortune 500 CEOs. Even in the midst of these frustrating numbers, in No Excuses Feldt argues that the instability and fluidity of our current economic and political state have created a unique window of opportunity for making new headway.
While she acknowledges that structural barriers remain, Feldt insists that adherence to outdated social norms is the main obstacle women face—hence the title. Drawing on her own experience (having had three children by the age of 20, Feldt very much had an uphill climb), and on interviews with women business leaders, politicians and activists, she outlines 9 Power Tools every woman can use to reshape her relationship with power.
