Susan's Blog

After reading an interview on Forbes.com, I found out that Isabella Rossi will represent Italy at the 2013 G(irls)20 Summit. The mission of the summit is: "to advance the full participation of of girls and women globally through their economic and political empowerment."

Time For Action on Gender Equality on Corporate Boards

That's right -- two women this week. Sejal and Tara are the founders of Girltank, an online social network for female entrepreneurs. In an article, "Meet Girltank, the Social Network for Female Entrepreneurs," I read on The Daily Beast'sWomen in the World, it states: "Girltank... not only connects female entrepreneurs with one another, it allows these women to learn from others' experiences and crowd-source fundraising for their projects."

A real feminist, Betty Friedan truly helped us, women, to get where we are today. When I saw the title of this article, "At the End, Betty Friedan Broadened Her Vision," on Womens eNews, I expected her "broader vision" to include many of the issues women are dealing with today, specifically women's rights and equality. These aren't the issues the author has provided though.

According to an article on FastCompany.com, Maggie Doyne founded The Kopila Valley Children's Home in 2006 after seeing the way kids were living in Nepal when she was there for a post-high school trip. Maggie says she met children in need of homes and decided to build one for them. She says: "I wanted it to be the kind of home and the kind of childhood that I thought every child in the world deserved."

Yesterday was a day to mark in the history books. President Barack Obama named veteran Secret Service agent Julia Pierson as the agency's first female director. According to Associated Press/The Huffington Post, Obama said: "Julia has consistently exemplified the spirit and dedication men and women of the service demonstrate every day." He adds: "Julia is eminently qualified to lead the agency that not only safeguards Americans at major events and secures our financial system, but also protects our leaders and our first families, including my own."

I hope everyone will take the time to read Anne Doyle's column, "It's Sheryl Sandberg's Courage To Raise Her Voice That's Hot News, Not Leaning In," in addition to future pieces on Forbes.com. I truly believe women can make a difference for other women if we all take care of each other, in addition to taking care of ourselves. Many years ago, someone once told me that women are their own worst enemies. It's time to change! We must begin by helping others, including men, to be all they can be. Will you join me in helping to bring Equality in Sight by 2020? We can "power up" and make it happen.

The program that Karen is most dedicated to at the moment is her HOME WORKS! The Teacher Home Visit Program, which is an effort to increase academic achievement. From her website, the goal of HOME WORKS! is to: "[train] teachers to go to their students' homes to forge a relationship with the family." This great program can result in: increased academic achievement and test scores; higher daily attendance; better attitudes about school; greater parental involvement; increased homework completion; and decreased discipline referrals.