by PublicABCP
Translated and reviewed by Matheus Lucas Hebling
The book Paths to Women’s Leadership, by Luciana Panke (UFPR), offers an analysis of the obstacles and possibilities for expanding women’s presence in leadership positions in contemporary society. Drawing on the social transformations intensified by the Covid-19 pandemic, the author discusses women’s representation in spaces of power.
Published by Editora UNIVALE, the book adopts an exploratory and cartographic methodological approach, bringing together up-to-date data from international institutions and proposing interdisciplinary reflections on politics, gender, and public participation.
Panke’s central argument is that increasing women’s leadership across different sectors of society is a precondition for expanding women’s electoral success in politics. She contends that the normalization of women leaders in areas such as the economy, health, and the environment helps break down cultural stigmas and resistances that still limit women’s access to elected office.
To support this perspective, the book revisits a set of ideas and theoretical arguments on the historical construction of patriarchy and liberal democracies, highlighting how these systems exclude women—directly or symbolically—from decision-making processes.
One of the book’s core contributions lies in identifying the barriers that hinder the consolidation of women’s leadership, particularly in institutional politics. Panke organizes these barriers into categories she calls “cultures,” including the culture of incompetence, silence, harassment, submission, and victimization. Each represents social and symbolic mechanisms that delegitimize women’s presence in spaces of power—whether through the dismissal of their competencies, exclusion from debates and decision-making, or symbolic and physical violence. The author emphasizes that these obstacles are not natural but historically constructed and maintained by institutional and cultural practices that reinforce gender inequality.
Panke’s analysis also includes an international overview of women leaders, with a focus on the role of female heads of state during the Covid-19 pandemic. Countries such as New Zealand, Taiwan, and Norway—led by women—achieved positive outcomes in responding to the health crisis, especially in indicators such as mortality and effectiveness of public communication.
These examples are used to discuss different leadership styles and to show how attributes such as empathy, attentive listening, and objective decision-making can be valued in public governance. The book avoids essentialisms and acknowledges the diversity of profiles among women leaders, questioning stereotypes and proposing renewed forms of representation.
In the final section, Panke presents practical recommendations for strengthening women’s leadership in public and institutional settings. These include adopting gender-sensitive public policies, promoting parity in events and leadership positions, valuing inclusive language, and training teams with an emphasis on equity.
The author underscores that electing women is only one step in a broader process of social transformation—one that requires structural and cultural change. By bringing together data, theoretical reflection, and concrete experiences, Paths to Women’s Leadership offers important contributions to understanding the contemporary challenges of women’s political representation.
Author Profile
Luciana Panke holds a postdoctoral degree in Political Communication (UAM-Mexico) and a PhD in Communication Sciences (USP). She is a Full Professor at the Federal University of Paraná, founding leader of the Electoral Communication Research Group (CEL), External Consultant to the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) and to the Observatório de Mulheres na Política of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies. She is also the author of Lula: From Unionism to Reelection—A Case of Communication, Politics, and Discourse and Electoral Campaigns for Women, published in four countries.
Technical Information
Title: Paths to Women’s Leadership
Author: Luciana Panke
Publisher: Editora Univale
Year of Publication: 2025
ISBN: 978-65-87227-50-4
Available for download at: Editora Univale
