There’s Power in Naming and Power in Knowing your Name

Issue 134— July 6, 2020

My cousin Elizabeth is making good use of this time of sheltering during the pandemic to dig into our family history. It was rooted in the small town of Birzai, Lithuania for hundreds of years until two world wars either killed them or dispersed them to many corners of the world. One of the most intriguing and yet exasperating parts of this exploration is getting the names right as spellings varied from language to language. Vinn became Vinh or Bein, Henne to Hannah, and even some in the same nuclear family some people spelled their last names differently.

So what is in a name anyway? Identity, Personhood. Justice. Say her name: Breonna Taylor. Say his name: George Floyd.

7 Tips for Networking Even in a Pandemic

Issue 133 — June 29, 2020

One thing COVID-19 has done is make life easier for introverts.

If you break out in a cold sweat at the thought of networking, in the sense of walking into a large room full of people you don’t know and trying to make connections that will be useful to you in your professional life, while balancing a beverage — it might seem in first blush that at least that worry is over.

But the reality is your network is your net worth.

Leading With Data: Founder Enhances Take The Lead’s Premium Coaching Program

Yes, that is her family’s given surname.

Vidhi Data, founder of Lead with Impact, and the Take The Lead Leadership Ambassador spearheading the launch of Take The Lead’s Premium Coaching, gets the question often if her last name “Data” is a gimmick because she specializes in digital transformational leadership.

Best Of States, Worst of States: Equality, Opportunity Differ

Where you live and who you are unfortunately makes a big difference on how you live and work in this country.

Take The Lead took a look at several new studies— on racial equality by state, opportunities for LGBTQIA persons by state, remote work access by state, post-COVID-19 jobs and women in tech opportunities—to clarify the geographic framing of equity and opportunity in America.

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.

Be Proud: Maintaining LGBTQIA Inclusive Workplaces

J.K. Rowling offended trans individuals and groups on Twitter with an offensive definition of women. Pride parades were cancelled across the country due to COVID-19 safety concerns. New research shows workplace discrimination against LGBTQIA employees is prevalent.

Listen to Take The Lead’s podcast on “Pride in The Workplace”

To be truly inclusive, diverse, equitable and fair to all persons, company and organization leaders have work to do.

The Power in Uncertainty: Women In Law Take The Lead For Change and Fairness

“Being uncertain doesn’t mean you are powerless,” said Jami McKeon, chair of Morgan Lewis, the largest law firm in the world led by a woman.

Speaking on the recent online panel, “Building a Better Legal Profession: Diversity, Inclusion, Technology, and the Teams of Tomorrow,” co-sponsored by Take The Lead and University of Texas’ Center For Women in Law, McKeon said COVID-19 and the most recent protests and developments highlighting injustice in the past few weeks have changed the legal profession and practices—especially for women, particularly women of color.

Can The Post-COVID Workplace Be Better For Women?

Women have been hardest hit by the economic impact of COVID-19. It makes sense women will continue to be the most affected after the pandemic subsides as well. It also makes sense to address those possibilities head on so the future approaches gender equity across all platforms and disciplines.

Some new research says the new post-COVID workplace may indeed be more fair, but it will take intention and deliberate action.

Back By Popular Demand: 50 Women Can Change The World in Journalism

Take The Lead is launching its second annual 50 Women Can Change the World in Journalism program, slated to kick off on June 16th. Applications for the digital training can be submitted here.

Watch highlights of the 2019 50 Women in Journalism program here

Sponsored in part by Democracy Fund and the Ford Foundation, the program comes at a point when women in the media are making progress but still struggling for parity amid broad layoffs and massive industry changes. For example, women have made up the majority of journalism and mass communication degree programs in the United States for more than three decades.

Now Is Best Time To Network: Mom Project Gives $500K to Extend Jobs, Projects

“Now is one of the best times to network,” says Kayla Tekus, director of marketing at The Mom Project, a Chicago-based talent and coaching company focusing on career paths of women and mothers, with a community of over 250,000 professionals and more than 2,000 companies.

The latest news for the company founded in 2016 by CEO Allison Robinson, is that they are offering $500,000 in their Stronger Together Fund to small and medium sized businesses to retain female employees or hire new ones on contracts, with $1,000 to $5,000 grants. Thirty grants have been given so far.

Vision, Focus, Transparency: CEO in Education Offers 6 Lessons on Leading Now

Growing up in Cincinnati, Kristyn Klei Borrero says the desegregation of local schools there gave her a view of K-12 education that “was not monolithic” and steeped in “white kids’ privilege.”

It would fuel her career as CEO and co-founder of CT3, a coaching services company dedicated to improving curriculum across the country by coaching and training educators creatively and serving more than 1 million students in the past 12 years.

What Day Is It? 7 Keys To Maintaining WFH Focus During COVID-19

Is it Tuesday or Thursday? Are you mixing up your days of the week working from home?

Due to the COVID-19 shelter from home mandate for millions now working remotely from home, the challenges of isolation, distractions, interruptions, family duties and more are crossing the lines literally from work and home.

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