Move, Stay, or Pivot? Uncertain Times Make Career Choices Different For Many

Should you stay or should you pivot?

The current climate is complicating the career paths of millions due to the factors of unpredictable layoffs, economic uncertainty, hiring freezes, pay reductions, and a general fear of culture changes enforced by a DEI-resistant administration.

How that plays out for leaders, managers and colleagues on different career trajectories, industries and levels of progress on a management ladder varies widely. But it is remarkably different from the Great Resignation sparked by COVID-19, that also enveloped many with a sense of possibility for entrepreneurship rallies and pivots into daring careers.

Career choicesMichele WeldonMarch 14, 2025Career Path, Career Goals, Economy, Career Development, Gender ParityComment

Don’t Get Mad: Keys to Calm Negotiating With Tough Partners for Your Win

A newly pervasive culture of shouting matches at school board meetings, city council meetings, citizen meetings with elected officials, youth sports, union meetings, public protests, board meetings, diplomacy meetings and even televised negotiations from the Oval Office have all normalized yelling, name-calling and bullying.

But this behavior is neither normal nor productive. So how do you change the momentum of the moment when you are in a work environment and someone shouts, yells, screams or causes chaos to erupt?

Learn & Earn: Stay Tuned to Economics Trends, Forecasts to Succeed as Leaders and Entrepreneurs

You cannot escape the impact economics has on every aspect of your life. Understanding the rapid changes today in employment trends, tariffs, labor, opportunities, consumer needs, inflation, behavioral economics as well as the laws of supply and demand in the U.S. and globally will make you a better leader and wiser entrepreneur.

“Economics has something to say about whatever you are talking about,” says Professor Kim Holder, managing director of the Center for Economics Education at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Finance/Money, Gender ParityMichele WeldonFebruary 21, 2025Economics, Gender Parity, Womens Leadership, EquityComment

On Banning Ideas, Finding Your Tribe and Winning the Prize

Picture this: It is 1972. I am a student in a relatively progressive suburban public school system, one in which the chorus sang excerpts from “Hair,” (I still know all the words to “Age of Aquarius”), but Home Economics was only for girls and Wood Shop for boys.

Along comes a new magazine: Ms. It challenges the patriarchy and traditional roles. It shakes up the status quo. It does not conform to “expectations.”

Inspire: Take The Lead...Take The LeadFebruary 13, 2025Leadership, Gender Parity, Equality, Anniversary, Womens Equality, Ms. MagazineComment

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

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.

Career success, Gender ParityMichele WeldonApril 26, 2024Gender Parity, Pay Gap, Gender discriminationComment

How Do You Go from Grief to Joy?

How do you go from grief to joy?

This week I write about how the examples of recent moments of communal grief--the 21st anniversary of 9/11 and the death of Queen Elizabeth II—can inform us as we grapple with personal grief. And I share a phone call that helped me process my grief by creating a lasting legacy in memory of my husband, and the resulting joy. Read the full story here...

Lucky 7: Saluting Take The Lead’s 7 Years On A Mission To Parity

Issue 161 — February 22, 2021

Grady Gammage auditorium, with its classic Frank Lloyd Wright architecture, buzzed with excitement, filled to its 3000+ seat capacity on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ. Local people who were unable to get tickets hosted watch parties in their homes and offices, and dozens of groups from India to Seattle sent pictures of their watch party events.

Carla Harris’s electrifying opening keynote trended globally on Twitter before the crush of internet users broke the venue’s internet capacity and made our livestream spotty. Even that didn’t dampen the enthusiasm.

Icons Lead The Conversation: Gloria Steinem + Julianne Moore + You

How many female cultural icons does it take to make a once in a lifetime virtual event just for you?

The answer is two, plus two emerging leaders in journalism, media and entertainment. Plus you.

“When there are nine” and other powerful quotes about gender equality from Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Issue 143 — September 28, 2020

She was tiny. She was mighty. She was a brilliant legal strategist. She was lovingly dubbed “notorious” for her groundbreaking advances for women’s equality, autonomy, and therefore our power within society.

Yet U. S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg broke boundaries gently. Never wavering from her revolutionary vision of gender equality, she believed in making big change in small increments.

“Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.”

Update: COVID Infects 25 Years Of Progress After Women’s Rights = Human Rights Speech

In 1995, Madonna, Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson topped the pop charts. A new music option called DVD launched. Windows 95 and Ebay were introduced.

And Hillary Clinton gave a world-turning speech in Beijing, China.

“If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, it is that human rights are women’s rights. And women’s rights are human rights,” First Lady of the United States Clinton spoke to a crowd of 1,500 on September 5, 1995 at the Fourth World Conference on Women by the United Nations Development Program.

Conventional Women: Non-Partisan RNC, DNC Highlights of Women Leaders

The virtual national conventions for both the Democratic and Republican parties were unprecedented and historic in many ways.

Due to COVID-19, there were no in-person gatherings of throngs of delegates, speakers and supporters wearing funny hats and carrying signs. The handling of videos, recorded vignettes plus live and recorded speeches lent a tone of slick production values to both recent weeks of conventions.

View Newsletter Archive

Info

Action