Daily Archives: September 4, 2021

Professor Dr. Kasia Jagodzinska is a busy professional. An academic, she teaches at universities in France, Italy, Poland, and Switzerland. She is also a trainer with the Schranner Negotiation Institute, where she works with negotiators from almost every industry. On top of that, she also acts as a senior advisor to the United Nations on multi-stakeholder negotiations. And, if all that were not enough, shes also an author!

Her book, Negotiation Booster, aims to combine the tactics traditionally taught about negotiation with self-empowerment. It got its start when Jagodzinska was in the early days of her career. Having started her first job in Paris, she got a call from her native Poland asking her to lecture. Unwilling to quit a job she had just started, she began her life of working in both business and academia, with lots of travelling when she could research.

I was always travelling and doing a lot of research on the plane, Jagodzinska says. And I came across research that said that for female negotiators, tactical preparation and training is not enough for them to negotiate to their full potential. The research intrigued her, not least because she was a woman starting out in business. And she began to wonder if the reason, that women needed additional empowerment, actually applied to everyone.

an adult woman shows strength

The need for empowerment is universal

As Jagodzinska explored the issue in her career she began to realise that there was not, in fact, a gender difference and that the need for self-empowerment was universal.

When she started working with high-level business professionals, she would discover that, in the safe and relaxed training environment, everyone has the same insecurities. She describes how, after an exercise, the mask comes off, they say look, Im not convinced about my opening, Im hesitant, I dont believe I can win this. Jagodzinska identified that although they were teaching lots of different strategies and tactics, they were not doing anything to give people the resources to manage their emotions, so they had the confidence needed as a foundation for the tactics.

Negotiation Booster

Jagodzinskas book aims to provide some of what her training offers, giving readers not just information of negotiation strategy or tactics, but also a broader, human, understanding that can underpin what people do, taking some of the stress out of negotiation. Each chapter will, deliberately, refer to both negotiation and non-negotiation resources.

People will often refer to a life of death negotiation, but if you read Edith Egers The Choice you will quickly redefine what a life-or-death negotiation is, she says. It is a common human trait to overstate the importance of negotiations, and even experienced negotiators do this. The danger is that by adding unnecessary emotional stress, the negotiators is undermining their own effectiveness.

Perhaps underneath it all is the fact that all negotiation is personal, even if the parties arent representing themselves. Whether they are negotiating on behalf of a corporation or a nation state, at the end much will come down to the personal relationships that exist around the table.

It isnt just about emotional intelligence, Jagodzinska says. Its also understanding. We are emotional beings, and you have to acknowledge that. You cannot skip managing your emotions and rely on using the negotiation strategies and tactics that are out there.

Having trained thousands of people over the years, Jagodzinska has learned to recognise that everyone can have that moment of hesitation when they start a negotiation, and everyone can have moments of imposter syndrome. Recognising that universality, and acknowledging it as a common, human trait a shared experience is not only empowering but can help create a mutual respect that benefits negotiations.

Confidence is the key

For Jagodzinska, confidence is the most important thing. Indeed, it comes full circle to the research she was reading on a plane early in her career. While its important to recognise that everyone has moments of doubt, its more important to have the self-belief that you can overcome that doubt.

Visualising success can be enormously helpful. Its a useful practice just to play out how negotiations might go, so you are prepared for different eventualities. But its also incredibly useful to spend some of the time just thinking about how success might look, and how you can make it happen, so you start negotiations with those possibilities in your mind.

I think its the biggest takeaway from my book, says Jagodzinska, is that it starts with whats in your mind. The biggest failure can start there, but the biggest success starts there as well.

Check out Jagodzinskas full episode here.

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Use These Self-Empowerment Tips To Thrive In Your Negotiations - Forbes

In a time when social media platforms like TikTok have made it shockingly easy for content to go viral (search for the "Watermelon Sugar" Hi! pet trend, you'll thank me later), Helen Hoang's The Heart Principle answers the question: What happens when the fame you never wanted is keeping you from actually having a career you love?

