The Ladder: Life Lessons from Women Who Scaled the Heights & Dodged the Snakes

by Cathy Newman

The Ladder brings together discussions between women – about work, love, growth, challenge, the big decisions and the stories of their lives. Offering inspiration and wise counsel from some of the world’s most acclaimed and influential women, this book is an insight and a trove of solidarity, turning over ideas of change, anger, illness, imposter syndrome, self-knowledge, purpose, how to not panic in a crisis and how to stop worrying you’re boring when there isn’t one. Amidst these pages are discussions with women who have achieved extraordinary things in their fields and pursuits, from politicians like Nicola Sturgeon and Angela Rayner to scientists like Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, activists like Rosamund Kissi-Debrah, film-makers like Waad Al-Kateab, religious leaders like Rose Hudson-Wilkin and broadcasters like Joan Bakewell.

Genres: Nonfiction, Feminism

240 pages, Paperback

Published August 26, 2025

About the author

Catherine Elizabeth Newman is an English journalist and presenter of Channel 4 News.

Newman began her career as a newspaper journalist, and had spells at Media Week, The Independent, the Financial Times and The Washington Post. She has worked on Channel 4 News since 2006, initially as a correspondent and, since 2011, as a presenter.

Newman was long-listed for the Orwell Prize (Journalism) in 2010 and again in 2011 for the blog prize. She was announced as one of the judges for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction in 2015. Her book, Bloody Brilliant Women, concerning significant, but unheralded, 20th-century women, is due for publication in autumn 2018.

Reviews

[Leonie-Sophie 🌈 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in regards to my thesis and it had some really good food for thought and insights. I liked the intersectional focus and the different personal stories of the women which was quite different from the usual nonfiction books I read about feminist topics.

[M T · Rating 2 out of 5]

1. The book lacked coherence because of disconnected stories.
2. Though stories were interesting and encouraging, I like when the author makes solid conclusions and "so what", and I think it lacked that.
3. I picked up this book in Cambridge while traveling. I just didn't know many of these women, so stories didn't feel engaging. Perhaps the book has limited reach (in my humble view) to UK audiences?

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book makes some good observations, and a few good ideas, but mainly felt like bits of stories and anecdotes from various people all strung together without making any kind of point, or adding to any argument.
I have read similar books (Invisible Women, Fix the system) which were better.

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up in an english Bookstore here in Montpellier and wanted to read it right away. I had to finish another book though, so it took a few weeks, wonce started it went by fast though.
It's the first non-fiction I read this year, I really don't enjoy non-fiction and self-help, but I'm a raging feminist so this turned out to be half-half as expected. The female perspective was great, however all the storys mixed together made everything quite confusing and less engaging. Also often times I forgot what the chapter was suppose to be about, because it was so all over the place. It was alright, but not really impactful I fear. Concentrating on one woman each chapter, with one story centering an issue, might have been more interessting. In the end it kind of does the thing every self-help books does, where it goes well find your own balance. So geez thanks🥲 But again, I enjoyed myself reading it so there is worse.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was filled with so many stories of great examples of everyday inspirational women.
I haven’t listened to Cathy Newman but get the feeling this book was more of a transcript than reworking interviews and stories from these women into its own.

I did enjoy listening to the audiobook, but it just missed the flow I’d have liked.

[Liuba Guigova · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a compelling book filled with powerful life lessons shared by the most influential women the author has interviewed throughout her journalistic career. I was absolutely captivated by this book!

My favourite quote is: “Women have to learn resilience because they are so often relied upon to demonstrate it in the face of male negligence or incapacity;”

[Stacy Charlesbois · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for noon gen x readers who haven't read anything about women in society/work before

[Carmen Faro · Rating 2 out of 5]

Elegí este libro porque estaba buscando una lectura parecida a In the Company of Women y la sinopsis parecía muy similar: una mujer exitosa que entrevista a mujeres importantes sin embargo el formato fue distinto, muy narrativo, y eso hizo que se me hiciera pesado leerlo -sobre todo al principio.

Las entrevistadas provienen del programa de radio que tiene Cathy Newman desde hace años. Lo que más aprecié fueron las muchas referencias que te da a lo largo del libro: estudios, libros, películas, etc., sin embargo nunca encontré los “consejos” que llegué buscando para “llegar a la cima y esquivar las serpientes”.