"At the dawn of the twenty-first century, women in America are richer, more educated, and more powerful than they've ever been. So why is it that they account for a mere three percent of the nation's top executives? Why are there only three women running Fortune 500 companies? A quick survey of politics, academia, law, medicine, and entertainment reveals similar troubling inequities. Twenty-five years ago, the women who were "firsts" were supposed to have blazed a trial.

Today, fewer and fewer women are choosing to take that path. Why have so many women opted out of the race for power? And why is it that women fail to call into action the power they already have as consumers, voters, shareholders, agents of change?" "It is Susan Estrich's belief that until women reach the seats of power - where the rules are made - the deck will continue to be stacked against them."--BOOK JACKET.