Let's Celebrate RBG Day!

Why is today special? It's the birthdate of former Associate Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and in her memory, let's celebrate her accomplishments and her passion for gender equality advocacy.

According to Kim Elsesser in Forbes, "How did Ruth Bader Ginsburg become such a feminist rock star? Ginsburg learned about gender discrimination firsthand at school and in the workplace. At Harvard Law School, Ginsburg and other female students were questioned by the dean as to why they felt they were entitled to take the spot of an aspiring male lawyer. Ginsburg realized that women could never achieve equality with men if outdated stereotypes were holding them back. Prior to her tenure on the Supreme Court, she challenged law after law where women and men were provided different rights due to gender stereotypes."

I've assembled five of my favorite RBG quotes below:

Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.

Reading is the key that opens doors to many good things in life. Reading shaped my dreams, and more reading helped me make my dreams come true.

Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn't be that women are the exception.

We are at last beginning to relegate to the history books the idea of the token woman.

When I'm sometimes asked when will there be enough [women on the Supreme Court] and I say, 'When there are nine,' people are shocked. But there'd been nine men, and nobody's ever raised a question about that.

A few words about RBG:

No other justice in history has become a popular icon in the way RBG did. She modeled for all of us how to spend a life working to make society and individual lives better.  ~Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean of the University of California at Berkeley School of Law

Lastly, here are three books that capture the spirit of RBG and deserve to be added to your to-be-read list:

I DISSENT - RUTH BADER GINSBURG MAKES HER MARK

Written by Debbie Levy and illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley, this book memorably chronicles the life of RBG. Its illustrations capture the imagination and bring RBG to life for young minds. It's a must-read for young girls.

RBG’S BRAVE AND BRILLIANT WOMEN – 33 JEWISH WOMEN TO INSPIRE EVERYONE

While written by journalist Nadine Epstein, the list of women included in this book was chosen by former Justice of the Supreme Court Ruth Bader Ginsburg during the final year of her life. The women featured include Deborah, the first woman judge in the bible; Emma Lazarus, a poet whose words adorn the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty; Golda Meir, the first and only female prime minister of Israel; Anne Frank, whose diary during World War II became famous; and many more.

SISTERS IN LAW – HOW SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR AND RUTH BADER GINSBURG WENT TO THE SUPREME COURT AND CHANGED THE WORLD

Written by lawyer and cultural historian Linda Hirshman, this book is a story of law, women, and most of all, friendship. Here's the description in a nutshell, "The relationship between Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg – Republican and Democrat, Christian and Jew, western rancher's daughter and Brooklyn girl – transcends political party, religion, region, and culture. Strengthened by each other's presence, these groundbreaking judges, the first and second women to serve on the highest court in the land, have transformed the Constitution and America itself, making it a more equal place for all women."

How will you celebrate RBG's legacy today? Chime in and share.

Image Credit: Teepublic.

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.

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

My thanks to Nadine for sharing her insights and for appearing here on my Blog.

Note: An overview of Nadine’s book with RBG was featured in a post celebrating last year’s Women’s Equality Day on my blog – check it out at this link:
https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2022/08/three-books-to-celebrate-womens.html

Note: This quote from last year’s post on my blog on International Women’s Day featured Michelle Redfern – I invite you to share on Twitter.

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

Image Credit: Gradienta via Unsplash.

Connect with Nadine at these links:
Twitter: @NadineEpsteinDC
Twitter: @MomentMagazine
Facebook: /momentmag
Instagram: @Moment_Mag
Website: www.MomentMag.com
Book: https://nadineepstein.com/rbgbookpage-2

Do You Use Your Voice to Lift Up Women Leaders?

 

Do you know today’s significance? On this date in 1869, the legislature of the territory of Wyoming passed America’s first woman suffrage law, granting women the right to vote and hold office. In 1890, Wyoming became the 44th state admitted to the Union and became the first state to allow women the right to vote.

To celebrate today’s significance, I’ve invited Susan Colantuono to return to my Blog for a conversation about women leaders, supportive men in the workplace, leadership, and RBG.

But first, a brief introduction…Susan Colantuono is an expert on women's advancement, author, and speaker. She is best known for her TED Talk on the Career Advice You Probably Didn't Get (which has over 4 million views) and her books, “No Ceiling, No Walls” and “Make the Most of Mentoring.” She is the founder and former CEO of Leading Women, a global consulting firm focused on women's advancement. Now, as a co-host of A Career that Soars!, she continues to provide leadership and career development to women around the globe.

QUESTION: You appeared on my blog in a Q&A in August 2021. During our inspiring convo, you said, “Surrounding oneself with smart and capable colleagues is one hallmark of great leaders.” How can new leaders overcome their big egos and embrace this important leadership tip?

SUSAN COLANTUONO: People who are new to leadership positions (not all of whom would fulfill my definition of leadership!) navigate three major transitions.

