What Does "Courage To Lead" Mean To You?

Issue 2855— August 12, 2025

Hello there.

I’m super excited that in just two weeks, many of us will be together at the Power Up Conference. *

I have a question for you, though. What does the conference theme, “Courage to Lead,” mean to you? I’ve been thinking and writing a lot about what it means to me, but I’m curious to know what it means to you.

Email your answer to me at takethelead@taketheleadwomen.com or DM me @GloriaFeldt on Instagram Threads, Facebook, or LinkedIn. You might be quoted on the stage or social media.

The Sum, EventGloria FeldtAugust 12, 2025womens leadership, leadership, power, gender parity, lilly ledbetterComment

Why I’m in a Fury About Women and Confidence

Issue 2854— August 4, 2025

ChatGPT, when asked to help write a piece about women and confidence asserted that women “naturally have less confidence than men.”

REALLY? Naturally?

My 2 1/2-year-old great granddaughter has tons of confidence. She is loud. She takes up space. She runs fast and love things that go fast. She takes risks. That’s because nobody has yet told her she shouldn’t be confident.

The Sum, EventGloria FeldtAugust 4, 2025womens leadership, leadership, power, gender parity, lilly ledbetterComment

Under Her Hat: Why Women’s Equality Day is Really Women’s INequality Day

Issue 2853— July 21, 2025

Each year on August 26, we observe Women’s Equality Day—a date that commemorates the certification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, which granted [some] women the constitutional right to vote in the United States.

The name sounds triumphant, the reality is far more complicated. If we’re being honest, it should really be called Women’s INequality Day—a sobering reminder of how far we still have to go.

The Sum, EventGloria FeldtJuly 21, 2025womens leadership, leadership, power, gender parity, lilly ledbetterComment

3 Reasons To Have #CourageToLead With Optimism in Chaotic Times

Issue 2852— July 15, 2025

When you are confronted with disruption or chaos, which of these is your reaction?

1. I ❤️ to create chaos & run away.

2. I embrace chaos to advance new ideas and achieve my goals 🏆.

3. It stresses me but I calm myself down 😌 and press on.

4. I hide under my desk until it passes.

5. I put my head in the sand and pretend it isn’t happening.

If you are already in a leadership role, the obligation to calm the waves for others, providing a unifying optimistic vision of where the organization needs to go next, weighs heavily on your shoulders.

The Sum, EventGloria FeldtJuly 14, 2025womens leadership, leadership, power, gender parity, lilly ledbetterComment

Power, Music, and the Courage to Lead: An Evening with Marina Arsenijević

Issue 2851— July 1, 2025

You know I talk a lot about power—not as something to seize, but something to embrace. Power as presence. As voice. As vision. The power TO, not over.

That’s why I’m so thrilled to share a rare experience that brings all of that to life in a way words alone never could.

On August 25 in Washington, DC, we’re hosting an intimate VIP dinner and concert with internationally acclaimed composer and pianist Dame Marina Arsenijević.

The Sum, EventGloria FeldtJune 30, 2025womens leadership, leadership, power, gender parity, lilly ledbetterComment

How Do You Have the Courage to Lead in Times Like These?

Issue 2850— June 23, 2025

You feel it.

The air is thick—not just with summer heat but with anxiety, injustice, and uncertainty.

Wars. Layoffs. Leaders assassinated. Families torn apart. Rights rolled back. Bombardment from the news cycle that leaves us breathless.

I don’t know about you, but I find myself flipping the news on to stay informed—and off to stay sane.

The Sum, EventGloria FeldtJune 23, 2025womens leadership, leadership, power, gender parity, lilly ledbetterComment

Media Shift: What Jane Fonda Might Say to George Clooney

Issue 2849— June 9, 2025

Twenty years ago, I sat at a crowded table in a basement in midtown Manhattan. I can’t remember where, nor did I have any idea what I was getting myself into—but when Gloria Steinem asks you to a meeting, you tend to go.

Carol Jenkins, Pat Mitchell, Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan, and a half dozen other prominent women in various aspects of media were there.

The Sum, EventGloria FeldtJune 9, 2025womens leadership, leadership, power, gender parity, lilly ledbetterComment

Mark Your Calendar: Have the Courage to Lead Every Month, All Year

Issue 2848— June 2, 2025

May holds multitudes of identities.

It’s Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Older Americans Month. Jewish American Heritage Month. Mental Health Awareness Month. Victorious Women Month. Military Appreciation Month. And—yes—Respect for Chickens Month.

June? It’s Pride Month. Also, National Iced Tea Month. Caribbean American Heritage Month. Men’s Health Month. Dairy Month. And don’t forget National Black Bear Month.

The Sum, EventGloria FeldtJune 2, 2025womens leadership, leadership, power, gender parity, lilly ledbetterComment

Yes, You Can: People Working Together Can Change Anything

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.

The Sum, EventGloria FeldtMay 19, 2025womens leadership, leadership, power, gender parity, lilly ledbetterComment

Chaos to Catalyst: How To Make Disruption Your Leadership Superpower

How 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.

The Sum, EventGloria FeldtMay 5, 2025womens leadership, leadership, power, gender parity, lilly ledbetterComment

Create a Movement from Chaos: How To Change the Present and the Future

Everyone 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.”

Women, Wealth, and Power: What We Can Learn from Lilly Ledbetter’s Courage

Sometimes, 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.

The Sum, EventGloria FeldtApril 21, 2025womens leadership, leadership, power, gender parity, lilly ledbetterComment

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