Despite more and more women's success stories breaking the glass ceiling, women leaders are still vastly underrepresented in all segments of business, industry and politics. Even though the odds are against them, some women manage to succeed. Hillary Clinton, Condoleezza Rice and Nancy Pelosi have all succeeded in a political arena heavily dominated by men. This article discusses the traits they have in common that have helped them succeed. Unshakeable Self-Confidence Living life in the public eye is demanding on anyone. However, women are subject to personal criticism much more frequently than men. For example, an article in the April 2012 issue of Elle magazine reported that Clinton aides were distressed by her habit of pulling her hair back with a scrunchie (Moore, 2012). Clinton responded in an interview with CNN by saying, "If I want to wear my hair back, I pull it back." You know, at some point, it’s just not something that deserves a lot of time and attention” (Moore, 2012). I did a Google search for “criticism of female politicians.” He returned page after page of stories, many of them focusing on appearance and others using terms like "bitchy" and "harassing." I then did a Google search for “criticism of politicians.” He returned the same articles on female politicians. Apparently, men aren't regularly subjected to the same scrutiny of their fashion choices as women. All of this shows that women in politics must have unwavering self-confidence, as Clinton, Rice and Pelosi do. Many women believe that their intelligence, abilities, character and achievements are far more important than their appearance. However, no one wants to be publicly labeled an ugly, bitchy woman. The pe...... middle of paper ......horitative is the best decision and is very effective. But when trying to win the hearts and minds of followers, transformational leadership is much more appropriate and will lead to greater achievements. Works Cited Marcus, R. (2007). Pelosi adopts a feminine leadership style. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2007/jan/11/pelosi_embraces_female_leadership_style/ Moore, M. (2012). Attention to Hillary Clinton's appearance draws criticism. The United States Today. Retrieved from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2012-05-09/hillary-rodham-clinton/54860282/1Northouse, P. (2013). Leadership: theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. Peterson, E. (2012). Rice shares his leadership principles. Daily Herald. Retrieved from https://www.dailyherald.com/article/20120809/business/708099779/