Posts in Gender Parity
**Action Required: How to Turn Your Fear into Power**

As the dust settles after the November 5th election, many of you are deflated, while others are elated.

No matter where you stand, one thing is clear: Take The Lead’s mission for gender parity in leadership across all sectors has never been more essential. Our work transcends party lines and industries, grounded in the belief that advancing women’s economic power, parity, and reproductive freedom benefits us all.

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It’s A Win-Win: Women Reaching Gender Equality in Sports, Work & Life

It’s only been a century since women athletes were excluded from the 1924 Olympics in Paris, but this is quite a golden comeback. At the 2024 Olympics in Paris this year, athletes identifying as men and women are equally participating—almost.

With the hashtag, #GenderEqualOlympics, the International Olympic Committee declares gender equity in representation with 5,630 male athletes and 5,416 women. Twenty-eight out of 32 sports are fully gender equal in Paris, with a schedule of 152 women’s events, 157 men’s events and 20 mixed-gender events.

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Joy, Music, Inclusion & Power: Sweet Honey In The Rock Inspires at Power Up Concert

Fifty and 10.

Celebrating 50 years in the music industry, the eight-member mostly all female group (seven of the eight identify as women), Grammy-nominated ensemble Sweet Honey In The Rock honors the joy of creativity and commitment to inclusion with their performance at the Power Up Concert 2024.

The concert and conference herald Take the Lead’s 10 years of effort to engage, support, train and uplift women and men with the goal of parity in leadership across all sectors.  

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Empowering Women in Educational Leadership: A Conversation with Dr. Stephanie Duguid and Gloria Feldt

I had the opportunity to join Dr. Stephanie Duguid, owner of Do Good Leadership, on her podcast “Empowering Women in Educational Leadership” in a compelling discussion on women in leadership. We delved into the critical disparities between men and women in leadership roles with a mission dedicated to propelling women into their rightful leadership positions across all sectors by 2025.

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Enough Gender Pay Gap: 5 Ways To Get Paid Your Worth & Why It Matters

As if shaking up the world of sports coverage is not enough, new WNBA draft Caitlin Clark is embodying the gross discrepancy in pay for women for the same work as men.

According to CBS News, the former University of Iowa basketball superstar will make $76,000 in her first year with the Indiana Fever. That compares to “rookie Victor Wembanyama, the No. 1 NBA draft pick last year, whose 2023-24 season salary was more than $12 million,” according to ABC News.

No worries for Clark, though, as she recently signed a $28 million deal with Nike.

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See How She Runs: Emerge America President On Urgent Need For Women To Run For Office

As a young girl of 7,  A’shanti Gholar discovered C-SPAN and was hooked on watching political discussions. Now president of Emerge America, Gholar says, “I didn’t see a lot of people who look like me—women, Black or Brown people.”

Her parents were not politically minded she says, though they voted. But she got encouragement at school. “I took an 11th grade government class and the teacher brought in the candidates to come speak to the class.”

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Winning Leadership: Take The Lead’s Award-Winners To Shine At Power Up Conference

They are all in the fight to win. And when gender parity in leadership arrives, everyone wins.

Because of that dedication to the mission of fairness, equity, gender parity and inclusion, these four exceptional leaders—Angel City Football Club’s Julie Uhrman, Kathleen Turner, Ms. Magazine’s Kathy Spillar and Darnell Moore—are each duly honored at the 2023 Power Up Conference & Concert on Women’s Equality Day that coincides with the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, D.C.

Fair is fair and these award-winners are fairly acknowledged and celebrated.

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Applauding Good Work: Activists Advocating For Women, Girls Across Generations

The first Chicago Foundation For Women award went to Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2005, at the age of 72, when she was a Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. Since then, 125 women leaders have been honored, and this year, 17-year-old Azariah Baker, Youth Leader of A Long Walk Home, won the Vanguard Award.

“I have been encouraged by so many women in my life and am so thankful,” says Baker, an artist and activist, senior at George Washington College Prep High School, who is attending Spelman College in the fall. “You see women here doing everything in their fullness. My work is an ode to my Black experience.”

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I Owe You an Update

Issue 225 — April 9, 2023

Thank you for supporting Take The Lead! You make this essential work for gender parity possible. As a donor, you deserve to know what your gifts accomplish. We’ve been heads down doing the work — delivering training, creating valuable leadership content, and planning exciting new programs. Here’s a brief update for 2023 so far. I’d love to elaborate if you want more information, and I’ll be happy to take your questions, ideas, and comments. Please send them to me here.

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