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TAKE THE LEAD THIS WEEK

Women's leadership news and advice, packaged to fit your life.

March 1, 2016: Edition 51

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IN THE HEADLINES


March Comes In Like a Lioness: Celebrating Women Role Models

March is Women’s History Month, so it is fitting that the month begins like a lioness and hopefully will stay as strong for the rest of the year.  No bowing out like a lamb. Aiming to honor all those who have shaped our culture and those who are coming up in the world, we march into March applauding our sisters who are women leaders in business and beyond.


We so agree on the choices made by Daily Worth choosing a lucky 7 list of extraordinarily innovative women who change the way we think about sport, film, science and even death. We point to Misty Copeland, the first ever African American principal dancer at American Ballet Theater. Dr. Cynthia Breazeal, founder and director of Personal Robots Group at MIT’s Media Lab as well as founder of Jibo, Inc., makes that archaic, disproven "women-can’t-make-it-in-STEM" argument evaporate like noxious vapor. 


As founder of DigitalUndivided, Kathryn Finney is an inspiration. Ava Duvernay, the director of “Selma” and a righteously brilliant Hollywood force, earns our kudos. The NFL hired Kathryn Smith as its first full time female coach. And working to change how our culture views death are Caitlin Doughty, creator of the web series, “Ask a Mortician,” and Amber Carvaly, founder of Undertaking LA.

TELL ME MORE 


Location, Location: Know The Best Cities For Women Entrepreneurs and Why
No wonder “Nashville” entrepreneur Rayna James started her Highway 65 label in her hometown city. Even though the singer played by actress Connie Britton on the ABC-TV drama is fictional (as is her blockbuster country music record label), it is very real news that Nashville just snagged the title of No. 1 city in the country for women entrepreneurs, according to the latest research from Wallethub.

The 100 largest metro areas in the U.S. were ranked on a number of factors from friendliest to women, revenue growth and the number of women-owned business centers. The list crisscrosses the country in all directions and includes perhaps unrecognized nirvanas for women business owners such as Indianapolis or Oklahoma City, as well as predictable urban hubs plus Honolulu.


While Nashville is No. 1 overall in points earned for women business owners and women leaders, Tulsa ranks first in the friendliest environment for women biz owners. San Antonio ranks tops in what the study refers to as female entrepreneurship ranking.

 
Stop To Connect: Communicating With Confidence Helps Women Leaders

Communicating is about building networks and connections with other possible collaborators on startups, not wasting time on chit chat. And purposeful small talk can lead big-minded women entrepreneurs into finding new projects and even new organizations. Communicating with confidence is key.


According to the World Economic Forum detailing a study from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, “…entrepreneurs learned different things about potential co-founders through the three types of interactions created by the researchers — direct collaborations, indirect relations, and short conversations.”


We’re not saying to waste anyone’s time, but seize the opportunity when it presents itself to make that personal connection. And understandably, some people are better at the art of conversation than others. This is where personality styles come into play.



WHAT WE'RE READING



Resuming Your Career with A Returnship 
The dreaded resume gap affects more women than men in the workplace, but now resuming your career after time off for family, education or other responsibilities does not have to leave you stammering. Think returnship. Some big name employers such as IBM and GM have initiatives designed to help women return to their careers in STEM fields. 
READ IT AT THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE
      
Splicing the Gender Vote Divide: 2 Sides
Take The Lead is a non-partisan forum and inclusive of all points of view. But this recent opinion piece by lawyer and journalist Jill Filopovic in the New York Times on sexism and voters for the Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton is noteworthy. The author addresses the generational divide of women aiming this year to place a woman in the White House.
Actively campaigning against the Democratic frontrunner and for Republican presidential nominee hopeful Donald Trump is Kathleen Willey, who has accused former President Bill Clinton of sexual assault in Reuters. 

READ IT AT NEW YORK TIMES
READ IT AT REUTERS

Why No Women Statues in Our Cities and Parks? 
You are not imagining it, you see more male leaders, political figures and historical types set in stone across the country. This leads to a gender gap in public sculptures, writes Kriston Capps in CityLab. In New York City, only five women statues exist out of several hundred that are homages to men. And in Central Park, there are none. So what? It's a public statement that the contributions of women do not matter. So what do you want, a medal or a monument? A monument, please. 
READ IT AT CITYLAB
 
Leaping Leaders: Honor Women Leaders  

Gloria Feldt, Take The Lead co-founder and president writes in Fast Company that even though Leap Day comes every four years, honoring and saluting women leaders now and forever should happen everyday. Citing three steps to reaching parity in women's leadership, Feldt redefines power for women in the workplace.
READ IT AT FAST COMPANY | SPREAD THE WISDOM:


VIDEO OF THE WEEK



QUOTE OF THE WEEK


“I will not be used as a tool for their purposes. I am not a token, mammy, or little brown bobble head. I am not owned by Lack, Griffin or MSNBC.”
--Melissa Harris Perry on her MSNBC walk-out after her show was pre-empted yet again.
 



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