Eve on Top: Women's Experience of Success in the Public Sector

Eve on Top takes an in-depth look at the position of women in senior positions in the public sector using a case-study approach, based on ten successful women and their background, upbringing, career progression, successes and failures, and challenges and experiences. Each case study includes a 'lessons learned' response in the form of advice both to other women and the organisations in which they work. Surrounding and supporting the case studies are short essays charting the main themes that emerge from the interview process, backed up by extensive literature reviews. There will be comparison between relevant public sectors in different parts of the world and the inclusion of one case-study on experiencing success in the private sector. The Authors: Professor David Baker is Principal of University College Plymouth St Mark & St John and Professor of Strategic Information Management there. He has published widely in the fields of strategic management. Dr Bernadette Casey left school at 16 and was married with a child by the age of 19. Balancing the domestic with a desire for knowledge, she went on to further and higher education as a mature student, gaining an Honours degree in Sociology and Politics from Plymouth Polytechnic in 1978, an MA from the University of Manchester in 1979 and a PhD, also from Manchester in 1987. She has taught in adult and Higher Education since 1980. Bernadette Casey is now Dean of the School of Culture, Communication and Society at University College Plymouth St Mark & St John. Contents: Women at the top (or not): history, background, issues and themes; Methodology: an explanation and a critique; Characteristics of the women in the study; Exploring and experiencing 'success'; Career progression and planning; Mentoring, role models and networking; Gender; Barriers and obstacles; The 'glass ceiling'; Sacrifices, gains, balances and choices; Domestic considerations; Working harder?; Leadership and management styles; Advice to men; Advice to women; Summary and conclusion.