Female power did not start with the feminist movement. It did not start with the #Me2 movement. Female power is a primal grounding force that crosses generations, cultures, and continents. It is connected to the body, to instinct, to intuition, and to nature. Power compounds as it is used and powerlessness compounds as power is not used. So how do we harness our female power in today’s world - at work, at home, in our lives? How do we understand our power, use our power and keep our power?These questions are raised and answered. The book is both a how-to lesson on employing instinctive female strengths in today’s workforce, and a compendium of historical data on women’s powerful accomplishments through the ages. Written by prominent attorney and negotiator, Patricia Annino, it is an eye-opening, inspiring account for young women and college students, a handbook for those entering the workforce, and a useful exhortation for mature women of all ages as well. Rather than adopting the aspects of masculine power (drive, competition, dominance), POWER STRENGTH & PERSEVERANCE argues that women should instead embrace feminine power or soft power - their ability to influence or lead through persuasion or attraction, by co-opting people rather than coercing them. Soft power means emphasizing feminine qualities like charm, intuition, collaboration, empathy, and problem solving in the field of play. Annino also suggests male strategies women might adopt in order to enhance their power A thorough examination of the impact past female power has had on today’s world, POWER STRENGTH & PERSEVERANCE examines the history of America’s feminist movements, and the power women have exerted through their direct and indirect influence - in music, politics, philanthropy, social reform and religion. The book stresses the impact role models can have. The chapter on Power and Marriage examines the successful marriages of very diverse women in different periods of history, women who achieved significant personal and professional accomplishments, were role models, and impacted society - marriages as diverse as Abigail Adams’, Phyllis Schlafly’s, Amelia Earhart’s, Selma Hayek’s, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s. Perhaps all these marriages worked, Ms. Annino concludes, because the woman knew what she wanted, was able to articulate it, considered marriage to be a partnership, thought through her choice of husband, and did what was needed to make it work. Other chapters examine topics like women’s fear of power, and ways to combat power betrayals - by men sabotaging women and by women against women. Not all women help women, Ms. Annino writes. Not all women play well in the sandbox. Some women want to hurt other women professionally - and succeed.
POWER, STRENGTH & PERSEVERANCE is a stand out - for its original slant on a subject that is very much in the news these days, for its detailed research, for its thorough examination of the origins and history of female power, and for its provocative conclusions. This is a book, mothers might give daughters, daughters might give mothers, and men will want to read as well .The author, Patricia M. Annino is an attorney in Boston, Massachusetts and the author of Women & Money: A Practical Guide to Estate Planning , Cracking the $$ Code: What Men Know and You Don’t (Yet) and It’s More than Money: Protect Your Legacy . She is a graduate of Newton Country Day School of the Sacred Heart, Smith College and Suffolk University School of Law.
