Redeeming Leadership: An Anti-Racist Feminist Intervention

by Helena Liu

How might imperialist and masculinist grips on leadership be loosened? In this thought-provoking and accessible book, Helena Liu suggests that anti-racist feminism can challenge conventional models and practices of power. Theoretically rigorous, with examples from around the world, it states the case for a bold reimagining of leadership.

Genres: Leadership, Nonfiction

192 pages, Hardcover

Published February 1, 2020

Reviews

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imperialist, capitalist, racist patriarchy.

[LeeRay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the leadership book we need!

[VIA · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book alongside Hyperfocus: How to Be More Productive in a World of Distraction for my Advanced Negotiation and Feedback course. This book honestly radicalized me a bit. Examining the structural violence of leadership in an academic setting was validating. I have loved talking politics and society for as long as I remember, but I'm also black and queer. Reading this made me realize just how much I've learned to acquiesce my opinions and perspectives to non-white, non-queer culture. This book acknowledged just how disproportionately exhausting it is to do that, and it also called me out. It is not admirable to be respectable by a culture that withholds respect for so many "types" of people. We cannot really advocate for change if we only do it in ways that keep "whiteness" comfortable.

My rating comes from this book's focus on culture. This is not a book about hating on white people or straight people . While "whiteness" is critiqued HEAVILY, Lui states clearly that whiteness =/= white people. She's talking about power structures and ways current ideas of leadership perpetuates systems that exclude historically marginalized groups. Super valuable to read, though I can't read it without the understanding that there are still people that will mistake any discussion of whiteness as power for a discussion blaming solely white individuals for the flaws in our systems and hating them for it. I will also say that the language used is rather dense and clearly academic. I don't think I would have read this outside of an academic context.