THIS BOOK IS AN OUTGROWTH of many years of our work to advance women and girls. Countless people around the world shared their insights with us, and many of them continue to provide indispensable leadership on these issues across government, the nonprofit world, and the private sector. They inspire us with their commitment. And there are so many to whom we owe a large debt of gratitude.
To Linda Zecher, president and chief executive officer of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, for encouraging us to write this book. To the staff at HMH, starting with Bruce Nichols, who freely shared his advice and made this a far better book, and Ben Hyman, for his counsel, enthusiasm, and helpfulness. To Lori Glazer, Stephanie Kim, and Ayesha Mirza for charting our public appearances, and to Larry Cooper and the other members of the HMH team for their unfailing assistance and support. To our agents at ICM, Jennifer Joel and Rafe Sagalyn, for their experienced guidance throughout.
To team Seneca:
First and foremost, to our writing and research partner, Anna Sussman. She is a rare talent with a deep commitment to advancing women and girls. We owe her much gratitude for the many sleepless nights and for her creativity, sense of humor, and exceptional abilities as a journalist.
To Prisca Bae, Elisa Gonzales, and Maithili Pradhan for their tireless work and support throughout this journey, and to Jane Chen for her unsurpassed ability to unfailingly deliver. Each of you, driven by your heartfelt commitment to women and girls, made the impossible possible. We are deeply grateful for the enormous around-the-clock contributions you provided.
To all the leaders and collaborators who agreed to be interviewed for Fast Forward. This book is yours. Your efforts on behalf of our common cause are making the world a better place. We can only repay you by remaining committed to progress for women and girls around the world.
We also want to thank the many friends and supporters who urged us to write this book, helped us make important connections, unearthed key sources, and were always there when we needed them. A special thanks to Jane Sambol for her contributions at a crucial moment.
To our families. It is they who sacrificed the most as we birthed this volume. To Kim’s husband, Mattia, for his steady, kind manner, support, and generosity of spirit, and to Kim’s mother, Paula, for her insightful, substantive contributions and for her everyday loving encouragement of all things concerning this project.
To Melanne’s husband, Phil, and children, Michael, Alexa, and Elaina, who provided invaluable advice, encouragement, and the loving support that got us through the long nights, weekends, endless travel, and constraints on our time with them.
To Hillary Clinton, dear friend, colleague, and inspiration, thank you for leading the way: for introducing us over many years to women who are on the front lines of change; for your unstinting commitment to enabling women’s economic, social, and political progress; and for inspiring us to continue the journey every day.
This is indeed a journey. It does not end with a book. We hope you, dear readers, will join us on this journey and become part of the Seneca Women community (senecawomen.com), working in whatever way you can to promote progress for women and girls. For, as we hope this book has demonstrated, advancing women and girls can help us fast-forward to the world we want to see.