Read, Listen, Learn: 13 Great Books by Women Authors for Women’s History Month

With days to go on Women’s History Month, the theme, “Moving Forward Together,” celebrating "Women Educating and Inspiring Generations" fits perfectly with Take The Lead’s suggested list of books by women authors writing about history.

Even with the trend of banned books and the threat to reduce funding to public libraries, the habit of reading (and listening) to books is high in this country, with more women consuming books in all forms—ink on paper, ebooks and audiobooks—than men. There is also a trend of more women publishing books than men—a gender gap worth applauding.

MediaMichele WeldonMarch 21, 2025womens history month, reading, literature, leadership, gender gapComment

Ragan Communications Announces Winners of its Video, Visual & Virtual Awards: Take The Lead Women Wins Interview/Q&A Category

Ragan Communications proudly unveils the winners of its Video, Visual & Virtual Awards, recognizing the most outstanding achievements in visual storytelling and virtual experiences across the communications, marketing and PR industries. These winners represent creative excellence in video production, design innovation and virtual event execution. Their work captivated audiences, elevated brand narratives and delivered results that advanced their organizations' or client's communications strategies.

Self-promotion, MediaTake The LeadFebruary 13, 2025Press Release, Gloria Steinem, Gloria Feldt, Gender Parity, AwardsComment

Listen, Hear: 10 Best Podcasts For Women’s Leadership & Why

Lots of choices and options are good, but when you have close to 4.2 million podcasts around the world to pick from, which ones are best for you as a busy person interested in women’s business, leadership and entrepreneurship topics?

Take The Lead has selected 10 of the best podcasts for women—by women—that you can spend your time listening to—while doing other things, so you can be the multitasker you are. With a range of shows aimed at different generations, fields and identities, this list can perhaps validate choices you already made or introduce you to others you may not have known.

Media, Women Career SuccessMichele WeldonDecember 13, 2024Podcast, Women LeadersComment

Take A Stand: 8 Strategies To Navigate Transparency In Global Workplace Statements

Colleagues, teams, clients, customers and mentees are looking to leaders now for direction in difficult global times. The words and phrasing all leaders and managers use in every discussion at work and in public statements are of crucial importance. Reactions can lead to firings, resignations—or support.

Care and fairness is critical. This is where leadership can shine or dissolve.

Sizeism at Work: What You Need To Know To Make Workplaces Safe, Inclusive

It’s holiday party time at work.

If you are spending your days in an office, or you are going in from your remote office for the special in-person occasion of a year’s end celebration, there will be an abundance of buffets, holiday treats and goodies.

That can be wonderful and it can also be dreadful, particularly if you are labelled as overweight, a person in a larger body and fatshaming, fatphobia and sizeism are prevalent in your workplace culture. Subtle or overt comments such as, “Thats a full plate!” or “Why not try the fruit instead of the cookies?” may make anyone want to opt out of any celebration.

Sizeism is defined as bias or discrimination against an individual based on their weight or size. Women and weight is a toxic workplace stew with millions affected.

Changing the Workplace, Career success, MediaMichele WeldonDecember 8, 2023Sizeism, Workplace Culture, InclusivityComment

Sex, Camera, Power: How Filmmakers Affect Gender Bias in Workplace and Beyond

What you see is what you get. And what you don’t see is what you don’t get.

Nina Menkes, award-winning filmmaker, director and creator of the new documentary, “Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power” anchored a recent panel following a screening in Chicago at Facets on the historic visualization of characters identifying as women and how that mandates how systems treat half the world.

Change Leadership, Gender Parity, Women Career Success, Parity, MediaMichele WeldonDecember 9, 2022women in film, media, gender bias, Leadership ToolsComment

Make The Most of Digital Marketing: 4 Tips For Nonprofits To Excel

Nonprofit organizations have traditionally used fundraising events to help achieve their goals. However, it’s not enough to only have a handful of people supporting their cause.

That’s where digital marketing comes to play. Digital marketing is usually attributed to for-profit organizations. While this is the case, nonprofits also reap the same benefits it has for businesses.

Finance/Money, Leadership/Organizational, Media, Tools and TipsDan MartinDecember 22, 2021digital presence, Nonprofit, funding, Social MediaComment

See Them, Hear Them: New CEO Aims For Media, Pop Culture To Drive Social Change

“What we don’t see, what we don’t hear, we cannot humanize,” says Nakisha M. Lewis, the new president and CEO of Breakthrough, a global nonprofit that uses the power of media, technology and popular culture to transform systems around gender, race, sexuality and immigrant rights.

Yes you can do something about unfair media coverage of women: here’s the secret

Issue 144 — October 5, 2020

I’ve gotta tell you, I get really tired of people complaining to me about something they saw in the news coverage of women. Whether it’s criticizing or loving Kamala Harris’s Chucks or the tone and timbre of a female leader’s voice, and don’t get me started on Hillary Clinton’s ankles and yellow pantsuit, women in leadership roles are scrutinized and stereotyped much more often than men. That’s surely true.

Show Us All: Why Media Visuals Need To Reflect BIPOC Women

Simone Biles is on the new August cover of Vogue. Viola Davis is on the August cover of Vanity Fair. It’s a good month for visual representation of strong BIPOC women leaders in mainstream media. But it’s been a long time coming. And it’s not nearly enough.

Even as the Biles’ photo shoot was criticized for how the lighting reflected the athlete’s skin tone as photographed by Annie Liebowitz, the trend of celebrating a wider range of women leaders is positive. Davis’ cover story was the first ever by a Black photographer, Dario Calmese.

Media Upheaval: Take The Lead Responds With Expanded 50 Women In Journalism Cohort

The media landscape is perhaps at its most chaotic and disrupted in history with firings of top editors, resignings, furloughs, shutdowns, accusations of racism and sexism in content, coverage and workplace culture.

Anna Wintour, the legendary Vogue editor, says the magazine’s culture is by her own admission “hurtful and intolerant,” and rarely promotes black staff. The co-founder and top editor of Refinery 29, Christene Barberich, resigned after accusations of racism. The Bon Appetit editor resigned over racist allegations. Conde Nast is accused of systemic racism.

Little Update: 9 Leadership Lessons From “Little Women” and Take The Lead

Louisa May Alcott is so 2020. At least her 1868 novel, “Little Women” in the hands of film director Greta Gerwig is. It’s a new feminist film far ahead of its time with lessons in leadership, ambition, motherhood, work and sisterhood that all women can use right about now. The lessons gathered from the latest iteration of the film also coincide with the 9 Leadership Power Tools created by Gloria Feldt, co-founder and president of Take The Lead.

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