Lately I’ve seen a raft of new books aimed at helping women achieve success, which include lists of “secrets,” often contradictory. Looking back over my experience, here’s an alternative: be open to constant learning and risk-taking, live a full life and have a great career. Several years ago my book “Women Lead the Way: Your Guide to Stepping Up to Leadership and Changing the World” was published, and I began a cross-country tour to speak about the “30 Percent Solution,” which describes why and how having a critical mass of women at every power table is essential to a robust future...

Recently I was asked a terrific question by an Australian (and soon to be an American) woman at a training for women bloggers thinking about running for office. BlogHer and the White House Project had put together a great program. I talked about my experience in international work as an Ambassador which gave me a window into how mothers fared in other countries. My questioner said she had lived in a number of countries which raised a big question in her mind. “Why,” she asked, “do American women – compared with those in many other countries – put up with such Draconian policies that make it...

The climate change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark is over. What happens, of course, will affect all of our families. But it will have profound effects for the poorest people around the globe, two-thirds of them are women and children. There is a world of difference in how environmental damage affects these women and their families, from breast cancer to turning women who rely on the land into environmental refugees. Once the pundits unpack, it will be time to make our New Year’s Resolutions. Climate change discussions will likely fade away as the trendy media turns to stories on losing the...