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 Whitney Stidom
May is Women’s Health Month, an opportune time to check on the well-being of all the important women in your life.
Whether you're a spouse making sure your partner is taking care of herself, or an adult child checking in on an aging parent, a few thoughtful words can go a long way. Here are three steps to help the women you love get the healthcare they need.
Read MoreBy Jaya Iyer
When my daughter was about two years old, she told me she wanted to be an astronaut. I remember walking into the girls’ section of a store, expecting to find rockets or planets. Instead, I found slogans about being pretty like a princess. The boys’ section had fighter pilots and space themes, in general, showing them as strong and tough. The girls’ side had none of it.
It may seem small, but clothing sends messages about what is “normal” or “expected.” In that absence, I saw inequity. Instead of accepting it, I decided to build something different. That became the beginning of Svaha. I started creating apparel that reflected science, space, and technology in a joyful, expressive way for girls. I didn’t want my daughter, or any child, to feel that her interests were unusual or unfeminine.
Read MoreBy Maggie Keith
I didn’t set out to challenge the food system; I just couldn’t ignore what I was seeing. Early on, it became clear that farmers carry the most risk yet hold the least power, often the last to be paid and the first to absorb loss. That didn't sit right with me.
Instead of trying to succeed within that flawed structure, I stepped outside of it. I built a direct-to-consumer model at Foxhollow so we could price food in a way that reflects the work, the care, and the life behind it. I’ve made a point to speak openly about what’s broken, because pretending it works helps no one.
Read MoreBy Jane Pabon
After decades in fashion, I’ve seen firsthand how it shapes confidence, identity, and how people show up in the world. That’s why the way this industry operates matters more than people realize.
There’s a culture of overconsumption, of pushing trends people don’t need, and of telling customers everything looks good on them just to make a sale. I see the impact of that every day.
Read MoreBy Erin Pavane
One moment that really shaped how I lead happened while I was building partnerships between Sanderson Yachting and travel advisors.
As I began speaking with more advisors, I kept hearing the same thing. Many believed private yacht charters were simply out of reach for them. The industry felt closed off. The booking process seemed complicated. Commission structures often favored larger agencies or long-established brokers with deep relationships in the space.
Read MoreBy Marla Ramos
When was your last wellness activity?
Yoga? Pilates? A sound bath? A quiet walk before sunset?
For many, wellness is a routine. For me, it became a lifeline.
I grew up in the Philippines in a home where healing was daily love. My mother brewed ginger tea before medicine. We relied on hilot, herbs, prayer, and faith in the body’s wisdom. When I struggled with hormonal imbalance, my sister introduced me to alternative healing. I saw how plant medicine supported my brother’s chronic illness. Wellness restored us long before I understood the science, that nature regulates stress and connection strengthens resilience.
Read MoreBy Kasey Walsh
February is Rare Disease Month, a time when rare conditions briefly come into focus, but for families living with them, the reality never fades.
My daughter was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder, AP-4-HSP. After that, things began to feel surreal. I was thrust into a world of isolation and uncertainty. The widespread understanding of rare conditions is that most are yet to be discovered. I became the mom reading research late at night, comparing notes with other parents, and trying to connect dots that no system seemed designed for us. Like many parents in rare disease communities, I became a parent-driven researcher out of my love for my daughter and urgent necessity.
Read MoreBy Erica Diamond
In 2001, my business was booming. Sales were climbing. People were praising my “hustle.” From the outside, it looked powerful.
Quietly, I was burning out.
I was waking up exhausted, running on adrenaline, and convincing myself it was normal. I wore productivity like a badge and ignored the warning signs my body kept sending. My shoulders lived up by my ears. My mind never shut off. I was snapping at people I loved, then feeling guilty, then working harder to prove I was fine.
Read MoreBy Laura Rowley
Nearly 20 years ago, I received a cold email from a young engineer at a Fortune 100 company. She didn’t ask for anything dramatic—just advice on how to build a more flexible career. I wrote back with one small lead and a website link. A single suggestion.
Last year, I ran into her at a conference in Washington, D.C. She stopped me and said, “Do you remember me?” I didn’t. But she remembered me. She told me that brief email—that tiny nudge—had helped her take a leap that eventually became a thriving business.
Read MoreBy Ariel Treiber
I grew up watching my father build Skil-Care from the ground up. As a child, I didn’t fully understand what he was creating, but I understood the work ethic behind it. Nights, weekends, travel, and a belief that the work mattered shaped my early understanding of what it meant to build something with purpose.
