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Gloria Steinem wants today’s female changemakers to know that if it looked like she and the other feminist icons of the 1960s, 70s and 80s had their leadership strategy “all figured out,” this was not necessarily the case.
“I think they think we knew more than we knew,” Steinem said during a women’s leadership conversation at her house this week. “Demystify us and say, okay, you know, we didn't [know everything], but we had hopes, and we had each other.”
This reminder—that even the most accomplished leaders often have to improvise and lean on others—came during an event co-hosted by Steinem and Take the Lead cofounder (and 50 Over 50 lister) Gloria Feldt on Presidents’ Day. It was, perhaps, an ironic day to talk about women’s leadership (after all, in 145 years of observance, Presidents’ Day remains a celebration of American male leaders), but as I sat listening to “the glorious Glorias,” as another attendee put it, I realized the irony was also the point of the gathering.
“Everybody is a leader from wherever they are. And it's really important for women, especially, to know that and to really feel that in their minds and in their hearts,” Feldt said, “and to understand that power that they already have.”
Cheers to that!
Exclusive Forbes Investigation: How Oprah And Other Billionaires Are Buying Up Hawaii
ILLUSTRATIONS BY JASON RAISH FOR FORBES
America’s richest have been buying in Hawaii for years, but no one knew exactly how extensive their holdings were. To figure it out, Forbes spent months digging through thousands of property records on Hawaii’s six biggest islands. The results were astonishing: Just 37 billionaires own at least 218,000 acres. That’s 5.3% of the state’s total land and 11.1% of all non-government-owned land—though it is likely even higher given the lengths to which these billionaires go to obscure their ownership. Expressed a different way: Those 37 people, equal to just 0.003% of Hawaii’s total population of 1.4 million, own 11% of its private land.
ICYMI: News Of The Week
In the cell laboratory, culture dishes are prepared at the Fertility Center Berlin to collect the eggs after egg retrieval. Photo: Jens Kalaene/dpa (Photo by Jens Kalaene/picture alliance via Getty Images)
dpa/picture alliance via Getty ImagesThe Alabama Supreme Court ruled Friday that frozen embryos are children—a ruling based on lawsuits from three couples alleging wrongful death of a minor over the accidental destruction of frozen embryos at a fertility clinic in the state. The ruling has had fast consequences, with the Alabama Fertility Specialists in Birmingham pausing in vitro fertilization treatments—the second known clinic in the state to do so.
Barbara Picower, 81, is one of the country’s 25 biggest philanthropists, with lifetime giving estimated by Forbes at $3.15 billion, yet few people know her name. This is the inside look at her story.
Hong Kong entrepreneur Solina Chau has long been one of the world’s most powerful women—she ranked No. 81 on our 2023 list—but her personal fortune was always something of a mystery. While her company still won’t comment, Forbes for the first time has been able to estimate, through regulatory filings, her net worth to be at least $2.3 billion.
The NCAA women’s basketball selection committee announced its first top 16 seed reveal. Five teams from the Pac-12 were in the group, more than any other conference. Two Pac-12 teams were one seeds, one a two seed, and two a three seed. Not bad for a conference that won’t exist after this year.
A Freeland, Michigan woman was arrested for stealing over 1,000 luxury items, valued at $823,000, from at least three fashion rental subscription websites and then reselling them online, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District Court of New York recently announced. Behind this case is a credit card scheme that fraud prevention experts say is popular among “amateur” fraudsters.
The Checklist
1. Take a reality check before your promotion. Leading others can be harder than it looks. Here’s how to hit the pause button and reflect before you accept more responsibility.
2. Manage your personal brand. Whether you like it or not, doing this is now an important part of managing your career.
3. Avoid toxic workplace politics. To put it bluntly, office politics suck. Experts agree that they decrease productivity, and in many ways, can contribute to a hostile workplace. Here are four ways you can take the higher ground.
The Quiz
Actor and singer Bridgit Mendler might be best known for her roles in Disney Channel’s Good Luck Charlie and Lemonade Mouth, but she recently announced her newest role as CEO of a tech startup that will focus on what?
(A) A text-to-video generative AI app
(B) An AI chatbot offering advice to young women
(C) A cross-platform music recommendation service
(D) A satellite data transfer company
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