... Behind This Book<br > All the people in this book are real， The episodes they describe， the<br > problems that haunt them， the doubts they disclose， the anger that<br > floods them， are contemporaneous with the 1980s. You could be one of<br > them， although only you will know because the identity of contributors<br > is well disguised. Even so， you might recognize a boss， a co-worker， a<br > subordinate， a relative， a friend， a secretary or a casual acquaintance<br > you met at a networking conference.<br > You will recognize these individuals， of course， only if you are one of<br > today s 43-plus million working women wbo considers herself genuinely<br > ambitious and is determined to avoid as many pitfalls as possible in your<br > struggle to climb the proverbial ladder of success. It doesn t matter what<br > occupation， field or profession you re in， nor does it matter what level<br > you ve reached. My informants cover the gamut of iobs currently held<br > by a cross-section of achlevement-oriented women， yet the stories they<br >relate about daily incidents at work bear striking resemblances to each<br >other， despite the drastically different functions.<br > How I came to be the receptacle for confidential outpourings by<br >thOUsands of career women around the country explains tile origins of<br >this volume. Back in 1977 and 1978 when file early editions of my first<br >book， Games Mother Never Taught You， were printed， the publicists<br >were dismayed to find that their thne-tested outlets for promotion--<br >book reviews， magazine excerpts national e evision shows--proved<br >curiously insistent that "their audiences" wouldn t be receptive to en-<br >couraging women to aim h gh enough in business to compete suc-<br >cessful y with men--on men s terms.<br >