The Best Man for the Job

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The popular phrase “the best man for the job is a woman” most likely inspired the book Why the Best Man for the Job is a Woman: The Unique Female Qualities of Leadership by Esther Wachs Book, published in 2000. The book celebrates women breaking the glass ceiling and thriving in professions that were previously male dominated. This empowering phrase has been quoted by women taking or campaigning for roles previously held by men. The former Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley used the phrase while campaigning for governor in 2014. Most recently, in 2018 Cé­cile La Grenade, the first female gov­er­nor-gen­er­al of Grena­da, declared “The best man for the job is a woman!” as she contextualized the social and economic role of Caribbean women.