First from individual contributor to first-line manager. This is the first hurdle when it comes to tapping smart and capable colleagues, because, in most cases, they make this leap because of their excellent professional performance. It’s easy here to not know how to delegate and rely on others because there’s been no experience. And if they don’t learn, they will fail.

By the time a person transitions into the “muddle in the middle,” which can be all positions from manager to senior manager, and involve managing individuals or teams or teams of teams, they have a basic understanding that they will not succeed without engaging the greatness in others.

And at the executive level, when one manages functions and business units, it is impossible to be the only one in the room who knows everything. So, to me, the answer to your question is success on the way up requires the learning of this lesson…and if someone hasn’t learned it due to a huge ego, they will ultimately fail.

TWEET THIS: Surrounding oneself with smart and capable colleagues is one hallmark of great leaders. ~@SusanColantuono #LeadershipTip #EmployeeExperience #DebbieLaskeysBlog

TWEET THIS: At the executive level…it is impossible to be the only one in the room who knows everything. ~@SusanColantuono #Leadership #DebbieLaskeysBlog

QUESTION: In a recent post on the website www.19thnews.org entitled, “Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff leans in to being a voice for gender equality,” he said, “I found where I can really make a difference is just trying to use my voice to lift women in leadership up.” What are the qualities women should look for in men who can be good mentors and help them to earn promotions and C-Suite roles?

(Read the post here: https://19thnews.org/2022/08/doug-emhoff-second-gentleman-women-gender-equity/)

SUSAN COLANTUONO: I was so happy to read the profile on Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff. The media has pretty much ignored him (as they have the consequential portfolio that VP Kamala Harris is handling). I'd say the two most important things to look for in good mentors (and perhaps sponsors) are:

1. A skill set that matches the woman's development needs especially as it relates to providing mentoring on business, strategic, and financial acumen.
2. A willingness to advance women (past evidence or current interest).

QUESTION: You wrote a memorable book in 2010 entitled, “No Ceiling, No Walls: What women haven't been told about leadership from career-start to the corporate boardroom.” What are five key take-aways you hope readers will have?

SUSAN COLANTUONO: Debbie, thank you for describing No Ceiling, No Walls as memorable. I am constantly touched by women who’ve told me it transformed their careers. The top five takeaways I hope readers have are:

1. Leadership manifests at every level from career-start to the C-Suite.
2. Career advancement rests on the foundation of proven and perceived leadership, which means “using the greatness in you to achieve and sustain extraordinary outcomes by engaging the greatness in others.”
3. There is a missing 33% of the career success equation for women. This translates to the fact that most of us have to get better at developing and/or demonstrating our business, strategic, and financial acumen.
4. The key to demonstrating business, strategic, and financial acumen is learning to use The Language of Power.
5. Using the metaphor of a diamond ring, many women don’t need to polish the diamond, we often need to strengthen its setting. In other words, because women are perceived as great at interpersonal and team skills, it’s a better use of our time to strengthen our business, strategic, and financial acumen rather than polish our interpersonal and team skills.

QUESTION: There is a new role in some C-Suites: Chief Happiness Officer. What do you make of this, and can it, or should it, become standard in all organizations?

(Read the post here: https://www.fastcompany.com/40582655/employers-your-idea-about-employee-happiness-is-all-wrong)

SUSAN COLANTUONO: Fast Company has a pretty good article about the trend to hire Chief Happiness Officers. Here’s what I think, and I mirror some of the points in the article. Employee engagement rests on four key factors: meaningful work, a good manager, respectful colleagues, and equitable pay and benefits.

If the responsibility of the Chief Happiness Officer includes action in these four areas, I think the position has merit. If the company envisions the responsibility as including event planning, foosball tables, and corporate swag, it’s a waste of money.

QUESTION: Lastly, what’s your favorite RBG (former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg) quote, and why?

SUSAN COLANTUONO: I so admire Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and one of my favorite t-shirts reads: "VOTE, we’re Ruthless (pun intended). "There are SO many great quotes from her that I’m going to choose two:

“When I'm sometimes asked when will there be enough [women on the Supreme Court] and I say, 'When there are nine,' people are shocked. But there'd been nine men, and nobody's ever raised a question about that.”

“The decision whether or not to bear a child is central to a woman’s life, to her well-being and dignity. It is a decision she must make for herself. When the government controls that decision for her, she is being treated as less than a full adult human responsible for her own choices.”

My profound thanks to Susan for returning to my blog and sharing her inspiring thoughts.

Image Credit: WDCUTAH.org (Women's Democratic Club of Utah).

Connect with Susan at these links:
Susan's website: https://a-career-that-soars.mn.co/landing
Twitter:  @SusanColantuono

Read my first Q&A featuring Susan at this link:
https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2021/08/as-we-celebrate-1920-work-remains-to.html

To read more about today’s historical significance, check out this link:
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/wyoming-grants-women-the-vote