When Anna Sun, a professional violinist, goes viral on YouTube for a performance, it changes her life forever ... but not for the reasons she anticipates. Not only does she get musician's block, it's clear her family and her boyfriend Julian don't understand so she decides to go to therapy. When Julian decides he wants an open relationship before he agrees to settle down, Anna, who is tired of pleasing everyone but herself, goes on a dating app and meets our leading man Quan Diep who readers may recognize from Hoang's previous books. "Stop masking. Stop people pleasing. Revenge on Julian. Learn who I am. Self empowerment," Anna says at one point, reminding herself to go through with the plan.

What was supposed to be a no-strings-attached one-night stand, however, turns into a tangled tapestry of heady makeout sessions, watching animal documentaries together, and divulging the kinds of secrets that border on couple territory, which have both characters reconsidering their decision to use sex as a BandAid for their inner turmoil. For one, Anna has intimacy issues and has never had a one-night stand before. And Quan, who recently recovered from a serious illness, has his own body image insecurities. But together, they understand each other in a way no one else has tried or cared enough to and thus, a new kind of intimacy blooms between them, in true Hoang fashion.

If The Kiss Quotient teaches intimacy and The Bride Test nurtures it, then The Heart Principle pushes its characters not to be ashamed by it. It's only when Anna and Quan stop putting pressures on themselves that they can truly let go in every sense. I would've loved to see Quan and Anna step outside their bubble and interact in more social settings together, but it feels just as good to see them learn about each other without external influences (although her family certainly tries).

It's a little on the nose to say that Hoang's new romance is sex-positive, but it's important to show how she neutralizes the social pressures around physical intimacy. When Anna says no to a sexual act, she thinks that it "might be the hardest thing I've ever done. But I did it. Part of me is still queasy from how unnatural it felt. Another part of me, however, is drunk with power."

The social pressures go beyond intimacy too. When Anna learns that she may be autistic, Quan is the one who's there for her, while her sister dismisses it as a plea for attention. And after a personal tragedy sends Anna home to a family that loves her but struggles to understand her, Quan is the one who becomes her safe haven and helps her through an autistic burnout. But when her family has other plans for her, which don't include Quan, she needs to figure out how to follow her heart and speak up for herself.

It's an emotional journey, but a fulfilling one to watch Anna and Quan not only reconcile with the limits of their bodies and health but wield enough power to stand up for themselves.

Perhaps one of the hardest parts of reading this book is the visceral reaction to seeing other people mistreat Anna and Quan because of their differences. We want to protect them while we collectively bemoan their loss of agency. So much of the story manifests the act of grieving. There is the literal grieving of a family member, but there's also the mourning over loss of self and identity Quan for the life he had before his illness and Anna for the person she could've been, had she gotten proper support earlier in life.

But like the final stage of grief, acceptance isn't too far off for these characters. It's an emotional journey, but a fulfilling one to watch Anna and Quan not only reconcile with the limits of their bodies and health but wield enough power to stand up for themselves. In fact, it's evident that while Anna's autism is a turning point for her, it's not meant to define her or the story; if anything, it's just the missing puzzle piece that lets her fully love herself without a nagging sense of uncertainty. "No one should need a diagnosis in order to be compassionate to themselves ... Maybe for now, just this once, I can experiment with a different kind of love. Something kinder."

Having read all three of Helen Hoang's books, I can confidently say she's a consummate wordsmith of soulful romances, with soft, honest-to-goodness love stories paired with euphoric steaminess. The Heart Principle wears its heart on its sleeve. While it's thematically heavier than her previous books, Hoang's writing breathes with the kind of kinetic power and acceptance that feel freeing because she lets her characters fully realize themselves even when those around them can't.

Kamrun Nesa is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has been featured in The Washington Post, Bustle, PopSugar, and HelloGiggles.

