Books We Love

We've read each of these books cover to cover and can promise —they will provide information, inspiration and encouragement wherever you are in your journey.

No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How We Think About Power
By: Gloria Feldt

An invaluable guidebook, which contends that the most vexing problems facing women today isn't that doors of opportunity aren't open but that not enough women are walking through them

Feminist icon Gloria Feldt pulls no punches in this new book, which argues that the most confounding problem facing women today isn't that doors of opportunity aren't open, but that not enough women are walking through them. From the boardroom to the bedroom, public office to personal relationships, she asserts that nobody is keeping women from parity-except themselves.
Feldt puts women's power into an historical context, showing the ways in which women have made huge leaps forward in the past, only to pull back right when they were at the threshold. Feldt argues that there's no excuse-whether it's the way women are socialized, or pressure to conform, or work/life balance issues-for women today not to own their power. Women are still facing unequal pay, being passed over for promotions, entering public office at a much lesser rate than men, and oftentimes still struggling with traditional power dynamics in their interpersonal relationships. Feldt's solution to all these places where women face inequality is the same: we need to shift the way we think to achieve true parity with our male counterparts.

No Excuses is divided into nine chapters that organized around how women can change the way they think, and therefore the way they act. These include: Know Your History and You Can Create the Future of Your Choice; Define the Terms-First; Embrace Controversy; Employ Every Medium; and other helpful ideas for using the tools and resources women already have to create the changes they want to see. No Excuses is a timely and invaluable book to help women equalize gender power in politics, work, and love.

UNBIAS: Addressing Unconscious Bias at Work
By Stacey A. Gordon

The concepts of diversity and inclusion are well-defined. We’ve talked about what they are and how they apply to the workplace. We’ve told everyone why they matter, how they contribute to the bottom line, and what the business case for inclusion is. But the time for talk has long passed. It’s now time for action - paired with strategy.

In UNBIAS, celebrated diversity and inclusion expert and CEO Stacey Gordon delivers a set of practical tools to make the concepts of diversity and inclusion actionable. It provides a framework for addressing unhealthy workplace habits and practices, even where leaders in the company are unaware that bias is a problem within the firm. It offers readers the tools to remove barriers and ensure equity throughout an organization in order to create an environment in which everyone feels they belong.

UNBIAS shows you how to use workplace-proven tools to bring concepts of diversity and equity into the real world, effectively and efficiently. You’ll be able to make your organization acountable for the biased behaviors and practices it allows while showing people how to move towards a more inclusive future.

Perfect for human resources professionals, founders, executives, and managers in a variety of departments. UNBIAS will also earn a place in the libraries of business leaders and employees who hope to make an individual difference in promoting the twin goals of diversity and inclusion at their own companies.

Ask For More: 10 Questions to Negotiate Anything
By Alexandra Carter

Negotiation is not a zero-sum game. It’s an essential skill for your career that can also improve your closest relationships and your everyday life. Still, people often shy away from it, feeling defeated before they’ve even started. In this groundbreaking new book on negotiation, Alexandra Carter—Columbia law professor and mediation expert who has helped students, business professionals, the United Nations, and more—offers a straightforward accessible approach anyone can use to ask for and receive more.

We’ve been taught incorrectly that the loudest and most assertive voice prevails in any negotiation, or otherwise, both sides compromise, ending up with less. Instead, Carter shows that you get far more value by asking the right questions of the person you’re negotiating with than you do from arguing with them. She offers a simple yet powerful ten-question framework for successful negotiation where both sides emerge victorious. Carter’s proven method extends far beyond one “yes” and instead creates value that lasts a lifetime.

Ask for More is “like having a negotiation coach in your corner” (Linda Babcock, author of Women Don’t Ask) and gives you the tools to bring clarity and perspective to any critical discussion, no matter the topic.

Dear Madam President: An Open Letter to the Women Who Will Run the World
by Jennifer Palmieri

Dear Madam President is an empowering letter from former Hillary Clinton Communications Director Jennifer Palmieri to the first woman president, and by extension, to all women working to succeed in any field. By using lessons learned during her experiences with Hillary Clinton, President Obama, and Elizabeth Edwards - to name a few - Palmieri through each chapter creates a forward-thinking framework of inspirational and practical advice for all women everywhere - from boardrooms to living rooms - who are determined to seize control of their lives, their workplaces, and their country. Dear Madam President will turn the results of the 2016 election into something incredibly empowering for future female leaders and independent thinkers everywhere.

