By Emily Kestel It’s estimated that more than 80% of women and 40% of men have been sexually harassed in their lifetimes. But until five years ago, sexual harassment and assault weren’t talked about widely in the public sphere. In October 2017, actress Alyssa Milano tweeted, “If you’ve been sexually Read more…
Highlights from the Oct. 6 Fearless Focus conversation on risk-taking By Emily Kestel Any business owner, CEO – or really anyone who is in an elevated or visible position within a community – will admit that getting to where they are now required a few risks. Saying yes to a Read more…
By Emily Barske, Business Record editor The #MeToo movement is often associated with the downfall of powerful men who for too long abused their authority and influence to harass or assault others, often women. But the movement also gave rise to more thoughtful rhetoric on the flip side: how men Read more…
By Emily Kestel Right now, only 24 companies in the Fortune 500 are led by women. When you break it down by race, just four of those female CEOs are women of color. Women as a group make 83 cents for every dollar a white man makes. Asian American/Pacific Islander Read more…
By Emily Kestel In 2013, Kirsten Anderson was fired from her job as a communications director of the Iowa Senate Republican caucus seven hours after formally complaining about repeated harassment and retaliatory behavior by colleagues at the Capitol. She then sued the state of Iowa and Iowa Senate Republicans for Read more…
By Emily Kestel In 2009, journalist Laura Ling and a colleague were violently apprehended by North Korean soldiers along the Chinese border while working on a documentary about North Korean defectors. They were charged with trespassing and “hostile acts” and were imprisoned for 140 days under Kim Jong Il’s communist Read more…
By Emily Kestel Fifty years ago this month, Title IX was signed into law as part of the Education Amendments of 1972. It reads, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to Read more…
By Emily Kestel Position: sexual assault forensic response coordinator, Office of the Attorney General of Iowa Hometown: Des Moines Family: Husband Chad and daughter Evie, 7 Education: Truman State University Age: 43 Contact: sara.hulen@ag.iowa.gov In 2021, the Iowa Legislature passed a bill that would create a sexual assault forensic examiner Read more…
Annual Fearless survey: 80% of Iowa women say they’re burned out and top issues include child care, pay equity, harassment By Emily Kestel Since 2016, the Business Record has published a survey dedicated to shining a light on issues that women face in Iowa, both at work and at home. Read more…
Stories compiled by Emily Blobaum, Fearless editor Each year, more than 15,000 children in the U.S. are diagnosed with cancer. Roughly 11% of those diagnosed die. Yet research on pediatric cancer remains underfunded – just 4% of the federal budget for cancer research is earmarked for childhood cancer. Although the Read more…