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Review: 'The Heart Principle,' By Helen Hoang - NPR

Often when one thinks about legacy, its understood to be a gift or bequest thats handed down, endowed, or conveyed, from one person to another, after theyve passed. However, legacy is more about sharing the things that were learned not earned and instilling values as opposed to material wealth. Influence and inspiration are also a part of a persons legacy, and that can be put into play while still one is still alive.

September 4, 1981 brought about a new legacy, one that would ultimately impact the entertainment industry and permeate popular culture for years to come. On that summer morning, BeyoncGiselle Knowles was born in Houston, Texas. Since then, she has created a legacy that is unparalleled. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of Destinys Child one of the highest-selling girl groups of all time, along with a lucrative acting career, appearing in films such asAustin Powers in Goldmember,The Pink Panther,Dreamgirls,Cadillac RecordsandThe Lion King.

It wasnt until 2003 that her music career and life truly blossomed. In June of that year, Beyoncreleased her debut solo studio album,Dangerously in Love. In the years that followed, the Texas native rose to icon status, becoming one of the most respected figures in the world. Embarking on a solo career allowed Beyonc to grow both personally and professionally, and it gave her the opportunity to create a legacy outside of Destinys Child.

Since her last solo project, Beyonc has released a compilation album with her husband entitledEverything is Love. She also createdHomecoming, a documentary and concert film focused on her 2018 Coachella performances, and voiced Nala in the remake ofThe Lion King. This led to the curation of the films soundtrackThe Lion King: The Gift, as well as the visual albumBlack is King.

Her numerous accolades and achievements in almost every field of human endeavor show why Beyonc is revered by so many people. Her legacy thus far is undeniable, and she has accomplished more in her 40 years on this earth that most have done in a lifetime. In celebration of Beyoncs 40thbirthday, we look back at her solo albums and the impact theyve left on the music industry, as well as their parallels to the entertainers own life.

Dangerously in Love (June 20, 2003)

In what was a mixture of ballads and uptempo songs,Dangerously in Lovealso incorporated elements of traditional R&B, hip-hop and soul music. It was the first time Beyonc would record an album outside of Destinys Child, and her solo debut was praised by critics and fans alike for its artistic creativity and chart-topping singles. The album received numerous accolades, also earning Beyoncfive Grammy Awards at the 46thAnnual Grammy Awards on February 8, 2004.

During the fall of 2002, 03 Bonnie & Clyde was released. It heightened speculation that Beyoncand rapper Jay Z were in a relationship. Many of the songs onDangerously in Lovewere personal, which also led the public to believe that they were inspired by her newfound union. At a time when Beyonc was coming into her own as a woman, she was also finding her voice as an artist. As a part of Destinys Child, that type of growth may not have been possible, for her focus was more on the group as a whole, rather than her as an individual.

BDay (September 4, 2006)

Released on her 25thbirthday, Beyoncs second studio album was recorded at a very important time in the singers life. She createdBDaywhile filmingDreamgirls, an adaptation of the 1981 Broadway musical of the same name. Her involvement with the film also influenced the sound and lyrical content of her second album. With a musical style drawn from 1970s funk, live instrumentation, along with her normal usage of urban contemporary elements,BDaywas considered a leap in creativity for Beyonc.

Debuting at number one on the US Billboard 200,BDaysold over 541,000 in its first week of sales. That, and theDreamgirlsrelease in December of 2006 marked Beyoncs official recognition as a bonafide superstar.

I Am Sasha Fierce (November 12, 2008)

Beyoncs third album,I Am Sasha Fiercewas originally formatted as a double album. Each disc was a representation of her two artistic personas.I Amcontained slow and mid tempo R&B ballads,while Sasha Fierce her on-stage alter ego had uptempo songs that blended more pop elements. AlthoughI Am Sasha Fiercewas not as popular with critics as her previous two albums, it garnered a record setting six awards at the 52ndAnnual Grammy Awards.

