The Sum
Women, Wealth, and Power: What We Can Learn from Lilly Ledbetter’s Courage
Issue 2845 — April 21, 2025 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…
Read MoreThat Time I Didn’t Negotiate My Pay — and What Happened Then
Issue 2844 —April 14, 2025 True 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…
Read MoreHappy Women’s History Month?
Issue 2840 — March 3, 2025 On the third day of #womenshistorymonth, I’m reflecting on promises fulfilled and unfulfilled of the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women. I attended it in Beijing in 1995. If you were there, drop a comment below. I would love to know your thoughts and experiences. I was in…
Read MoreAction: Your Antidote to Anxiety and Other Ills
Issue 2839 — February 24, 2025 Madeleine moved to a new state with her husband who got a great job there, but she felt the loss of grounding without family and friends and the stimulation of a large city. She approached me to volunteer for Take The Lead and we began to work on a…
Read MoreHow to Unlock Potential: The Key to Thriving Business Success
Issue 2837 — February 3, 2025 You are incredibly, beautifully diverse. Think about it. A friend once observed to me that we are all made up of many tribes, each of which brings a piece of our identity to life. How many tribes do you belong to? What characteristics of yourself do you identify with? I…
Read MoreEqual Rights for All: On MLK Day, How RBG Logic Can Advance the ERA
Issue 2836 — January 20, 2025 On this long weekend when MLK day falls on inauguration day, and much of the country faces a big chill, a long overdue step forward for women’s rights was announced by President Biden: the ratification into the U.S. Constitution of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA for short). Many of…
Read MoreThis Is Personal: An anniversary and a breakthrough…
Issue 283 — December 23, 2024 Most weeks in my “Sum” column, I write about women, power, and leadership. But this week something personal took over my thinking and I decided to go with it. I hope it will resonate with you and perhaps even help someone who needs to hear it this time of…
Read MoreThank You Lilly Ledbetter, Equal Pay Champion, 4/14/34–10/12/24
Issue 275 — October 14, 2024 I was so sad to learn of the death of Lilly Ledbetter, a leader of the movement for pay equity. She was moved by her own story to fight for equal pay regardless of gender first for herself, and then for all women. After learning that her pay had been…
Read MoreHammering Power: Part 1 of a 3 Part Series on how Kamala Harris Uses the 9 Leadership Power Tools
Issue 273 — September 16, 2024 “When the only tool you have is a hammer, you are likely to treat everything you see as a nail.” The hammer is a metaphor I use to deconstruct and reconstruct the meaning of power, so that women will embrace their hammer of power with confidence, authenticity, and joy…
Read MoreLovely Ketanji: How She Turned Bias on Its Head and Made It Her Superpower
Issue 272 — September 9, 2024 I had eagerly awaited the publication of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s memoir, Lovely One, since I learned that my talented friend Jamia Wilson, Vice President/Executive Editor at Penguin Random House, secured the plum of editing the book. Finally, the book launched on September 3, 2024, in Harlem’s…
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