Maria J. D'Agostino is Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Public Management at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She is also a member of the UNDP roster of experts in Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment in Public Administration and co-founder of Women in the Public Sector at John Jay College. She is the guest editor of the Women and Public Administration Symposium recently published in Administration & Society and is a recipient of the Faculty Mid-Career Research Award.

Marilyn Marks Rubin is a professor at John Jay College of the City University of New York and is Director of the College's MPA Program. She has been a consultant on fiscal policy, economic development and strategic planning for US municipal, state and federal entities and has authored several publications on fiscal policy and budget-related issues. Rubin is a Fellow in the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA).

Preface 1. Women in Public Service: A Long Slow Path to Gender Equality [Marilyn Marks Rubin] 2. A Global Comparison of Women in the Workforce: Moving Toward Innovative Solutions [Helisse Levine and Maria J. D'Agostino] 3. Changing Perspectives on Women in Public Service: A Short History of Attitudes and Practices [Camilla Stivers] 4. Breaking the Mold: Women as International Leaders [Mary E. Guy and Samantha J. Larson] 5. Gender Equality and the Ballot Box: The Global Situation of Women Legislators [Silvana Koch-Mehrin] 6. Women as Public Sector Leaders: A Long Way from Gender Parity [Uschi Schreiber] 7. Equality for Women in Sub-Sahara Africa: Still a Long Road to Travel [Sebawit G. Bishu] 8. Latin American Women in Public Service: Progress, but not yet Equality [Melissa Gomez Hernandez] 9. Women in Leadership Positions in the Middle East: A Region of Gender Equality Paradoxes [Ghada Barsoum] 10. Women Governing: The Egyptian Perspective [Laila El Baradei] 11. Women Governing in China: Not Yet Holding Up Half the Sky[Marilyn Marks Rubin and Wenxuan Yu] 12. Women in International NGOs: Status, Challenges, And Opportunities [Shamima Ahmed] 13. Time to Care: Paid Family Leave as Baseline Support for Gender Equality in Employment [Deborah Brennan and Sue Williamson] 14. Institutional Mechanisms for Advancing Gender Equity in Educating for the Public Service [Nadia Rubaii] 15. Gender Equity Worldwide: Where We Are and Where to From Here? [Sharon Mastracci]

Governing in a Global World captures the panorama of women governing around the world. Even though the modern era marks history's greatest advancements for women, worldwide they hold fewer than 30 percent of decision-making positions and are often missing from negotiating tables where policies are made and conflicts resolved. The opening chapters present trends and context for studying women in public service by focusing on path-setters across the globe, the status of women in the world's executive and legislative bodies, and their participation in public service across several nations. Later chapters examine power, leadership and representation of women in public service, with several chapters looking at women governing from a regional perspective in the Middle East, Sub Sahara Africa, Latin America, and China. The final chapter presents empirical evidence that shows how policies to increase women's representation in the public arena reduce gender inequality more than any other policy intervention. Taken together, the chapters illustrate the worldwide importance of, and challenges to, promoting gender equality and women governing.