Debbie Laskey's Blog: Celebrate International Women’s Day with a Convo with Nadine Epstein

Today, March 8, is an important day on the equality calendar: it is International Women’s Day, a global holiday celebrated annually to commemorate the cultural, political, and socio-economic achievements of women. It also brings attention to the women’s rights movement, focusing attention on gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women.

First celebrated in 1909 in New York City as “Women’s Day,” the holiday was celebrated in 1911 by over a million people in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. International Women’s Day was adopted as a global holiday by the United Nations in 1977. The theme for 2023 is #BreaktheBias. The campaign asks that you cross your arms in solidarity to call out gender bias, discrimination, and stereotyping.

To recognize and celebrate today’s significance, I welcome Nadine Epstein to my Blog. We discussed leadership and gender equality, and highlights follow a brief introduction.

Award-winning journalist Nadine Epstein is editor-in-chief and CEO of Moment Magazine, founder and executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Creative Change, founder of the Daniel Pearl Investigative Journalism Initiative for reporters, and founder and editor of Moment Books. She has written and edited books including RBG’s Brave and Brilliant Women: 33 Jewish Women to Inspire Everyone; Elie Wiesel: An Extraordinary Life and Legacy; and more. Her articles and op-eds have been published in a wide range of publications including the Washington Post, Smithsonian, Newsweek, and The New York Times. Nadine speaks internationally about antisemitism and other issues pertinent to the global Jewish community as well as gender equality.

QUESTION: I wrote a recent blog post introducing 15 people, from history and the modern era, who would be MY guests at an amazing dinner party. Who would you invite to YOUR dinner party? No limit to the number of seats at your table!

(Read the full post at this link: https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2022/06/my-amazing-dinner-party-of-15.html)

NADINE EPSTEIN: Here are the guests at my dinner table:
(1)   Ernestine Rose
(2)   Lillian Wald
(3)   Florence Prag Kahn
(4)   Eleanor Roosevelt
(5)   Harriet Tubman
(6)   Deborah – from the Old Testament in the Bible
(7)   Salome Alexandra
(8)   Senator Elizabeth Warren
(9)   Pauli Murray
(10) My late mom Ruth Epstein so she can meet everyone

QUESTION: Can you share how RBG chose the women included in your book, RBG’S BRAVE AND BRILLIANT WOMEN?

NADINE EPSTEIN: One day, I was sitting in RBG’s chambers, and we selected about 150 women and then narrowed the list down. I was surprised that she started with biblical women from Exodus and Deborah. We ended up with women who meant the most to her, and a few who I thought needed to be included. We each learned about the other’s inspiring women! It was very difficult to choose only 33!

(For more details about the book’s selection process, read this post at the link below:
https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/pb-daily/so-many-brave-and-brilliant-jewish-women-so-little-time)

QUESTION: A portion of the proceeds from your book, RBG’S BRAVE AND BRILLIANT WOMEN goes to the Role Model Project, “designed to help young people find inspirational role models and established in the memory of RBG.” What do you think RBG would tell college graduates in these difficult and challenging covid pandemic days about finding role models?

NADINE EPSTEIN: The stories of great women sustained Justice Ginsburg during challenging times. She wanted to share these women’s stories so that they could sustain and inspire others. We don’t stop evolving until we die. And all of us need many role models. When we stumble upon someone who has traits that we admire, we need to identity them and incorporate those traits into ourselves.

QUESTION: When I was in graduate school in the mid-1990’s, one of my tenured professors said to the class, “Women don’t belong in grad school. They belong at home in the kitchen.” How would you have responded?

NADINE EPSTEIN: I would have told him that he was nuts! I knew firsthand, because my mom was a great leader, and she had absolutely no interest in cooking. Back then, however, I would have said it more politely than I might say it today.

QUESTION: Susan Colantuono (@SusanColantuono on Twitter) wrote, “If women aren’t proportionately represented throughout your organization, you aren’t facing a women’s issue, you’re facing a talent development issue with business implications.” What do you think about that statement?

NADINE EPSTEIN: Women are good at consensus-building, strategic thinking, avoiding testeronic competition – and they are necessary leaders in all fields. One amazing woman in the book is Muriel Siebert. She was the first women to push her way into the ultimate men’s club, the New York Stock Exchange. She brought her values to the business world, and they were visionary.

QUESTION: Lastly, one of my favorite leadership quotes is from author and consultant Mark Herbert (@NewParadigmer on Twitter): “Leadership doesn't require you to be the smartest person in the room. It requires you to block and tackle for others.” What does this quote mean to you?

NADINE EPSTEIN: To me, the goal is to create a place of collaboration, where all employees feel safe to brainstorm. No leader owns all the good ideas.

Debbie Laskey's Blog

Wednesday, March 8, 2023

Celebrate International Women’s Day with a Convo with Nadine Epstein

SHARE THIS: No leader owns all the good ideas. ~@NadineEpsteinDC #LeadershipTip #EmployeeExperience #DebbieLaskeysBlog

SHARE THIS: All leaders in an organization must consider closing the leadership gender gap as a business priority. ~@RedfernMichelle #LeadershipTip #EmployeeExperence #EmployerBranding #DebbieLaskeysBlog

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