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A Review of: “Myers, Dee Dee. Why Women Should Rule the World”

What would it be like if women ran the world? Dee Dee Myers argues in her 2009 book Why Women Should Rule the World that ‘‘more women in public life would, in fact, make things better’’ (p. 1). Myers, a former White House press secretary and consultant to NBC’s The West Wing moves through a discussion of why women do not rule the world now, why they should, and how this change can be made. Developed across three sections, Myers claims men have had their chance to be in charge and now is the time for women to step forward. By blending personal anecdotes of life and times on ‘‘the Hill’’ with scientific research on biological differences between men and women, Myers’s unique perspective and connection to seemingly all women in higher office makes this book an intriguing read. Myers structures her book into three sections: ‘‘Why Women Don’t Rule the World,’’ ‘‘Why Women Should Rule the World,’’ and ‘‘How Women Can Rule the World.’’ The first section focuses on pregnancy and biological differences between sexes. From examining how women are treated differently than men to arguing why it is a disadvantage for women to be biologically different from men, this section points to the discrimination that women face on a daily basis. In the second section, Myers argues that women would handle global situations including politics, business, and health differently because the experiences that shape women in their daily lives lead to different understandings. She goes on to claim if a woman’s mind were applied to various situations, including such insignificant tasks as providing tampons in all of the bathrooms at a conference, the world would be a be a better place. Finally, the third section provides practical ways that women can increase their own confidence and have more success rising to the top. Myers’s recommendations range from the macroto the microlevel and include everything from using more assertive communication to modeling other successful women. Myers concludes that although the past few decades have seen women gaining important ground, it is not enough. She challenges women to further inundate all fields and work to reach ‘‘critical mass.’’ The professional know-how in this book comes directly from Myers’s own experiences. With descriptive detail, Myers shows how she worked her way up the corporate ladder, starting as a coffee-pourer for various political campaigns, moving through the middle levels of professional politics, and finally arriving at the top—or what she thought was the top. Indeed, when Myers was personally chosen by President Clinton to be White House press secretary she was thrilled to be the first Women’s Studies in Communication, 33:173–177, 2010 Copyright # The Organization for Research on Women and Communication ISSN: 0749-1409 print=2152-999X online DOI: 10.1080/07491409.2010.507588