The Incredible Rise of Influential Women Leaders and Authors

The Incredible Rise of Influential Women Leaders and Authors

By Jeffrey A. Mangus

“Leadership is hard to define, and good leadership even harder. But if you can get people to follow you to the ends of the earth, you are a great leader.” –Indra Nooyi

I read many business books to help my writing craft and enjoy learning from the world’s best leaders. The other day, I pulled Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgneoff off the shelf. I bought it used about a year ago, but I never read it. Yet, as I opened it up, one author, Renée Mauborgneoff, had signed it. It made my day, and as I read Blue Ocean Strategy, it profoundly affected me. I thought about the book’s travels. I was curious: who made the purchase? Who was the individual that read it? The question is, who did it help? Which person was able to get close enough to have the book signed? This is where I realized how many women, business leaders, speakers, authors, and influential women leaders I’ve ghostwritten for.

Today, with 37 ghostwritten books to my credit, I’ve discovered an astounding statistic about my ghostwriting: over 75% of the authors I’ve served as a ghostwriter have been influential women leaders. My nine years of ghostwriting include collaborating with some of the world’s best women leaders. I’ve written on behalf of the CEO of a globally recognized jewelry design company. With a focus on empowering women of all ages and industries, I’ve had the opportunity to work with three TEDx women leaders and write for corporate healthcare moguls.

Being in the ghostwriting world, I am always amazed and enjoy being surrounded by influential female ghostwriters who impact authors and the publishing industry. As a member of the Association of Ghostwriters, owned by Dr. Marcia Layton Turner, I learn much from my female colleagues and ghostwriters.

The journey to success can be challenging for everyone. However, specific obstacles have made it hard for women to reach positions of power and influence in various areas. Despite progress in many places, women still face societal barriers, gender biases, and unconscious gender stereotypes. This all makes it harder for them to rise to leadership roles. Historically, there has been a gender gap in the book market, making it more difficult for women to break through the glass ceiling. But there were, without a doubt, some incredibly talented female authors in the past, such as Mary Shelley, Emily Dickinson, Jane Austen, and Agatha Christie.

In my professional ghostwriting experience, women authors are remarkably directive, decisive, and resolute. They navigate past doubts, conquer fear, and confront the challenges of writing their books with inspiring zest. It’s refreshing that most come to the table with powerful concepts, and as a ghostwriter, I find their determination and strength inspiring.

I’ve seen the remarkable rise of influential women authors, which can be evidence of the increasing acknowledgment of women’s voices and perspectives in diverse areas. Many factors can explain this, such as people realizing equality is essential, women’s rights improving, and social media making it easier for women leaders to be heard.

Contemporary female writers, such as Glennon Doyle and Emily Nagoski, influence the literary landscape. The surge of influential women authors and TEDx speakers is a testament to the growing recognition of women’s voices and perspectives in various fields. In the literary world, women authors and their books and writings provide a fresh perspective on multiple issues and significantly contribute to literature. Their work often addresses critical social issues, personal experiences, and empowerment, resonating with a broad audience and contributing to a more inclusive literary landscape.

However, history reveals limited numbers of women writers, especially among black women. It’s not that they didn’t write, but that history rejected or overlooked their works. Among the accomplished black female authors who challenged social barriers, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was a pioneering African American woman who was the first to achieve publication.

Harper, who was only 20 years old, was one of the few black women who published her own poetry collection. Even more impressive is that in her 60s, she became the first person to self-publish her own novel, titled Iola Leroy. It was a historic milestone, and the social novel portrayed her core beliefs, including the importance of equal rights for all genders and races, the abolition of slavery, education, responsibility, and temperance. Besides that, she handled teaching responsibilities while engaging in public speaking.

The impact of today’s influential women authors inspires many other leaders and seems to ignite change. Author and leadership expert Brene Brown said, “Self-awareness and self-love matter. Who we are is how we lead.” Leadership expert women authors and their efforts are amplifying women’s voices. They have been crucial in pushing forward critical discussions on critical topics and reshaping contemporary society’s cultural and intellectual landscape. While several societal changes have influenced the surge of influential women authors and TEDx speakers, the growing recognition of women’s voices and perspectives in various fields is prevalent.

Based on multiple sources, including the National Women’s Book Association and the Authors Guild, there is a substantial presence of women authors worldwide. The number is increasing and developing. In 1990, women writers accounted for 26% of published authors, but by 2020, that number rose to 42%. It’s simple to tally the number of female CEOs at Fortune 500 companies and track women in the workforce. But when it comes to intellectual property (IP), it’s trickier to figure out who’s doing what (compared to who’s taking credit).

Joel Waldfogel, a professor at the University of Minnesota, studied book publishing to figure out how many women and men have contributed to the number of books published in the last 70 years. According to Waldfogel, women published more books than men for the first time in 2020, which boosted revenue for the industry and benefited everyone. The Association of American Publishers says that US book publishing made $29.3 billion in 2021, which is 12.3% higher than last year.

Waldfogel wrote in a paper [1] published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) in February 2023 that women’s share of published titles went from 20% in the 1970s to over 50% in 2020, based on data from Goodreads, Bookstat, and Amazon, and the National Library of Congress. Some male authors got displaced, but it wasn’t just a straight swap for female authors. The whole industry boomed, and by 2021, books written by women outsold those by men.

Social media has given women a platform to speak up, which can be attributed to the huge rise in books and women authors. Women authors and TEDx speakers use social media to spread their messages, reach people worldwide, and react with similar-minded individuals. It’s been a fundamental change in highlighting the skills and perspectives of women in different industries.

Every day, things change at breakneck speeds. The shift in cultural norms and attitudes towards gender roles has promoted the acceptance and acknowledgment of women’s leadership and expertise. With society’s increasing acceptance of diverse voices and perspectives, women authors and speakers have overcome traditional obstacles to share their unique perspectives with a broader audience through their writing.

Thanks to improved access to education and professional opportunities, women can now pursue careers in fields traditionally male-dominated. With the increasing success of women in various industries, they are becoming more visible and acknowledged for their valuable contributions. This progress is setting the stage for future generations of women to speak up and share their unique perspectives through bestselling books, and now it’s only getting better and better. The possibilities are endless.

***

If you are a business leader or aspiring author with a book idea you would like to discuss, please contact me and get on my schedule. JEFFREYMANGUS.com

About Me

“My name is Jeffrey A. Mangus. I work with powerful executives, leaders, entrepreneurs, and new authors who have incredible, life-changing stories and want to put it all into writing their business books or memoirs. Authors I work with have beaten adversity down, survived gut-wrenching challenges, and overcome them to reach the top. I love rags-to-riches stories that show tenacity, grit, and determination. I partner with individuals committed to motivating others, going the extra mile, thinking innovatively, and leaving a lasting impression.

Jeffrey A. Mangus is an 8x #1 Amazon bestselling ghostwriter and author with thirty-five (35) award-winning and bestselling books to his credit. Jeffrey has written for several major publishers: Harper Collins Leadership, Harper Collins Focus, Rowman & Littlefield, Tantor, Blackstone, Highbridge Audio, and A