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Rebecca Sive’s Every Day Is Election Day: A Woman’s Guide to Winning Any Office, from PTA to the White House is a practical and inspirational guide for women at all stages of life who want to achieve political leadership and become influential voices on public policy. A lecturer and advocate, Sive teaches women how to surmount public barriers, conquer private fears, and run winning campaigns—with joy, humor, confidence, and no apologies. In her book, she provides tips for realizing the power of sisterhood, creating an inimitable brand, making local victories national, overcoming negativity, and getting men to accept a take-charge personality.

She shares true-life stories, secrets of success, and frank suggestions from women who have led, run, and won, including US senators Mary Landrieu, Debbie Stabenow, and Amy Klobuchar; Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky; Melanne Verveer, the first US ambassador at-large for Global Women’s Issues; Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America; Frances Beinecke, the president of  the Natural Resources Defense Council; Lisa Madigan, Illinois attorney general; and Toni Preckwinkle, the president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners.

The title Every Day Is Election Day “is a metaphor,” explains Sive, “for treating every day as your big day, every year as your big year, in whatever domain you’re seeking public success and to make a difference.” On the cusp of the 2016 election, Sive discusses why she wrote the book and what she sees for the future of women in leadership.

Every Day Is Election Day is the only book out there with step-by-step guidance for women contemplating a public leadership career, elected or otherwise. How did you get the idea to write the book, and did you foresee the content being so connected to the 2016 presidential election? Were you thinking ahead?

Oh, I wish I could say I had a crystal ball! But what I did know, and what impelled me to write Every Day Is Election Day, was that Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential primary campaign marked a turning point in American history and future opportunities for American women. Clinton had proven that a woman could be a credible, mainstream leader of the largest democracy in the world. That was a really big deal. And, she wasn’t born with a silver spoon in her mouth. She had worked hard, gotten a good education, and stayed focused on her interests and ambition. I thought she was like so many other American women, all over the country, who I knew had big dreams of making a difference. I thought I could share the lessons of what so many other women−besides Clinton−had done, by weaving their guidance in with inspirational stories. So, that’s the approach I took to my book.

The information you impart in your book can be used by women who seek leadership in any male-dominated context. You’re a lecturer at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago; what ideas from Every Day Is Election Day do your students there find most useful/relevant?

I find that my students are most interested in a couple of really important questions: how to utilize their professional training and skills in a variety of professional contexts, including in the public square; and how to develop a singular public presence so that they are recognized by others for their leadership skills and capacity. Of course, since many of them are also interested in having a partner and/or a family, I point them towards chapter 25 (“That ‘having it all’ thing”) where I share advice from two young mothers and high-powered leaders, Lisa Madigan and Molly Bordonaro.

The book has been praised by magazines like BUST and Cosmo, as well as women leaders like Illinois attorney general Lisa Madigan and president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America Cecile Richards. Have you noticed an influx of millennial women encouraged/inspired to strive for leadership roles based on Hillary’s campaign and the visibility of other women in leadership positions?  

Absolutely! Teaching women and politics at the Harris School of Public Policy, I have the chance to talk to millennial women all the time. And they keep calling me after the class is over! They want advice, like the guidance in Every Day Is Election Day: how to set out on a path to leadership, identify important decision points, and keep moving forward. I also have five nieces—I get to watch and help them, too. I also speak to a lot of audiences of women working in all kinds of professions. For example, later this fall I will be speaking to a group of dermatology executives. Earlier this year, I spoke at the Gates Foundation. It’s just become so clear to me how much so many different kinds of women want to be an important part of making the world a better place.

You make a point to include the success stories of women everywhere and from various backgrounds to show how every woman/any woman can be a leader. Were you initially writing for women in the political sphere? What was your process for organizing the book and connecting with all the women featured in it? How did you balance political parties?

Yes, you’re right. I wanted to share the important truth that everywhere in this country, in little towns as well as big cities, women are stepping up to significant leadership roles and making a positive difference in their communities. And, I don’t think this is a partisan matter, but a choice every woman gets to make. And, yes, this isn’t only women already in the “political sphere,” but those in business and charitable organizations, too. The fact is that women who care—everywhere—are finding ways to make a positive leadership difference, in chambers of commerce, school boards, hospitals, you name it. There are challenges everywhere, so there are opportunities everywhere. So the stories in the book are from everywhere. Every Day Is Election Day gives guidance that’s useful across the board. Even abroad! I was speaking in California to a group of nursing executives, and a woman there from West Africa bought the book for her friends back home! And, I recently met a young woman from Jamaica who told me the same thing.

If you were to start writing Every Day Is Election Day today, is there anything you would do or explain differently?

What a great question! For sure, I would begin by focusing on how much progress women leaders are making today—all over the world. For instance, I read several articles earlier this week, including in Fortune magazine and the Washington Post, pointing out that, if Hillary Clinton is elected POTUS and Theresa May Prime Minister of Great Britain (which just happened!), women will lead the three largest Western economies and the International Monetary Fund and the Federal Reserve. This is a hugely big deal and demonstrates that women everywhere can dream big, treat every day as Election Day, and win.

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