The Women's "movement" became part of our daily discourse at the turn of the last century with the suffragists. It has always been the case that women have held power positions in society – but traditionally, this had been in a strictly limited role and scope within the power structure that had been a firmly held patriarchal system managed and supported by men, the Church, political office, and even other women. The course toward achieving mainstream leadership roles, and to an absolute lack of surprise to be working for a woman. Now, in 2007, when there is a very real chance of a woman becoming President, we are in a stage in our cultural and social development that can truly embrace the benefits of having women taking real leadership roles. Joyce Fletcher's work, Disappearing Acts: Gender, Power, and Relational Practice at Work, explores the trend of modern companies and organizations to claim an interest in hiring employees who will work as team-members, but often fail to actually recognize or even encourage teamwork. Her central point is that the elements necessary to forge a true teamwork-centric and supporting environment are actually counter to prevailing practices and are representative of the "feminine" side of life. Enlightened Power: How Women are Transforming the Practice of Leadership, a collection of essays edited by Linda Coughlin, includes work that supports the concepts put forth by Fletcher's work. Between these two books, it is possible to gain a very broad and deep picture of the changing importance of women in leadership roles throughout our society.
             Coughlin's book is divided into three parts: Reimagining Power, Paths of Power, and A New Power in the World. The first section consists of eleven essays focusing on a reconstruction of the definition of social and economic power. In these essays, the authors present the concept that getting, maintaining, and usin...