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.”
Read MoreForty-three women elected to the State House of Representatives in Missouri now have to wear a jacket to work. The new dress code for female lawmakers is prompting pushback for what some call out of touch, out of date and outright sexist.
Read More“They have skills.”
That statement has been universally and historically viewed as a compliment to an employee, colleague or leader.
It still is, but now there is an asterisk to the statement. Looking forward with the influx of artificial intelligence and automation in the workplace, it may precede a path to worker replacement. Individuals need to know the value they offer beyond their skills, and that those skills are not automatically generated cheaper and more easily. And they need to surpass the AI gatekeepers and algorithms steeped in gender and racial bias.
Read MoreWhat 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.
Read MoreFunny you would think humor is gender blind in the workplace, because it’s not.
Read MoreSometimes you have to speak up when you know what you know. Take a stand. Create change. Because it matters.
Read MoreThe robot may know best. In paths to close the gender funding gap in entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence may be key.
Read MoreGender equity will not land on us when we open the window.
Read MoreHow dare she?
Read MoreEsther Kestenbaum, CEO of DayOne Baby,envisions a world “where all workplaces and public spaces have accommodations for lactating mothers.”
Read MoreHopefully, most of us are not daily sparring with co-workers behaving similarly to the fired Google employee James Damore who recently unleashed a 10-page anti-diversity, gender-bashing manifesto.
Read MoreTo put a positive spin on it, we’ve had many examples of the power of a woman’s voice.
It started last Sunday during the Tony Awards, when best actress in a musical, Bette Midler, kept speaking her piece long after the escalating music signaled she should get off the stage. She took her time, thanked the women who came before her, and imperiously waved the orchestra off, declaring she had the floor. The way she took her time and space to make her voice heard felt outrageous and liberating at the same time. Her assertive presence must have made Amy Cuddy proud.
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