In what was a perfect example of art imitating life, the albums second single, Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) told the story of Beyoncs personal life at the time. In April of that year, Beyonc and Jay Z wed in a secret ceremony, after years of dating. I Am Sasha Fiercebecame the culmination of Beyoncs work as a musician, and a testimony of the new chapter she was beginning in her life.

4 (June 24, 2011)

After a hiatus from the music and film industry, Beyonc released her fourth album, aptly titled4, in 2011. During this time away, she was inspired to create an album focused on traditional R&B that emphasized female empowerment and self-reflection.

2011 was a year of ups and downs for Knowles. After personal issues and severing professional ties with her father and manager, she shifted her music to more mature and intimate content. The multiple television performances and festival appearances served only as a footnote to the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards. When concluding her epic performance, she announced to the world her pregnancy, sending shockwaves around the world.

Beyonc (December 13, 2013)

Beyoncs eponymous fifth release was developed as a visual album, and also marked a crescendo in the singers creativity. In what was a surprise release, its songs were accompanied by short films that represented the intimate subject material showcased within the album. As her career progressed, Beyonc became more open to giving the public a glimpse into her famously private life.

She also directed and produced the television film,Life Is But a Dream, which was a collection of footage and photographs from previous years. This autobiographical release documented her marriage, her miscarriage, the birth of her first child Blue Ivy in 2012, and her aforementioned professional split from her father. Her openness to her personal life led to a new level of expression in her music.

Lemonade (April 23, 2016)

Lemonade the most acclaimed album of Beyoncs career, built upon her increasing transparency she highlighted throughout her previous release. Accompanied by an hour-long film on HBO, this album encompassed a variety of musical genres, and themes of infidelity, trauma, feminism and culture as it pertains to African-Americans. Placed at number 32 on Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, Lemonade was an artistic high point for Beyonc, but the albums construction was not without its tribulations.

Beyoncs sixth album was heavily influenced by her personal life, and her emotional journey in the aftermath of her husbands infidelity. It was also a special project due to her exploration of the economic and social structure of America, and the history of people of color the good as well as the bad. Lemonade was an open book into the mind of Beyonc Knowles, and in it contained her best body of work to date.

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The Legacy Of Beyonc - Essence

NOBODY in the Sudanese refugee camp told Wedan Hamad about periods.

When Hamad first soaked through her underwear, she was frustrated and confused. She figured shed have to hide the blood, until her aunt stepped in and helped.

"My mom never talked with me," Hamad said. "Our culture, sometimes, is very tough."

Decades later, Hamad is working in the basement of First Lutheran Church in Winnipegs West End to ensure hundreds of girls across the globe have access to menstrual products.

She and four other immigrant women have sewn 600 reusable pads and holding bags. The women regularly attend sewing sessions, English classes and child-care drop-offs through the Excel Empowerment Centre, which is stationed in the church.

The centre partnered with Mennonite Central Committee four months ago. On Wednesday, MCC representatives collected the volunteer-made goods, which will be shipped to school-age girls and incarcerated women in Ukraine next month, as part of the charitys dignity kits.

"They learn (about personal hygiene) at the school, they talk to them openly its not like us. Im happy to hear (that)," Hamad said, getting emotional.

Achol Majer marvelled at the snap buttons shed helped to sew into the pads. Shed received pads when she was in a South Sudanese refugee camp, but there was no way to fasten them theyd fall out often.

GABRIELLE PICHE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Help for Ukraine - Immigrant women band together in the basement of First Lutheran Church to sew menstrual products for vulnerable girls.

"Some girls, if you have your period, and you dont have money to buy the... pads, you refuse to go to school," she said. "(You) have a shame in front of your (peers), and people will laugh at you. The best way is to stay home."

Destigmatizing periods boosts confidence, Majer said. "Some years later, you will be somebody. You will see yourself in a different angle."

The volunteers some of whom have sewing certificates can finish a product in five minutes. They take two strips of pre-cut cloth (provided by MCC) and sew them together, adding elastics and buttons after.

