“Adds important depth to understanding the dynamics of gender and executive political office [and] sets new pathways for further development of this literature.” —Claire McKinney, Political Science Quarterly“A clear and expansive view of how each woman prime minister or president rose to power and the conditions making women’s leadership more likely.” —Julia Marin Hellwege, Politics & Gender “Significantly contributes to the growing research on women and executive politics worldwide.” —Catherine Reyes-Housholder, Perspectives on Politics"Rich and insightful.... Celik Wiltse and Hager expand upon existing research on women in politics and contribute to knowledge production in the field." —Dipti Tamang, International Affairs"Women’s Paths to Power not only fills a gap in the current literature on female prime ministers and presidents serving from 1960 to 2020, but also provides an important lens through which to view the paths taken by women executive leaders in the future."—Dianne Bystrom, Iowa State UniversityFrom Brazil to Bangladesh, Liberia to Switzerland, Malta to the Marshall Islands, more and more women are rising to the top level of political leadership. What can we learn from this? What kinds of conditions and political institutions pave the way for a woman's ascendance to power? Are there common pathways to power? How much do family ties matter? Is political activism and important factor?Evren Celik Wiltse and Lisa Hager answer these questions, and more, in their comprehensive study encompassing all the women presidents and prime ministers around the world from the 1960s through 2020.