What Leaders Have to Say About Working Families

Read what some of the female leaders who attended the White House Summit on Working Families last month have to say about the stigma around working mothers (it's really about working parents), work-life balance (it's for everybody!), and public policy (we can SO do more).

This is What Virtually Every Woman You Admire Thinks About Working Parents

Rethinking "Like A Girl"

While watching (well, listening) to Wimbledon, an ad came on that caught my attention.  Actually, it more than caught my attention.  I stepped from the kitchen where I was happily preparing dinner, sat on the couch, and watched.

If you know (and especially if you love) a girl or young woman - or any woman, for that matter - this ad from P&G's Always brand will make you think twice about how you use the term "like a girl" from here on out.

Check it out:

http://time.com/2927761/likeagirl-always-female-empowerment/

Pregnant Chicken Speaks on Not Failing as a Mother

Moms (and dads)…don't worry...you're doing GREAT!  

For more info and a good laugh, check out this fun post:

Pregnant Chicken Blog

And remember, we are all a part of this awesome village!

Girls+Engineering=Fun

To all the inspiringly brilliant, 

knock-your-socks-off-creative 

girls out there... 

This one's for you!

Watch Video Here: Engineering Toys for Girls

Innovating Sustainability

If you like cars, are intrigued by the evolution of potentially disruptive technologies, or are always looking for ways to be more ecologically aware (or all three!), this article from Popular Mechanics about the first 3D printed car, the Urbee 2, is worth a read.  

It's a great story of collaboration, dedication, passionate pursuits and innovation.  Interesting gems are littered throughout, like this quote from Jim Kor, founder of Kor Ecologic:

"...designing for sustainability can arguably be stated to be humanity’s biggest and most important challenge of the coming century. It’s something we absolutely need to get right.” 

Innovating with sustainability at the core.  Well, that pretty much sums it up.  And since every little bit counts - from recycling daily to producing an entirely new automobile - the possibilities are endless. 

Where will you start?

Passionate Pursuits

Just read Tim Brown's post on LinkedIn about SuperJam.  

It's a fun, give-back story, and Mr. Brown's closing thought that "simple ideas, pursued with passion, can result in sweetly successful business" is super-inspiring food for thought.   

What took my thinking to the next level though, surprisingly enough, is the comment from Christopher Fun (yes, sometimes those comments do produce a gem).

Mr. Fun writes, " 'Simple ideas pursued with passion can result in sweetly successful business'...Question is how many pursue their work with passion v only be passionate about the results[?]"  

Hmmm...Passionate Pursuit for the Pure Pursuit of Passion.  Now that is some sweet food for thought (incredibly unoriginal pun intended).

Gratitude Attitude

This great post by Jeff Weiner, CEO at LinkedIn, is all about the high return on investment (ROI) of a simple, free, accessible management tool in business: gratitude.

I'll take Jeff's suggestion a step (or three) further - gratitude just might be the highest ROI tool in life.

Consider for a moment your home and the people you share it with.  Now think about all the little things we do for and with each other in that shared space: cooking, housekeeping, laundry, yard care, car maintenance - the list goes on an on.  Now consider the one simple thing that can turn those little chores into messages of love and respect.  Yep, you nailed it: gratitude.  

Saying thanks feels so good, but receiving thanks feels even better.  So, for the next week or so, I challenge each of us to cultivate a theme of gratitude at home: the simple act of showing sincere appreciation to each other for all the little things we do.  The benefits will seep into our workplaces, our civic engagements, our passions...

I'm betting we find that the ROI of this little tool blows us all away. 

A Long Way to Go

OK Inspiring Girls, 

Time to put your influence to work!  This Yahoo story is yet another confirmation:  we have a long way to go in helping our culture understand the detrimental messages we "unintentionally" send our youth - not to mention the critical importance of consequential thinking and empathetic decision-making. 

Tie those shoes well.  We're in for an ultra marathon. 

Sexist Back-to-School Shirt Pulled From Shelves

Another day, another T-shirt controversy. The latest wardrobe malfunction comes courtesy of the Children's Place. The kids' clothing company sparked widespread Internet backlash this week after eagle-eyed consumers spotted a shirt that they felt trivialized girls' academic accomplishments. The kid-size tee showed a checklist of "my best subjects" with checks in the boxes next to shopping, music, and dancing — leaving the box next to math blank. The shirt's kicker: "Well nobody's perfect." Get it? After nearly 3,000 outraged comments on the company's Facebook page, along with a barrage of angry tweets, the company issued an apology and pulled the product. The battle may be over, but the war on scandalous T-shirts never ends.  Check out some of the most controversial shirts to hit the market and stir the pot over the past few months.—Lauren Tuck, Shine Staff

The Children's Place 'Best Subjects' T-Shirt

As mentioned above, this week, the Children's Place faced intense social media backlash, as people accused the retailer of promoting sexism. "Guess what? You offended everyone with a brain! Can you explain what your intent was, if not to insult the intelligence of girls and women around the world?" wrote one of the thousands of commenters on the company's Facebook page. On Monday, the retailer pulled the shirt from its shelves in response to the outcry. "It has come to our attention that some of you view our Best Subjects T-shirt as insensitive towards girls and women," read its statement. "This was not our intent. There are countless women in all walks of life who excel in math, including our very own CEO." Still, by Wednesday, the Children's Place continued to face consumer backlash. "I am so disappointed by this shirt and ANY shirt from ANY company that furthers stereotypes like this," wrote one fuming customer on Facebook. "I am glad that the shirt was removed, but honestly who ever thought it was a good idea? Especially from a company with a female CEO."