GIRLS WHO RUN THE WORLD

CEOs are often portrayed as men, and this volume helps rectify the balance by focusing on successful women leaders from a range of industries.

Readers meet 31 women who serve as CEOs of companies such as Spanx, Mitú, 23andMe, and Minted. Jessica O. Matthews, of Uncharted Power, a green energy company, got the germ for her idea while attending a family wedding in Nigeria and experiencing a power outage. A project for a class at Harvard led to the prototype for her company, which is grounded in her personal belief in giving back to communities. Like her, all the women in this book found ways to turn their ideas and dreams into success stories. Beyond just data and numbers, readers learn fun details about their personal lives (favorite candy, favorite childhood book), habits that make them successful, and advice they would share with their teen selves. Each approximately seven-page profile features eye-catching graphics, including bold, full-color portraits. The tone is relentlessly upbeat, and while the range of women featured is reasonably diverse and some volunteer stories about facing barriers to success, little effort is made to deliberately engage with systemic obstacles relating to gender, race, socio-economic status, or other factors that readers may encounter. The final chapters offer general encouragement and guidance on creating a business plan and elevator pitch, managing finances, and other necessary skills.

Appealingly packaged and readable but lacking in depth.