Earning It

This audiobook, by a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and WALL STREET JOURNAL editor, is a well-organized blend of her hard-earned knowledge of workplace sexism and the success stories of 52 high-profile female executives. Narrator Kirsten Potter doesn't sound as engaged with this material as she has in other audios on similar subjects. But her business-casual speaking style works well for the material, and she gets the phrasing right, even when challenged by convoluted sentences or themes that require careful exposition. Emphasizing that women need to take the initiative in hostile or exclusionary work cultures, the author weaves together the trailblazing executives' stories with the growth of women's empowerment as it has played out over the past four decades. This sum total is equal parts history and inspiration, written with the impact you'd expect from a newspaper pro. T.W. � AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

June 27, 2016
As the Wall Street Journal’s management news editor, Lublin has been in the trenches of a male-dominated business world; here she conducts 52 entertaining, if familiar, interviews with successful women about their own experiences in this biased environment. Lublin was the first female summer intern for the Journal’s Washington, D.C., bureau and was in for a rude awakening when her boss walked her out on her last day—and kissed her on the lips. Other indignities followed: for instance, when covering events at private business clubs that barred women, she was forced to use a special door in the back of the building. The women interviewed here, many of whom report similar obstacles, come across as trailblazers who have showed great courage in the face of great odds. Their stories cover pushing for top roles, being in the right place at the right time, handling sexual harassment, righting pay disparity, taking risks, managing men, and deputizing male champions. There are few revelations, but readers looking for stories from women who have succeeded in spite of sexism will find a plethora here. Agent: Karen Gantz, Karen Gantz Zahler Literary Management.

September 1, 2016

Women are still vastly underrepresented in the senior executives' C-suite, but there are more of them now than there used to be. Here, Wall Street Journal journalist and editor Lublin interviews 52 female executives, including 34 current or former public company CEOs--for example, Mary Barra (General Motors), Carly Fiorina (Hewlett-Packard), Meg Whitman (Hewlett-Packard), and Irene Rosenfeld (Mondelez International). Throughout, the author includes her own experiences as well. Organized along tried-and-true themes, including starting out, pay inequity, parenthood, coordinating spousal careers, mentoring, managerial skills, and boardroom bias, chapters are written in an easy-to-read conversational style, each primarily focusing on key moments in relevant participants' careers and ending with a brief section summing up lessons learned. A complete list of the interviewees is included, as well as chapter endnotes with cited references, and a brief bibliography. These women all got to the top using their brains, guts, and creativity; this is an easy and informative way to learn from their successes (and occasional mistakes). VERDICT Recommended for public libraries and business and women's studies collections.--Susan Hurst, Miami Univ. Libs., Oxford, OH

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2016
With a successful career under her belt and struggles along the way, Lublin, a Pulitzer Prizewinning journalist and management news editor for the Wall Street Journal, offers fresh insights into women in the workforce. Inspired by her daughter entering the business world, she created this guide by interviewing more than 50 of today's female leaders, including Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, and Brenda Barnes, former CEO of Sara Lee. Her research covers a gamut of industries, ranging from banking and finance to automotive and retail. Realities like promotion, pay, and working with and managing men are punctuated by real-life experiences from female industry leaders. Along with these, she offers practical ideas, such as Bloom where you are planted, meaning take an opportunity and run with it, even if it is over your head. Lublin doesn't shy away from failure, and she shares several examples where women leaders quit or were fired and how using that experience help propel them into successful careers at other companies. The book touches on work-life balance, and these current lessons give a fresh perspective on how women continue to change the workforce and prove their mettle in the business world.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)