Expecting the World

Across thirty years, Jerri Dell made her way up through a male-dominated international organization, a path few would have predicted for her. Along the way she helped develop a new way of approaching women in development, with the goals of strengthening livelihoods and lowering poverty.

Much of the book follows her work and travels. She trained trainers, who in turn taught village women and artisans in Africa, India, the Maghreb and Peru, all while she was raising her two sons at home.

Her story is set against the last three decades of the twentieth century and the events of that era, including the politics of oil, the war in the Middle East, the Egyptian-Israeli peace accords of the 1970s, the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1981, Nelson Mandela's release from prison in 1990, and the events of September 11, 2001. Dell also recounts meeting international figures such as World Bank president Robert McNamara and Egypt's first lady Jehan Sadat, both of whom gave her crucial support and inspiration.