In celebration of International Women's Day this Sunday, I had a chance to interviewRania Habiby Anderson, author of a fascinating book, Undeterred: The Six Success Habits of Women in Emerging Economies. Anderson spent over four years researching and interviewing more than 250 successful female career women and entrepreneurs in developing countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. Her objective? To understand the key traits that caused these women to be successful while so many of their peers failed to meet their dreams. I asked Anderson what U.S.-based entrepreneurs can learn from these remarkable women.

What was the most surprising finding of the book?

Four years ago when I started my research, I had no idea whether I would find commonality among women in growth economies. Each country, each region, each continent, each culture is unique. I did not know if there would be similarities. But I found that the challenges women face around the world are very similar–it's the degree and severity of the challenge that varies. The obstacles these women face are seemingly insurmountable, yet what is commonplace among all of them is this: They are undeterred, they persevere.