”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 the number of women attending college, working or starting their own business has demonstrated to male business owners that women can be both managers and mothers, thus showing their male counterparts that women can in fact "do everything". This article will outline the history of women in the workforce, as well as the challenges they face. The changing attitude towards women taking the lead in family businesses, the way women lead, a comparison with the way men lead will be briefly examined and a critique and conclusion of their style will also be discussed of leadership. The history and challenges women faceA series of events have occurred over the last twenty-five years or so that have led to the rise of women into the world of paid work. Starting in the mid-1970s, women began attending business schools and earning Masters of Business Administration degrees and, as a result, building on that education and gaining 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 time of “education inflation,” the demand for higher education is growing at a staggering rate. In the corporate sector, the generation of women who entered the corporate world two or three decades ago blazed the trail now followed by an ever-increasing number of women (Shaiko, 1997). The great strides women are making in the workforce can be attributed to numerous factors including: "the passage of equal employment opportunity laws, changes in job requirements, more women among the buyers, high educational achievement by of women, more women in business schools, the enormous percentage of women graduating from business schools with "androgynous" orientations and the willingness of many young women to postpone marriage and pregnancy." (Comer, et.al, 1997) While women continue to make strides towards equality, few have succeeded in reaching the highest positions leading companies into the new millennium (Andorka, 1998). Fortunately, thanks to the aforementioned historical changes, women can now demand equal treatment in their respective organizations.