"A woman is like a tea bag: you can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water." - - Nancy ReaganMore and more women are taking on the challenge of leadership, even in some of the most male-dominated industries. The increase in women attending college, working, or starting their own businesses has demonstrated to male business owners that women can be both managers and mothers, demonstrating to their male counterparts that women can does “do everything”. In this article, the history of women in the workforce will be described, as well as the challenges they face. Changing attitudes towards women taking over family businesses will be examined briefly, the way women lead, a comparison with the way men lead, and a critique and conclusion on their leadership style will also be discussed. History and challenges faced by women A number of events. have occurred over the past twenty-five years or so and have resulted in the rise of women in the world of paid work. Beginning in the mid-1970s, women began to attend business school and obtain their master's degrees in business administration and, therefore, expand their education and gain work experience (Nelton, 1999). The days of single-income families are over. Women must be armed with a college or university degree to contribute to this century's model of the family unit, and in this era of "education inflation," the demand for higher education is increasing at a staggering rate. In the corporate sector, the generation of women who entered the business world twenty to three decades ago blazed the trail now followed by ever-increasing numbers of women (Shaiko, 1997). The great strides women are making in the world of work can be attributed to many factors, including: "the passage of equal employment opportunity legislation, changes in job requirements, more women on the buyer's side, high educational achievements of women, more women in business schools, the huge percentage of women graduating from business schools with "androgynous" orientations, and the willingness of many young women to postpone marriage and their pregnancy” (Comer, et.al, 1997) While women continue to advance towards equality, few have reached the highest positions, leading companies into the new millennium (Andorka, 1998) Fortunately, women can now demand equal treatment in their respective organizations thanks to the aforementioned historic changes...