"The idea of this program is to empower immigrant women to do the work (with the knowledge) that they came with," said Rebecca Deng, centre executive director.

Right now, the women are volunteers. Hopefully soon, theyll be paid for their skills, Deng said.

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"Finding a job is one of the challenges in Canada... because of the language barrier."

The women sew tote bags, masks and cultural garb. The pads have been their latest challenge; those will be shipped in buckets with underwear, towels, soap and other hygiene items. MCC has sent such kits to other countries, including South Sudan.

"Its a lot of people power here," said Sophia Bezoplenko, material resources co-ordinator for MCC Manitoba. "Im so grateful that these women have volunteered... to do this."

She called the kits life-changing for recipients and said MCC hopes to continue its partnership with the Excel Empowerment Centre.

The public can support the centre by sending monetary donations to First Lutheran Church or giving online at canadahelps.org. Information on making dignity kits is available at mcccanada.ca/kits.

gabrielle.piche@freepress.mb.ca

Gabrielle PichReporter

Gabby is a big fan of people, writing and learning. She graduated from Red River Colleges Creative Communications program in the spring of 2020.

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Sewing empowerment: Winnipeg partnership sends needed menstruation products overseas - Winnipeg Free Press

Alex Coffey| Special for USA TODAY

Why Serena Williams' legacy is cemented, regardless of getting No. 24

Mackenzie Salmon and Analis Bailey look at Serena Williams' lasting legacy on tennis and the sports world.

Sports Seriously, USA TODAY

NEW YORK Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor made an appearance at the U.S. Open on Thursday afternoon, a few hours before his game against the Miami Marlins. It did not go unnoticed.

The U.S. Open tweeted about it from their official account. The ESPN broadcast shared a video of Lindor throwing a tennis ball back and forth with his new pal, Alexander Zverev, who recently advanced to the third round. Its safe to say that fans knew he was there.

Few people noticed Marlins general manager Kim Ng, who braved biblical flooding the night before to watch Sloane Stephens take on Coco Gauff from the Arthur Ashe Stadium presidents suite. Ng, who is close friends with a member of the USTAs board of directors, Kathleen Francis, was sitting next to Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of "Vogue", who inspired the movie "The Devil Wears Prada." A photo of Wintour began to circulate on Twitter. Ng is pictured right next to the fashion icon albeit, out of focus and people still didnt recognize her.

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Ng wasnt complaining. The GM isnt one to thrust herself into the spotlight (which has become a bit of an issue since she was hired by the Marlins last year, the first woman to become a general manager of a mens team in the history of major North American sports). She was perfectly content to blend into a crowd, particularly at an event that carries such personal significance for her.

Long before baseball, tennis was the first sport that Ng loved. Her parents played it, her grandparents played it, so she started playing it, when she was four, and continued throughout high school. The sport filled her with a sense of empowerment and in some ways, brought out the doggedness shes become known for as an executive but it also connected her to two role models that had a profound effect on a young woman looking to chart a path that was largely uncharted.

"I was a little bit young to follow Billie Jean King, but by the time I got to high school, I really started to understand what she had done for the sport and for women, in general," Ng said. "Martina (Navratilova) was much more my sweet spot, age-wise 10-years-old through college. Amazing athlete. The thing that always really grabbed me about Martina was that she took the sport to another level, for women. She redefined what many people thought of as a female athlete. She just raised the bar. Her physique, the way she trained.

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"It was also the idea that she was not afraid to be different. She was her own person, and she told it like it was and didnt take anything from anybody. I think that really helped me in terms of thinking about how I should be growing up. And things that I should be thinking about. And that it was okay to be different. I got a lot of that from my family, but I think externally, it was important for me to see somebody else living that credo."

On the day she accepted the job as Marlins GM, Ng listed Navratilova and King as mentors. Standing outside the visitors dugout at Citi Field on Thursday, she clarified that in reality, they meant much more.