Skil-Care was created to make healthcare environments safer and more humane. From the beginning, his focus was on dignity and safety for people who are often overlooked. My father cared deeply about patients, nursing home residents, and caregivers doing demanding work every day. Those values became the foundation of our company.
Read MoreBy Erin Mittelstaedt
It’s 2 p.m. and I’m at my desk, contemplating another cup of coffee. My mind wanders to school pickup and my wife’s upcoming birthday—then I catch myself. I head to the break room for a snack and can’t help but smile, because this moment is exactly why The FruitGuys (the company I run) exists! We deliver healthy food that helps push workers through the midday slump by powering their bodies and minds.
Read MoreBy Tatiana McDaniel
Talking about things most people were taught not to is literally my day job. Vaginal health. Odor. Intimacy. These are the kinds of topics that still make people whisper, and honestly, that’s exactly why we’re loud and proud about them at Happy V.
Every day, women reach out with stories that stop me in my tracks. They’ve been told by doctors their symptoms were “probably stress,” or made to feel embarrassed about something completely normal happening with their bodies. Some have even been shamed by partners who don’t understand what an unbalanced microbiome is. Those stories remind me why our work matters, because if we’re not speaking up, we’re letting the stigma win.
Read MoreBy Maddie Miles-Manley
Very early in my journey, I experienced an inequity that ultimately led to the creation of Peace Love Hormones. Like so many women, I was told my symptoms were “normal” or simply part of being a woman, even when my body was clearly asking for deeper support. What felt most unjust wasn’t just the discomfort; it was the lack of education, curiosity, and real tools offered to women. We were expected to tolerate imbalance instead of understanding it.
Read MoreBy Sonia Lewis
Early in my career, I watched brilliant, educated women—particularly Black women in public service—do everything “right” and still fall behind. They earned degrees, accepted lower-paying service roles, showed up for their communities, and were rewarded with crushing student loan debt that quietly shaped every career decision they made. Promotions were declined. Homeownership was delayed. Entrepreneurship felt impossible. Yet in workplaces, student loan debt was treated as a personal failure rather than a systemic inequity.
Read MoreBy Margaret Graziano
I learned early that silence protects the wrong things. Years ago, I watched a male CEO remove my protégé from a project without warning. Her questions threatened him. Her insight made him uncomfortable. When she told me, I confronted him. He told me to leave if I didn’t like his choice. Walking away would have been easier, but I didn’t. I fought for my IP. I stood for the work we built, for her, and for my own values. That moment changed my life, becoming the seed of Keen Alignment.
Read MoreBy Mary Sahagun
I began my career as an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer at Singapore Airlines, working in an environment where precision, structure, and accountability shaped every decision. Aviation trained me to communicate clearly, follow systems, and solve problems methodically. I expected to build my entire professional life there, but the pandemic forced a halt I could not control. The industry stalled, and suddenly, so did the path I had spent years pursuing.
Read MoreBy Megan Skeath
When I became a new mom, I expected the usual challenges, sleepless nights, constant feedings, all the things everyone warns you about. I loved choosing outfits for my son, but the moment I started using them, the reality set in: these items weren’t built for the hands, bodies, or emotions of postpartum women. They were created for store shelves and photos, not for the mother awake at 3 a.m., recovering, vulnerable, and trying her best..
Read MoreBy Daniella Levy
I occupy a space that, for years, has been considered taboo. For as long as I can remember, anything involving vaginal health came with this automatic sense of embarrassment, like you were doing something wrong by even bringing it up. Most of us learn that silence young, and it follows us well into adulthood.
Read MoreBy Shelby Thomas
For nearly two decades, I worked in New Hampshire’s family court system, where inequity was impossible to ignore. I watched mothers lose custody after being labeled “unstable” for protecting their children. I saw justice tilt toward those who could afford it, and immigrants signed agreements they barely understood because no proper interpreter was available.
Refusing to accept this, I spoke up. I became the first paralegal in the state allowed to represent clients in court, expanding access to justice for people who otherwise had none.
Read MoreBy Shelby Thomas
In 2014, during what would become the most impactful dive of my life, I watched a 100-year-old star coral colony die in just three days. That massive, vibrant reef structure turned grey and lifeless before my eyes. I knew I had to act.
As a marine scientist, I'd worked on dozens of restoration projects, but I kept seeing the same problem: most initiatives were just disaster responses funded by companies checking legal boxes, with minimal follow-up or community connection. I believed restoration should be proactive, not reactive – and people needed to feel personally connected to these underwater ecosystems they'd never see.
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