She’s Doing It: Madge and LaKeisha

Madge WoodsMadge Woods was a mediator and at a networking event, a woman asked her if she would like to mentor a parolee. The program was called “VIP Volunteers in Parole” and was then funded through the California State Bar Association. While Madge is not a lawyer, she was told they wanted her anyway and she agreed.

Her first parolee, in her words was “a disaster” and eventually after three years Madge “learned her lesson and moved on” and then she met LaKeisha Burton.

As I wrap up my next HeartFeldt Leadership BlogHer column on this very same subject, it is their touching story written by Madge I’m honored to share on this week’s She’s Doing It.

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Seriously? Must a Woman Be Like a Man to Get Ahead?

Woman in FedoraThat question comes up every time I speak with women about their career aspirations.

A second question just as surely follows: if we can’t be authentically who we are, why would we want to “succeed” in male-dominated organizations or professions? Many women who leave the corporate world to stay home with children or enter entrepreneurial or nonprofit fields—or alternately, remain quietly in their jobs put only to find themselves doing the work but not getting the promotions—say they do so because they don’t want to become like men.

Yet all signs point to a potential breakthrough moment for women even as we debate the pros and cons of taking on male camouflage.

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