When I was just entering the business world, I became friends with a retired CEO through the board of a nonprofit organization. While this man was not a formal mentor, he took an interest in my career and often offered advice based on his many years of experience and success. Read more…
Chances are, if you ask a young girl in Iowa who her role model is these days, she’ll mention University of Iowa basketball player Caitlin Clark. Clark’s athletic skill and leadership have inspired girls, boys, women and men all over the state – including me – and even people across Read more…
Women business leaders should establish relationships with banks early on, even if they aren’t yet in the market for borrowing to grow, a Wells Fargo executive told Fearless. “They’re going to understand your business better when you [do] need it,” said Judith Goldkrand. Goldkrand is a Wells Fargo senior vice Read more…
Sometimes it seemed as if Sharon Malheiro was everyone’s mom. “When she died, it felt like, ‘Well, Mom is gone, and we’re not ready to be Mom yet,’” said Des Moines attorney Breanna Young. This is Iowa’s first Pride month without Malheiro, a longtime attorney and activist who was instrumental Read more…
Fifth in-person LadyLike summit to be held on April 15 By Emily Kestel As Lindsey White stepped to the podium to give opening remarks at the 2022 LadyLike Summit, she took a deep breath and looked into the crowd. She saw the faces of 200 Black women, looking back at Read more…
By Krista Tedrow On a muggy evening in 2015, I sat at the Ottumwa Applebee’s across from one of the most intriguing women I had met in my short career. “What brought you to Ottumwa?” I asked. She broke a tortilla chip in half and chewed thoughtfully for a moment Read more…
By Emily Kestel We’ve all been to business industry conferences where schedules are packed-to-the-gills with sessions on strategies, innovations and words of wisdom. The first-ever FemCity Des Moines Beyond Business Conference went, well, beyond that. The conference, which was geared toward women and gender-nonconforming business members and entrepreneurs, mostly focused Read more…
In latest Business Record survey results, see what 20 Iowa businesses and organizations are offering By Emily Kestel, graphics by Lauren Burt For decades, women have generally worked in environments designed by men, for men. Standard office temperatures are based on the metabolic resting rate of a 40-year-old man. Mandatory Read more…
By Emily Kestel, Fearless editor Call it what you want – a “labor shortage” or a “reassessment of work in America” – but companies are finding that in order to attract and retain current employees throughout the Great Resignation, they’re going to have to expand their benefits offerings. Many employers Read more…
By Emily Kestel, Fearless editor The theme of this year’s Women Lead Change Central Iowa Conference was “Joining Voices: Leaders for Equity.” One way I like to practice equity is by sharing knowledge. In this case, sharing knowledge looks like sharing the highlights of my nine pages of notes. Before Read more…