The Only Woman in the Room: How to Win in a Workplace (Still!) Built for Men

The Only Woman in the Room invites readers into the real story of what it takes to lead as a woman when the rules weren’t written with you in mind—but you’re determined to win anyway.

Women have spent decades forcing open doors that were never designed for us, and in 2026, we still find ourselves standing alone in rooms dominated by male discourse and decisions. If the glass ceiling was shattered long ago, why does it feel like the walls are closing back in, asking us once again to contort ourselves to fit spaces that refuse to evolve? If you’ve ever felt disillusioned, powerless, lonely, or frustrated by a workplace still built primarily for men—you’re not alone, and you’re not crazy. This book hands you the guidance you’ve been missing.

A tech leader across government, academia, and corporate industries, Lisa Davis shares the battle-tested lessons she learned the hard way so you don’t have to. Navigating the frustratingly persistent challenges of building a career and a family at the same time, her story offers a fresh look at female leadership at the highest levels and the pressure to perform without a roadmap. Drawing on four decades of breaking barriers in male-dominated industries, this book will teach you how to:

• Navigate power dynamics and bias with confidence
• Build influence without apology
• Advocate for the promotions you deserve
• Lead with strength while staying true to who you are

We’re living inside a system that won’t transform overnight, no matter how badly we want it to. The Only Woman in the Room is a power playbook for winning anyway, learning how to navigate the rules as they exist while steadily applying pressure where it counts. System change takes time, and pretending otherwise only costs women ground. This book shows you how to claim influence, momentum, and leverage now, while helping push the tide in the direction it needs to go.