The Power of Imagery: Annie Leibovitz on 50 Years of Working to Portray Women

You have likely heard the adage that a picture is worth 1,000 words. In the case of Annie Leibovitz, iconic photographer for more than 50 years, her pictures are priceless.

The legendary creative force and winner of the International Center of Photography Lifetime Achievement Award and the Centenary Medal of Royal Photographic Society, Leibovitz humbly graced the Chicago Humanities Festival stage recently to talk about how women are seen—and not seen authentically—and ultimately not known.

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 We Can: How to Build a Culture of Inclusion, Tips from the Women and Worth Summit

Issue 180 — October 4, 2021

Humming Alicia Keys’ song “A Woman’s Worth,” I entered the room, only my second in-person event since February, 2020, to join the Women & Worth Summit 2021: Reset. Refresh. Rebuild.

The Summit description says what I believe about the opportunity of disruption, “While the pandemic threw the state of the world into chaos, the globe is finally beginning to reopen, allowing us the chance to reset and rebuild. We can use this momentum to create scalable change and impact.”

Thrive In Your Brilliance: Latina Leader, Author on How To Create Change

You may not have heard of the artichoke capital of the world—Castroville, California—but you definitely need to hear and know more about Denise Padín Collazo, a leader, advocate, director and author who coincidentally was born in Castroville.

Senior advisor for external affairs and director of institutional advancement at Faith In Action, (formerly PICO National Network), the nation’s largest faith-based, progressive organizing network, Collazo is an inspiring leadership expert and social justice advocate with the mission to encourage women of color to lead with vision and to thrive.

How long until justice? Juneteenth symbolizes both question and answer

June 18, 2021

Growing up deep in the heart of Texas, I learned in (segregated) school that Juneteenth was a big celebration day for Black people because it marked the date on which the Emancipation Proclamation, which had been signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, finally reached Texas on June 19th, 1865.

This date, when federal troops arrived in Galveston to take control of the state after the Civil War, at last ended the egregious practice of legal human slavery in the United States.

Pride or Rainbow-Washing? Why Leaders Need To Be True LGBTQ+ Inclusive Allies

June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month and while the rainbows seem to be everywhere—even in the new 346-piece “Everyone Is Awesome,” rainbow-colored Lego set—the workplace is not often a safe, welcome and fair place for LGBTQ+ employees.

It’s called “rainbow-washing.”

New Ways To Be Strong: Addressing The Stress For Black Women at Work

Calling someone strong is supposed to be a compliment. For generations of Black women, expecting and demanding they always be strong—and silent—no matter what, is cause for concern.

Dr. Inger Burnett-Zeigler, licensed clinical psychologist and an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, in the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, is out to change all of the stigmas, misconceptions and invisibility of Black women and redefine what it means to be a strong Black woman.

You Can Always Get What You Want: Ladies Get Paid Founder on the Power of Changing The Rules

Like so many great ideas, this one started in the ladies room.

Claire Wasserman, the founder of Ladies Get Paid, a global community that champions the professional and financial advancement of women, had retreated to the restroom at a festival party in Cannes, France. She was there for the Cannes Film Festival in 2010, as she was working as a producer to promote a nominated short film, “Snovi.”

Powerful Arguments: Take The Lead, Center For Women In Law Launch New Program

In the popular CBS-TV show, “All Rise,” Lola Carmichael, a Black judge who is newly appointed to the bench, fights for justice with her female-led, diverse and inclusive team. They all wear gorgeous outfits and tend to their complicated and fulfilling personal lives outside the courtroom. They share wisdom, prevail at work, network, laugh; they are all perceived as powerful.

Respect: 10 Black Women Leaders Creating Change Now

Recognizing that there are infinitely more than 10 brilliant Black Women in 2021 to celebrate, acknowledge and learn from, we at Take The Lead looked at the latest contributions from only some of the multitudes of Black women leaders who are making a difference—in politics, economics, literature, business, science, academia, sports and retail.

9 ways to Take The Lead even in a terrible year

2020 came dancing in with such hope.

2020 was going to be Take The Lead’s year to scale up after seven years of building our credibility, developing our unique methodology of accelerating women’s advancement in leadership, and proving that it works. We’d earned the opportunity to grow exponentially. We had an amazing year of programming planned. Symbolically, 2020 being the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution giving women the right to vote after seven decades of struggle, seemed like the perfect time.

But just as the suffrage amendment was flawed by not assuring voting rights to Asian, Indigenous, and Black women, 2020 brought to light many deficiencies. Like those punching balloons that keep popping back up for more, it seemed like every time we thought it couldn’t get worse, it did.

Women Take The Lead: 2020 Sets Records in Representation in U.S.

“Dream with ambition, lead with conviction, and see yourself in a way that others might not see you, simply because they’ve never seen it before. And we will applaud you every step of the way.”

These were the stunning words from the next and first Madam Vice President, Kamala Harris, from a Delaware stage before introducing President Elect Joe Biden after the election results were announced.

“But while I may be the first woman in this office, I won’t be the last. Because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities,” Harris said.

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