Power Up Women! The Podcast

Women leaders -- directors, vice presidents, C-suite executives -- are breaking up with their employers in unprecedented numbers. Why? Because ambitious women, these days, are much less willing to stay at companies that don't offer career opportunities comparable to their male peers.  Corporate America is at a "Critical Crossroads" for diverse talent, according to the influential "Women in the Workplace 2022" study, the largest, annual study of women in corporate America. Terry Barclay, president and CEO of Inforum Michigan, who has had her finger on the pulse of women professionals for decades, talks with Anne about the warning signs flashing throughout the 2022 research. 

Matilda Dodge Wilson, one of the richest and most accomplished women in the world in the early 20th Century, is known more today for marrying her boss, one of the founders of the Dodge Motor Car Company, and building Meadowbrook Hall, now a National Historic Landmark that she donated, along with her 1,400 acre estate, to found Michigan's Oakland University.

But she was so much more than that. An immigrant who rose to incredible heights, Dodge-Wilson was a legendary philanthropist, a women's rights activist, named one of the most prominent woman in U.S. banking and the first woman to be named Lieutenant Governor of a state. Her story and incredible legacy are finally being told, thanks to the work of my guest, Madelyn Rzadkowolski, Director of Curatorial Services at Michigan's stunning Meadowbrook Hall.

A major scandal has just erupted in women's soccer, one of the world's fastest growing sports. An in-depth, independent investigation of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) found extensive emotional abuse and sexual misconduct by coaches. "Abuse in the NWSL is rooted in a deeper culture in women's soccer, beginning in youth leagues, that normalizes verbally abusive coaching and blurs boundaries between coaches and players," wrote former acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Q. Yates in her scathing report. The report is deeply disturbing and hopefully will trigger significant change urgently needed to protect female soccer players from abusers and predators.

In the meantime, the sport and fan base continue to grow, as evidenced by the Corktown Women's Football Club, Detroit's first women's professional soccer team, preparing to kick off its inaugural season in May 2023. I talk with Owner and Coach Aaron Roy and Center/Midfielder Lauren Bos.