The book entitled The Difference "Difference" Makes: Women and Leadership, edited by Deborah L. Rhode, collects various articles and writings that reflect and comment on the role women play in leadership positions and how these roles are specifically defined by them being women. In a way, this book picks up where Carol Gilligan's ground breaking book, In a Different Voice, left off. In summary, Gilligan's book laid the foundation of feminine leadership thought with the argument for a "difference theory", or the theory women and men are uniquely different and thus approach things, such as leadership, in different manners.
             Deborah L Rhode's career has been highlighted with her many articles and work in the legal field that focuses on Gilligan's difference theory, specifically assessing its promises and problems. According to Rhodes, all of her work is focused on flushing out "the importance of multiple frameworks that avoid universal or essentialist claims and that yield concrete strategies for social change." In doing so, she has raised the issue now referred to as the "difference dilemma." According to Rhode, "on one hand efforts to claim an authentic female voice illustrate the difficulty of theorizing from experience without essentializing or homogenizing it." On the other hand, "affirmations of similarity between the sexes may inadvertently institutionalize dominant social practices and erode efforts to build group solidarity." In order to solve this "difference dilemma" Rhode proposes that the framework itself must be challenged and instead of focusing on difference, instead "focus on the difference difference makes." Hence, the premises of this book are laid.
             The book is divided up into seven different parts, each with its own specific focus. Further, each section is made up of essays written by various leading scho...