Take The Lead is sharing your Power To Change Stories here, in our weekly newsletter, and in an upcoming ebook collection. Each week we highlight true, personal stories from around the world of how you are using your power to activate change. Together we can support each other in the mission to reach gender and racial parity in leadership across all sectors. Submit your stories here.
By Nina Simons.
When I first realized how my own internalized gender biases and beliefs were limiting my choices, behavior and leadership, I was shocked, then enlivened. Excited to embark on altering them. I began exploring inwardly, excavating how unconscious cultural conditioning had contributed to the story about what I was capable of visioning or achieving in my life.
Read MoreBy Sharla Toller. There’s a significant difference between an organization saying, “We value Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the workplace,” and adequately holding its leaders in their organization accountable for upholding that reality and driving meaningful change. But it’s the accountability that really matters. That is what leads to sustainable and impactful change within an organization.
Read MoreBy Emefa Boamah. So, I will rest, and you know what? The world will go on and it’s ok. I will try again tomorrow.
The onset of the pandemic. A personal near-death experience from COVID and it’s aftereffects for six months. Civil Unrest. Gun shootings. And most recently, living in a post Roe v. Wade country. Is this still the land of the free and home of the brave?
Read MoreBy Bethany Corbin, JD. I began getting involved with femtech around 2018-2019 when I was teaching at Wake Forest University School of Law. I finished my healthcare LL.M. at Loyola University of Chicago and my thesis focused on liability for the internet of medical things (IoMT).
When I was at Wake Forest, I became interested in the intersection of connected health devices/IoMT and women’s health. As I researched this area, I realized there was a gap in the femtech discussion from the legal community.
Read MoreBy Rania Nasis, MD, MBA. While in medical school, I met countless doctors who wanted to help patients but who were thwarted from doing just that. In particular, I saw how doctors weren’t empowered by technology; they were held hostage by it. This didn’t sit well with me. I knew tech could be a transformative force. So, I set off to find innovative approaches outside of traditional healthcare to make a real difference in the lives of real people.
Read MoreBy Susan Salenger. As I was wheeled into the cold operating room, attached to various tubes, I felt angry at myself for agreeing to have surgery I was convinced I didn't need. It turned out I was right—and to this day, many years later, I still feel bad that I had been so passive. But after talking with other women about their healthcare decisions, I found that many of them had acquiesced in the same way and felt similar regrets. These experiences forced me to wonder what makes women agree to do something to our bodies that we fundamentally think is wrong.
Read MoreBy Kari Pearce. I set my attention on creating a program that could provide a full workout, in a limited time. All of the results, without the countless hours at the gym. I have now created over 24 programs in a way to get the most out of your time.
Read MoreBy Dr. Tara Lalvani. I wasn’t from a business background and I am a testament that your past should never define your future. It has been a joy to see the impact Beautifect has made globally already and my wish is for more women to go after their dreams and fulfil their potential. It’s never too late to make a change.
Read MoreBy Julie Danis. My reinvention journey gave me the power to be who I am in my 60s and beyond: a writer and storyteller working on a play I believe will make others realize they’re not alone in what they experience and feel. My words do matter and my happiness and success is linked to being me.
Read MoreBy Kim Hunt. Though the ACA came too late for Rhonda, her story gives me the power to change the narrative for those who face similar challenges and ensure access to quality affordable health care. Her story inspires my advocacy for the current HB4430/SB3209 legislation, which increases access to two highly effective methods of HIV preventative healthcare, and my efforts to support marginalized and underrepresented individuals.
Read MoreBy Danielle Dao. My passion to work outside the box has strongly driven the last few decades of my career in cannabis. As this industry continues to evolve and adapt to increasing regulation, we’re seeing exciting steps forward, but we’re also seeing areas where we can still improve.
Read MoreBy Jasmine Beverley. The start of a year is a new beginning. My baby would be due in a few weeks, and I could not continue to cry and suffer in silence. I had to make the decision to be happy, to choose life and happiness. I wrote this book, The Unseen Veil, to help women who have never had a voice, women who have been silent, and those who have stayed silent.
Read MoreBy Samantha Smith. My philosophy on hiring is straightforward: hire the best. But upon reflection, did I have access to the best? Was I spending enough time looking at candidates who didn't use keywords that would appear on candidate searches? Did I widen my scope enough to attract a diverse candidate pool for my team?
Read MoreBy Asha Dahya. I focus on reproductive rights, gender equality, and the representation of women in media. I am passionate about empowering women, girls and femmes to take up space, raise their voice and share their story with the world.
Read MoreBy Mahja Sulemanjee Bortocek. I'm the CEO and Founder of High Haven Cannabis, a minority-owned, woman-led cannabis multi-state company. At High Haven, we admire the cannabis plant and want to bring universal acceptance of its consumption and use. Normalizing cannabis has always been my guiding light.
Read MoreBy Brittany Ristucci Warner. I chose to take that "too positive" energy to create my own opportunities, which included completing an accelerated MBA program while working full-time, starting a private consulting firm, partnering with a well-known scientist to create a biologics company, completing an Ironman Triathlon, opening a private surgery center, being selected to the Board of Directors for The Volunteer Center of NE Chicago, serving as assistant Mission Director for Face the Future Foundation and even more.
Read MoreBy Aiysha Johnson. I decided to combine my expertise connecting others to resources with my desire to help other women and founders of color. As a result, I founded the Global Brand Expansion (GBE) Lab, a tech-enabled educational and financial startup, to close opportunity gaps for women and founders of color through training, resources, and access to capital.
Read MoreBy Jessica Shaw. In recent years, we have witnessed a tremendous shift in the way we view mental health and wellness as a society. However, an area that is often left out of this discussion are the physical spaces in which we inhabit. The places in which we live our lives are strong factors in how we feel. One-third of our time is spent at work and 90% of our time is spent indoors. So, whether you work in a traditional office setting or from home, the design of these spaces is definitely something to consider.
Read MoreBy Jeannette Ceja. I vividly remember moments from my childhood spent sitting in front of the television after school, learning and absorbing everything I possibly could. I would ask myself: “How come the hosts who were showing me a diverse world of destinations, cultures, and languages, were not diverse themselves?” The absence of representation on television and in travel media left a lifelong impact. It’s why I pursued a degree in broadcast journalism. I wanted to make a change that I did not see in the states.
Read MoreBy Allié McGuire. I was introduced to Mehr Mursal Amiri, a 24-year-old female Afghan reporter, with a phone call, while she was hiding from the Taliban in Kabul. My name is Allié McGuire. I'm the Editor-in-Chief of AwareNow Magazine. A journalist made this introduction along with the suggestion for an interview, as she thought I could help Mehr have her story seen and heard. In that first conversation, we connected in a way and on a level that neither of us could have expected.
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