14: From a Sea of Grey to a Sky of Blue: Global Women Leaders Providing Rays of Hope

This chapter offers a case study exploring the connection between global leadership and context as exemplified by four women leaders who have come to prominence for championing agendas that prioritize the wellbeing of citizens, an economy of inclusion rather than exclusion, and an ethos of social justice. Their impact is significant; they are shifting the narrative of global leadership. In the case study, each of these women is viewed through a wide-angle lens focused on twenty-first century global challenges and their respective responses. A fine-focus on their leadership emphasizes the appropriateness of the metaphor of rays of hope amidst the sea of grey that is the current landscape of global leadership during a time of great division, turmoil, unpredictability, and instability.