Madsen Presidents

What have you learned from Madsen's book? How have you seen yourself or other women around you represented in the stories of these women presidents?

As a student attending a women’s college, I am sometimes tired of the word “woman.” I understand the importance of stressing gender discrepancies, the history of discrimination, and other factors that make the politicization of women a necessary thing. At the same time, I also think that as a women’s college, we are sometimes so sucked into the whirlpool of “woman” that we fail to see the larger dynamics that govern the treatment and relationships of women. It is for this reason that I immediately resented having to read the Madsen book, for after all, here was another plethora of stories that glorified women leaders as though they were unreachable exceptions to frail and delicate beings, special leaders who were special not because of their abilities, but because of their gender.
While I would argue that the book does impart this gender glorifying motif, I suppose it also addresses things that are essential for a leader but beyond the circumscriptions of gender. For instance, one of the presidents recalled her upbringing and how her educational years helped shaped who she became. I can attest to this entirely, for my experiences in high school and more so in college have been instrumental in defining my values. In addition, considering the various backgrounds from which these presidents arose, I am able to see these individuals reflected in my classmates, be it in their personality or histories.
However, I still maintain that the vast majority of what Madsen highlighted was not unique to women, but simply to able and diligent leaders. Regardless of what I have learned from these presidents, I still maintain that distinguishing a leader as a woman leader should only be done if the actions of the leader merit the distinction. In other words, if the “woman leader” in question does what any “man (?) leader” would do, then I do not think that her actions deserve any special praise. So what have I learned from Madsen’s book? I have learned that accentuating the differences in gender is important, but is sometimes unwarranted. I have also relearned a very important lesson: diligence is rewarded and comes to fruition and it is independent of gender.