Issue 2881— April 13, 2026
We were speeding along from Arizona to Michigan in my husband’s red Ferrari in the summer of 1986.
He got four tickets. I was reading Margaret Atwood’s all-too-prescient book, The Handmaid’s Tale and trying not to notice the speedometer.
Ironically, 1986, the year The Handmaid’s Tale was published in the US portending the stripping away of women’s rights, was the start of the three-year celebration of the 200th anniversary of the United States Constitution.
Read MoreIssue 2880— March 31, 2026
You can find inspiration in the most unlikely places.
Like this little part of a cherry tree, determined to show its springtime blossoms despite having broken limbs and growing in a trash heap in the midst of a suburban train station under construction.
Read MoreIssue 2879— March 23, 2026
An early morning check on social media led me to Liz Elting’s latest Forbes.com article, “Women Are Bypassing the Broken Rung. How Corporate America Can Keep Up.” I highly recommend it.
The “broken rung” was coined by McKinsey and Company. It was later published in book form by authors and McKinsey partners Larena Yee, Kweilin Ellingrud and Maria del Mar Martinez to describe what they say is even more pervasive than the glass ceiling as a barrier to women’s advancement in corporations.
Read MoreThe energy in the room was palpable, even after the previous evening’s taco and tequila night, and I was pumped for my keynote.
Three hundred ambitious women (yes, McKinsey, women are very ambitious) spanning a wide range of roles in technology, and a few male allies, met in San Diego March 10-12 at the WIT (Women in Technology) Network annual conference.
The theme, “Igniting Excellence: Rising Together, Leading Forward,” exudes the event’s upbeat ambiance. Congratulations to the organizers and especially to WIT Network’s CEO Christine Bongard and her team.
Read MoreIssue 2877— March 2, 2026
Women won eight of Team USA’s 12 gold medals at the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina.
Two thirds of the gold!
That’s historic.
It’s even more remarkable when you realize that the first time women were allowed to compete in the Olympics was 1900, when there were 22 women and 241 men. The women were limited to five sports.
This year at the Winter Olympics, women made up 47% of the athletes.
Read MoreIssue 2876— February 23, 2026
Have you heard the saying that there are lies, damn lies, and statistics? One harmful statistic making the rounds is that women are leaving the workforce in droves.
That story is incomplete at best and misleading at worst. Hundreds of thousands of women have been pushed out of their jobs involuntarily. Other women have indeed chosen to leave the workplace that wasn’t working for them, but most of those haven’t stopped working.
Read MoreIssue 2875— February 17, 2026
I don’t believe a calendar flip magically changes human behavior.
But I do believe there are moments—collective and personal—when energy shifts and we get to decide whether we’ll meet it with resistance or take its energy to propel ourselves forward.
Happy Lunar New Year, the Year of the Fire Horse galloping in on February 17.
Read MoreIssue 2874— February 9, 2026
Lives there a woman who has not been told many times over, “Smile more.” And/or “Smile less.” Count yourself either lucky or oblivious if you said, “Me.”
This video posted by CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins got me going on the impossible Catch 22 that every woman lives in almost every aspect of life.
Read MoreOn this first week of Black History Month, which again coincides with the Super Bowl, I am reposting my Sum from 2025. Though the year has changed (and Bad Bunny, not Kendrick Lamar will headline the Super Bowl halftime this year), the key points remain the same.
Read it here and let me know your thoughts.
Read MoreIssue 2873— January 27, 2026
Easily the best speech I’ve heard by a leader recently-- or perhaps ever-- was Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s at the 2026 World Economic Forum at Davos. If you are leading a team or even a team of one (yourself), you can learn a lot from this speech, far beyond the panoply of Davos’ topics.
I admire this speech not because it’s packed with substance, rather than being heavy on bloviation as politicians are wont to do.
And not because the prose is beautiful (though it is), or because it contains a story with a memorable metaphor of a sign in the window, while also quoting Thucydides, though I do love a good classics reference.
Read MoreIssue 2872— January 19, 2026
In recent years, it had become easy—like it has for many Americans—to treat long weekends meant to honor a national hero as a pause button: a little extra sleep, a short family trip, catching up on errands or unfinished work.
Even the ordinary feels out of place this year.
As I write this, my refrigerator is on the blink, and I’ll likely spend part of MLK Day waiting for a repair person, hoping the appliance can be saved. It’s a small, mundane disruption—but it feels oddly symbolic. When the world is at a moral crossroads, even routine things feel unsettled.
Read MoreIssue 2871— January 5, 2026
My sister used to send the same holiday message every year. The ditty went like this:
Happy Hanukkah knishes.
Merry Christmas wishes.
Lots of Kwanzaa cheer.
And a Brave New Year.
The new year of 2026 has already started out requiring much bravery. And bravery is best in community.
Times like these call for comfort food. Food that conjures safety, security, family, warmth, culture.
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