With the projections that the “normal life” of pre-pandemic may not return until the end of 2021—if ever—is causing enormous anxiety, affecting most everyone from a remote contract freelancer to a CEO of a global enterprise.
“Are you OK?” is a question leaders can ask at the start of a Zoom conference calls, but it no longer affords a simple, quick response.
Read MoreIssue 134— July 6, 2020
My cousin Elizabeth is making good use of this time of sheltering during the pandemic to dig into our family history. It was rooted in the small town of Birzai, Lithuania for hundreds of years until two world wars either killed them or dispersed them to many corners of the world. One of the most intriguing and yet exasperating parts of this exploration is getting the names right as spellings varied from language to language. Vinn became Vinh or Bein, Henne to Hannah, and even some in the same nuclear family some people spelled their last names differently.
So what is in a name anyway? Identity, Personhood. Justice. Say her name: Breonna Taylor. Say his name: George Floyd.
Read MoreWhere you live and who you are unfortunately makes a big difference on how you live and work in this country.
Take The Lead took a look at several new studies— on racial equality by state, opportunities for LGBTQIA persons by state, remote work access by state, post-COVID-19 jobs and women in tech opportunities—to clarify the geographic framing of equity and opportunity in America.
Read More“Now is one of the best times to network,” says Kayla Tekus, director of marketing at The Mom Project, a Chicago-based talent and coaching company focusing on career paths of women and mothers, with a community of over 250,000 professionals and more than 2,000 companies.
The latest news for the company founded in 2016 by CEO Allison Robinson, is that they are offering $500,000 in their Stronger Together Fund to small and medium sized businesses to retain female employees or hire new ones on contracts, with $1,000 to $5,000 grants. Thirty grants have been given so far.
Read More“You’re fired” is not such a funny meme right now.
The economic realities of the recent months are driving up unemployment to more than 30 million individuals, with furloughs and diminishing project work for most every American who is a non-essential worker. Being on the receiving end of that news is devastating.
Read MoreTake The Lead is available for inspiration and tools as you shelter in place with resources you can watch, read and listen to now. More than a month in, with most everyone in the country quarantined and working remotely or at social distances, it is fair to say everyone in the country is affected by COVID-19. Many report the economic and emotional burden is higher for women.
Read MoreThe good news if you are a woman working in healthcare, architecture, engineering, education and a few other industries is that pay equity is the norm when your organization has pay transparency. The bad news is if you are a female in food services, retail, customer service, transportation and a few more male-dominated fields, you will likely be paid less than men doing the same job.
Read MorePersuasion had to start early in life for Lee Hartley Carter, author and president of maslansky + partners, a global language strategy firm based in New York with the tagline, “It’s not what you say, it’s what they hear.” Growing up the first daughter in a New Jersey family where her mother and most all female relatives stayed home to raise children, Carter says she still has to answer the question, “What do you mean you’re still working?”
Read MoreAt 34, Tania Luna has already held 30 jobs. Now co-CEO at LifeLabs Learning, the author, who also co-founded Surprise Enterprises, attributes her resilience to a complicated life viewed with gratitude and surprise. Luna thought the Brooklyn homeless shelter she and her family lived in during the early 90s was a hotel. They had arrived in New York when she was five years old from Ukraine seeking asylum after the devastating Chernobyl accident in 1986.
Read MoreI have been tempted to send end of the year emails to colleagues who routinely fail to respond to necessary emails with: “The year is almost over, can you please answer this question from July?” But I know that is not a good idea. Whether you are an entrepreneur with a small business, or a manager in a large corporation, you will want to get your records and files in order.
Read MoreYou may have heard the joke that goes like this (and you can fill in the blank): How do you know if a man (won an award, got a job promotion, attended an Ivy League school…)? Answer: Because he will tell you. Women, not so much. A new study called The Self-Promotion Gap of more than 1,000 men and women shows that 69 percent of women would rather downplay their accomplishments than talk about them.
Read MoreSo you don’t want to organize something that involves ugly holiday sweaters, because that is so 10 years ago. If you are in charge of creating or even contributing to the workplace end of the year event—and 82 percent of workplaces do have a holiday event—why not make sure it is memorable, safe and perhaps even advances your mission?
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