Julia A. Spiker makes a significant contribution with Empowering Women: Global Voices of Rhetorical Influence, because, sadly so often the voices of women leaders are not heard, let alone examined and interpreted. In this volume, Spiker does that and more. She creates understanding for the great value of women’s voices within a global political rhetorical communication context. By sharing the rhetoric of elite political leaders, the author invites the reader to learn more about these women, and, as more and more women step into political arenas globally, understanding the obstacles and opportunities that women face on their road to empowerment, by listening to their own words, is invaluable.

Nichola D. Gutgold, Penn State University

Julia A. Spiker’s study uses a subtle but illuminating theoretical framework to study the rhetoric of global women leaders. The rhetorical portraits she offers are, however, the highlight of the book. They are rich in detail, and they cover most continents. Spiker, while acknowledging that the situations faced by women and women in politics vary from culture to culture, succeeds in assembling a global rhetoric of empowerment shared, in their individual ways, by the women she has chosen to study. Spiker’s case studies set a model for others studying women in global politics to follow, and her definition of a shared rhetoric of empowerment provides others with a quite useful starting point in furthering our understanding and appreciation of what women have achieved in government throughout the world.

Theodore Sheckels, Randolph-Macon College