Issue 2850— June 23, 2025
You feel it.
The air is thick—not just with summer heat but with anxiety, injustice, and uncertainty.
Wars. Layoffs. Leaders assassinated. Families torn apart. Rights rolled back. Bombardment from the news cycle that leaves us breathless.
I don’t know about you, but I find myself flipping the news on to stay informed—and off to stay sane.
Read MoreThe spacesuit was too big for her, as the size “small” was eliminated by NASA, and officials announced going forward they would only carry sizes M and L to space.
But this did not deter 5’4” Cady Coleman, retired astronaut who now has two completed space shuttle missions, plus 159 days living at the International Space Station on her resume.
“I was the smallest person ever to be qualified in a spacesuit,” she says.
Read MoreOnly the second nation leader in world history to have a baby while in office, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, dedicates her new book to “the criers, worriers and huggers.” And she is not talking about newborns.
The 44-year-old who became the 40th prime minister of a country in 2017 that has only seen three women in that position, was recently on stage for the Chicago Humanities Festival discussing her memoir, A Different Kind of Power.
Read MoreIssue 2849— June 9, 2025
Twenty years ago, I sat at a crowded table in a basement in midtown Manhattan. I can’t remember where, nor did I have any idea what I was getting myself into—but when Gloria Steinem asks you to a meeting, you tend to go.
Carol Jenkins, Pat Mitchell, Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan, and a half dozen other prominent women in various aspects of media were there.
Read MoreWhat do vodka, credit cards, automobiles, haircare, soft drinks, beer, home repair, cars and investment companies have in common in June?
Unfortunately U.S. business leaders at more than a dozen major companies that produce these products are reportedly decreasing or eliminating their promotions for National Pride Month this year due to aggressive politicized efforts, even as many business leaders call for pride support and visibility in workplaces and communities.
Read MoreIssue 2848— June 2, 2025
May holds multitudes of identities.
It’s Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Older Americans Month. Jewish American Heritage Month. Mental Health Awareness Month. Victorious Women Month. Military Appreciation Month. And—yes—Respect for Chickens Month.
June? It’s Pride Month. Also, National Iced Tea Month. Caribbean American Heritage Month. Men’s Health Month. Dairy Month. And don’t forget National Black Bear Month.
Read MoreTens of thousands of people are newly out of work, let go, downsized, entering the job market after graduation, making for a crowded den of eager job candidates. Many were in shock and unprepared to leave positions they enjoyed and often excelled at doing. Others are new to an industry and looking for the best start.
Read MoreThere’s the Fortune 500, Indianapolis 500 and now, Take The Lead Newsletter 500.
This week marks the milestone of 500 weekly newsletters sent to more than 14,000 subscribers in the last 11 years, covering the latest news, research, insight, trends, information and resources for leaders looking to take on the mission of racial and gender equity across all platforms and industries.
Read MoreIssue 2847— May 19, 2025
This was the No. 1 lesson I learned when I joined with civil rights advocates in Odessa, Texas, as they achieved school desegregation and housing restrictions.
People working together, even if they have little formal power, can make change happen if they have a strategy, discipline, and the courage to lead to the goal despite barriers and even setbacks along the way.
It was exactly this observation that has driven my work for social justice ever since.
Read MoreDoes hope really spring eternal?
Award-winning author of more than 20 books, Rebecca Solnit has a few things to offer about the possibility of hope and long path of change.
“In this time period,” says Solnit, author of Hope in The Dark, and her most recent, No Straight Road Takes You There, “we are trying to keep hope alive. Change never stops so you do what you can and know you will not fix everything.”
Read More“There is power in narrative,” said Nikole Hannah-Jones, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and creator of the 1619 Project, to an eager and nodding crowd of hundreds of fans and book lovers at the recent 22nd Annual Annapolis Book Festival.
Noteworthy that 32 out of 53 featured authors speaking at the festival identify as female, the authors shared their work documenting in nonfiction and fiction books –among many topics--the stories of women across history for audiences from children and young adult to adults. More than 3,000 attendees savored 35 sessions throughout the day of panels, discussions, talks and signings.
Read MoreHow are you feeling today?
If you responded “anxious,” “unsure of the future,” or “immobilized,” you aren’t alone.
We live in an era of permanent disruption — economic shocks, political upheaval, technological leaps, and personal curveballs that throw even the best plans into disarray. It seems like every day, there is a new threat to job security or the cost of necessities. There’s constant talk about the price of eggs and the looming price increases on almost everything as a result of tariffs, or maybe the threat of tariffs is just that, a threat, and everything will be fine.
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