How “Play Like a Girl” Went From Epithet to Compliment
I’ve never been to a professional hockey game nor wanted to. I stay far away from sports bars. But I do resonate with hockey legend Wayne Gretzky whose pithy leadership advice is, “Don’t skate to where the hockey puck is. Skate to where the hockey puck is going.” I love the direction the hockey puck is going…
Read MoreWomen and the 3 C-Words (Not What You think)
Journalist Sheila Weller triggered the gossip machine with her new book The News Sorority: Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric, Christiane Amanpour—and the (ongoing, Imperfect, Complicated) Triumph of Women in TV News, when she reported on C-word #1: competition between the three female newsmedia icons. Couric’s flippant comment that Sawyer must have traded sexual favors to land…
Read MoreHow to Keep Women from Leadership Parity
I led a women’s executive leadership workshop on “Women, Power, and Authentic Leadership” recently. A business school professor presented just before me, so I arrived early to observe her segment. She’s a highly skilled communicator who presented terrific content. Her elegant attire and direct but modulated self-presentation perfectly mirror how women are advised to look and…
Read More4 Ways You Can Push for Parity This Women’s Equality Day
I was savoring my grilled salmon salad recently when my lunch partner’s casual comment made me drop my fork and get serious. “They’ve asked me to be board chair at the Brooklyn Museum, I’d be the first woman in their 100-year history. But I don’t know if I can do it,” Elizabeth Sackler said. “What…
Read MoreThe World Turns on Human Connections
After a whirlwind year of creating an organization, hosting an amazing launch, and being overwhelmed with gratitude for the scores of organizations and individuals who have supported our cause, donated to it, and who want to align with Take The Lead’s mission and programs, we’ve been taking stock. Asking ourselves what works and what not…
Read MoreYou can do it at the beach, on a boat, or by the pool
I was on vacation the last few weeks. And judging from the number of vacation messages from people on this newsletter list, so were many of you. Hope you had a restorative experience if you have already taken time off, (See below for who I met on my vacation.) And if yours is still to…
Read MoreCan a Tampon Ad Really Empower You?
Consumer products ads have jumped on the girls and women’s empowerment bandwagon. Is this commercialization of women’s equality a good thing? On the positive side, when a company like Pantene bases an entire shampoo ad campaign on exposing sexism and starts a hashtag telling women to #ShineStrong, you know something big has shifted in the…
Read More8 Ways to Erase the “Can Women Have It All?” Question
If it’s so darn hard to be a parent and a CEO, why doesn’t Indra Nooyi resign from PepsiCo? Nooyi, who receives high marks as a CEO, fell several notches in my estimation as a leader who apparently doesn’t realize the impact her words will have on younger women’s aspirations. And don’t even talk to…
Read MoreThe Meaning of Crackers, or What Painful Memory Holds You Back?
Stefi materialized like a sea sprite during our first breakfast at the Dubrovnik estate overlooking placid turquoise Adriatic waters. In an uncharacteristically impulsive act, I had purchased four nights for four people in this Croatian paradise at a charity auction. And here we were, absorbing the wonders of this gorgeous place, complete with Nada the amazing chef,…
Read MoreIt’s not the mountain that trips you, it’s the pebble.
My husband Alex and I just returned from a perfect vacation in the renowned Galapagos Islands of Ecuador. If you haven’t made this trip, put it on your bucket list. We swam with the giant sea turtles and iguanas, cavorted with playful sea lions, and snapped photos of the famous blue-footed boobies—it was pure heaven.…
Read More