Issue 131 — June 15, 2020

There is ambition and there is intention. Ambition is I hope, I wish, I want. Intention is I will, I am doing it, there was never a question.

Elma Beganovich’s intention is clear: to win the same size contracts that any of the big four ad agencies would get based on her company’s ability and the talent she and her sister and cofounder Amra bring.

Amra and Elma founded A&E, a digital agency with an impressive client portfolio of Fortune 500 companies like J&J, P&G, Netflix, VF Corp, and Wells Fargo. They are mega influencers with over 2.2 million social followers.

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.

Shock and awe; building a movement for real change

Issue 130 — June 9, 2020

On the day of George Floyd’s funeral, let me just say it. I’m shocked that anyone is shocked about the blatantly obvious systemic racism and discrimination experienced by African Americans. The data has been in front of our noses since — forever. Even if one has never met a Black person, I don’t get how anyone can be oblivious to the rampant injustice unless he or she never consumes news, goes to the movies, or walks about a city. If you read no further, please read this straightforward overview of Black life in America by Julene Allen, CEO of Women of Color in the Workplace. She clearly documents that we are NOT living in a post-racial world.

The SumGloria FeldtJune 9, 2020Comment

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.

Beyond Optics: How To Create Allyship In An Anti-Racist Work Culture

It’s better to do good than to just look good. Non-optical allyship is the goal.

The protests, violence and disruptions of the past weeks after the murder of George Lloyd --whose name is added to the perpetual roster of Black men and women killed in this country as a result of racism-- are symptomatic of the larger systems and infrastructures that must change in business and far beyond.

Parallel Pandemics, Convergent Solutions

Issue 129 — June 1, 2020

We are in a profoundly disruptive time. A time when just a week ago, I could see many opportunities to reshape a better world post-pandemic. That’s until another pandemic, a pandemic of racism was laid so bare that layered on top of COVID it feels like a leaden blanket we’ll never be able to throw off.

As New York Times contributing editor Roxane Gay says, “Eventually, doctors will find a coronavirus vaccine, but black people will continue to wait, despite the futility of hope, for a cure for racism.”

Yet however difficult the task, we must seek a cure to stop the kind of violence that took the life of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and so many others.

The SumGloria FeldtJune 1, 2020Gender Parity, Black Lives Matter, Covid-19, Leadership, Power ToolsComment

The Future For Us: Sage Advice for Women Of Color Entrepreneurs During Crisis

This was not the original plan. The 2020 Future For Us second annual assembly for women of color was to be live, in person and in Seattle this spring.

“This pandemic has shown our fight or flight mode,” says Sage Ke’alohilani Quiamno, CEO and co-founder of Future For Us, a community platform of more than 10,000 women of color professionals based in Seattle. “Women of color, we know what to do,” she says.

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.

Virtual Pomp: 14 Women Leaders Give Their Best 2020 Commencement Advice

Millions of high school, college, graduate, law, dental and medical students missed out on the walks across the stages, the diploma hand off and the chance to hear an inspiring speaker sitting next to best friends and peers this year.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 56.6 million students attended elementary, middle and high school in the U.S. this year, with 19.9 million attending college. For the nearly 4 million who will receive a college degree this season, celebrations are private, on hold or in isolation.

Playbook For Later: Co-Founder, CEO Designs Digital Products For 45-60 Year-Olds

If only it were as simple as opening a playbook, reading the rules and mastering the prescribed strategies. It’s not.

Jeannette McClennan, co-founder and CEO of McClennan Masson, an innovation firm focused on human-centered digital products for women—and men—over 45, set out to solve that dilemma for what she says is an ignored market looking for help.

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.

How To Invest When You Feel Like You're Behind: 6 Ways To Save Now

There’s a Chinese proverb that says: “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago; the next best is today.” The same can be said of saving. The best time to start is 20 years ago —or even before you were born—the second best is today.

Today, almost everyone understands the importance of saving for the future — whether it’s retirement, a down payment on a house, or children’s education expenses. Unfortunately, just thinking about saving money doesn’t actually work. You have to start somewhere, but most people don’t know where the starting line is.

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