Issue 2847— May 19, 2025
This was the No. 1 lesson I learned when I joined with civil rights advocates in Odessa, Texas, as they achieved school desegregation and housing restrictions.
People working together, even if they have little formal power, can make change happen if they have a strategy, discipline, and the courage to lead to the goal despite barriers and even setbacks along the way.
It was exactly this observation that has driven my work for social justice ever since.
Read MoreHow are you feeling today?
If you responded “anxious,” “unsure of the future,” or “immobilized,” you aren’t alone.
We live in an era of permanent disruption — economic shocks, political upheaval, technological leaps, and personal curveballs that throw even the best plans into disarray. It seems like every day, there is a new threat to job security or the cost of necessities. There’s constant talk about the price of eggs and the looming price increases on almost everything as a result of tariffs, or maybe the threat of tariffs is just that, a threat, and everything will be fine.
Read MoreEveryone in this country is trying to get clarity on the overwhelming confusion caused by daily changes to politics, the economy, business, healthcare, education, culture, and “the pillars of American society.”
And it is women—specifically older women—who are organizing, enlisting male allies, and taking action.
“We are beyond ‘let’s talk about it’ and into a movement,” says Heather Cox Richardson, Boston College History Professor, and author of the 2023 bestseller, Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America.
Speaking recently at the Chicago Humanities Festival, in conversation with William Howell, author, political scientist, and dean of the Johns Hopkins University School of Government and Policy, Richardson says, “I see American people standing up. I am doing my part. We are 100% in this together. We are beyond ‘let’s talk about it’ and into a movement.”
Read MoreSometimes, what you want to say is better said by others.
And sometimes articles write themselves as a result. That’s the case with my “Sum of the Week” blogpost today. My heart is so full of joy and appreciation for the powerful film “Lilly,” about the long fight for equal pay, written and directed by Rachel Feldman and produced by many investors, including Jyoti Sarda, who graced the panel with her experience bringing forth the independent film.
Read MoreTrue confession. Like many women, early in my career, I felt so lucky to get work that was meaningful to me that I typically said, “Thank you,” got right to work, and never even thought about negotiating based on what the marketplace would bear.
The first time I remember being conscious that the pay level could actually be a factor impacting my future—as well as my present ability to pay the bills—I knew the position I had interviewed for paid 20% more than the teaching job I had intended to seek.
So I thought I was being pretty smart to take it. Didn’t do my research. Never even considered negotiating. Gave no thought to how all my future pay levels would build off of that one.
Read MoreRoxane Gay is not a bad feminist. And is there really such a thing?
The acclaimed author, editor, columnist, and editor of the new anthology The Portable Feminist Reader says good or bad, there is no one kind of feminism throughout history, including today.
What is true about feminism today is that those pushing the current political agenda “know what feminism is because they are trying to undo its power. Feminism is everything they do not represent.” She added, “That is why they want to erase words like feminism.”
Read MoreWhat an amazing International Women’s Day 2025 I was privileged to experience! It was equal measure inspiring celebrations of women’s progress and passionate calls to action to change the state of the world for women, where rights won are being lost and many protections of equal treatment are being erased a warp speed.
The two events I attended both received well deserved standing ovations.
That’s because of the way each exemplified progress is possible through struggle and movement building. And each illustrated a poignant reminder that no step forward is forever unless there is constant activism.
Read MoreCelebrating this year’s Women’s Equality Day and 10 years of Take The Lead’s successes are reasons enough to attend the 4th annual Power Up Concert & Conference. But what you take away in knowledge, strategies, mentorship, networking, friendships, collaborators, inspiration and specific tools for your leadership path are priceless.
The “Together We Lead” event is spearheaded by Take The Lead Co-founder and President Gloria Feldt. The event includes the evening concert August 25 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts* in Washington, D.C., and the full-day conference August 26 at the National Housing Center. Icon Lynda Carter will receive the Leading Woman Award, along with other key awards, panels and workshops.
Read MoreIf women vying for top spots at work are overlooked at many U.S. workplaces claiming they are too emotional, why then did the new movie about a young girl experiencing emotions of anxiety, envy and embarrassment just become the largest global box office hit with $1 billion in ticket sales?
Perhaps it’s because the story of Riley experiencing a breadth of emotions in the new Disney animated sequel, “Inside Out 2”, is fictional. But it may be resonating with females of all ages and particularly leaders who say the biased perception of their emotionalism is a barrier to the C-suite in real life.
Read MoreIssue 264 — July 1, 2024
Note: Today, Gloria is passing the mic (or the mouse) to Felicia Davis, Take The Lead Leadership Ambassador extraordinaire, and founder of the Black Women’s Collective.
Felicia had the great idea of honoring Take The Lead’s reason for being at our August 25/26 Power Up Conference and Concert — that’s YOU. You are the women and some men who have participated in 50 Women Can Change the World cohorts, taken a 9 Leadership Power tools course or workshop, served as a Leadership Ambassador, or otherwise benefitted from our transformational programs. Here’s Felicia…
Read MoreHistory is personal.
Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer-Prize winning presidential historian and author of six other biographies, knows that well. She turns the spotlight on her own life, in her latest book, An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s, underscoring the need for everyone to know and share their history.
“The power of that decade was that people were filled with the idea that they could make a difference,” says the 81-year-old at a recent Chicago Humanities Festival event. That sentiment echoes again today.
Read MoreRenee Fleming hits all the right notes. The globally acclaimed opera singer, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, several Grammy Awards and honors from the Kennedy Center, was giving a piece of her mind to an eager audience recently at the Chicago Humanities Festival.
In a discussion on stage with Kelly Leonard, vice president of creative strategy for Second City, Fleming explains the mission of her latest book, Music and Mind: Harnessing the Arts for Health And Wellness, as a deep dive into the impact of creativity and music on the physical brain.
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