As a country, we haven't wrapped our heads around what it should look like for a woman to be in the job of President. Our only models are men. While wildly disappointed by the outcome of the election, Palmieri optimistically argues in the book that the Clinton candidacy and all she experienced on the campaign trail - confusion, admiration, hate, love, acceptance, rejection - can now open the country up to reimagining women in leadership roles: And that is what Palmieri takes on in this book - redefining expectations for women looking to lead and creating a blueprint for women candidates and leaders to follow.

Ladies Get Paid: The Ultimate Guide to Breaking Barriers, Owning Your Worth, and Taking Command of Your Career
by Claire Wasserman

You may have found your way to Ladies Get Paid because you’re excited about the future of your career, or maybe you’re here because you’re feeling stuck. Perhaps you’re standing on the precipice of a big change, or perhaps you’re itching to make one happen. Maybe you experienced something at work that was disappointing, frustrating, or downright infuriating. Or perhaps you’re not satisfied with the status quo in your personal life or in the lives of all women. Whatever it is, you’re ready to take your career into your hands. Welcome, you’re in the right place.

-Claire Wasserman

Whether you are looking to navigate a promotion, land your dream job, or make a difference in your workplace, Ladies Get Paid is your road map. Filled with straight-forward advice and inspiring stories, this book is structured to provide guidance for every phase of your career, even those times when you find yourself feeling stuck.

Covering crucial topics from how to combat imposter syndrome to advocating for yourself and your team, Ladies Get Paid is a reminder that you are valuable - both as an individual and as part of a larger community. And ultimately every career choice and every negotiation is about more than your wallet - it’s about your worth.

Recalculating: Navigate Your Career Through the Changing World of Work
by Lindsey Pollak

Covid-19 is directly impacting how people are entering, reentering, or pivoting in the workplace. The pandemic merely accelerated career and hiring trends that have been building across all industries for professionals at all levels. This means that many of the old job-hunting and career success rules no longer apply. We all must learn how to thrive in this “new normal,” which includes a hybrid of remote and in-person experiences, increased reliance on virtual communication and automation, constant disruption, and the need for lifelong learning.

While this new world is complicated and constantly evolving, you don’t have to navigate it alone. Lindsey Pollak, the leading expert on succeeding in today’s multigenerational workplace, guides you through the changes currently happening and those to come. Combining insights from experts and professionals across generations, experience levels, and industries, she provides encouraging, strategic, and actionable advice from building your brand to skilling and reskilling for the future.

With Recalculating, you’ll be prepared with the necessary skills, helpful tools, and positive attitude to succeed today and into the future.

Brag Better: Master the Art of Fearless Self-Promotion
By Meredith Fineman

Does talking about your accomplishments feel scary or icky because you're worried people will think you're "obnoxious"? Does it feel more natural to "put your head down and do the work"? Are you tired of watching the loudest people in your industry get disproportionate praise and rewards?

If you answered "yes" to any of the above, you might be self-sabotaging. You need to learn to Brag Better. Meredith has built a career working with "The Qualified Quiet:" smart people who struggle to talk about themselves and thus go underestimated or unrecognized. Now, she shares the surefire and anxiety-proof strategies that have helped her clients effectively communicate their achievements and skill sets.

Bragging Better doesn't require false bravado, talking over people or pretending to be more qualified than you are. Instead, Fineman advocates finding quiet confidence in your opinions, abilities, and background, and then turning up the volume. In this book, you will learn the career-changing tools she's developed over the past decade that make bragging feel easy. If you're ready to tell the truth about your accomplishments with grace, this book is for you.

The B Words: 13 Words Every Woman Must Navigate for Success
By Tricia Kagerer

Utilizing my own experiences from more than 20 years in the workplace as well as those of other women, I identified13 “B Words” to establish and explain the internal and external challenges facing women today and provide practical strategies for handling problems. Navigating the workforce as a woman can feel like making your way through a minefield. Step too far in one direction, and suddenly, you’re considered bossy and overbearing and difficult to work with. Too far in the other, and you lose your power and voice. If you try to stay in the middle, you could still be contributing to generations’ worth of a stagnant mindset that has hindered women from reaching true equality.

I explore how obstacles can manifest themselves during various stages of life and creates a map to help women identify what holds them back and what they can do to propel themselves forward. Rather than preaching “work-life balance,” I challenge readers to achieve “self-defined success,” a life intentionally designed your own way.