"Idols,"she said. "Those two speaking out and being as vocal as they were, allowed a little kid like me to become aware of what I was capable of. ... It helped me fight those preconceived notions of what I could be, and what I should be, and really just going after what I want."

The examples that King and Navratilova set only drew Ng to the sport more. By the time shed graduated from the University of Chicago, she was seriously considering a career in tennis simply because that was where shed seen the most women in positions of power.

"When I was thinking of getting into sports… what you see is what you think is available to you," she said. "I was thinking about tennis, maybe working in sports marketing or operations. It was a sport that had more women in it."

Obviously, Ng went a different route one that is arguably more emblematic of the impact that King and Navratilova had in the tennis world but remained drawn to the sport. In her mind, she sees tennis as a vehicle for womens empowerment, and makes an effort to support it in person when she can, often by attending the Open. Shes made trips to Flushing Meadows while working in the Los Angeles Dodgers front office, the New York Yankees front office, and in the MLB Commissioners office, so, when the Mets-Marlins game was rained out Wednesday night, she couldnt pass up a chance to see two female athletes gutting it out, just a few feet from the court.

"Those two are off the charts,"she said of Gauff and Stephens. "Ive seen Venus (Williams) at the Open there as well. Thats who Coco reminds me of, is Venus her build, her aggressiveness, her poise.

"It was tremendous to see that type of athleticism up close. Just incredible talent. I figured the stars were aligned; I love tennis and I love baseball. It would have been a great day if we had been able to see both, but it was still a great day, because I got to spend most of it watching those two play."

Follow Alex Coffey on Twitter @byalexcoffey.

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Miami Marlins' GM Kim Ng takes break from baseball to attend US Open, where her idols played - USA TODAY

Greater Houston Womens Chamber of Commerce (GHWCC) will host The Woodlands North Houston Conference for Women on November 18, 2021 at The Woodlands Resort.

Hello Woodlands interviewed SuzanDeison, CEO/President/Founder of Greater Houston Womens Chamber of Commerce, Shayla White, Executive Director GHWCC Womens Business Center, and Natalie Saikowski Goertz, co-chair of the Woodlands North Houston Conference for Women and Senior Vice President at Guaranty Bank & Trust.

What is the Greater Houston Womens Chamber of Commerce?

The Greater Houston Womens Chamber of Commerce (GHWCC) is a nonprofit business organization of highly influential and diverse women and men dedicated to the advancement and empowerment of women through avenues of leadership, education, advocacy and mentoring.

We are the place where women do business in Houston. We provide women with a platform to make your voices heard and to build valuable business relationships. We provide opportunities to enhance your leadership skills. We advocate for your business with our legislators on the local, state and federal levels. We host educational workshops to help you expand or start your business. We educate our membership on the benefits of preventive healthcare. We engage dynamic executive women to build relationships, generate provocative ideas, thoughts and solutions to impact the future of healthcare. We provide unlimited opportunities for women and girls to develop and enhance their leadership skills with a strong focus on science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM). We provide scholarships for our next generation of women leaders. Read more about GHWCC on their website at ghwcc.org.

How can members of the community become a member?

SuzanDeison, CEO, President, and Founder of Greater Houston Womens Chamber of Commerce, shared, The GHWCC membership levels are based upon a business number of employees.The Greater Houston Womens Chamber of Commerce (GHWCC) is the fastest growing womens chamber in the US. We represent over 1200 member businesses, from Fortune 500 companies to small women led businesses. Men are also welcomed to join to not only support women, but to do business with women.

Tell us about the GHWCC SBA WBC.

Shayla White, Executive Director GHWCC Womens Business Center, responded, The GHWCC SBA Womens Business Center serves as a catalyst to enable women entrepreneurs and their leadership teams to start or take their business to the next level through organization, innovation, and engagement. The GHWCC SBA WBC empowers women-led organizations by introducing resources that provide tools, access to capital, and valuable business relationships.

GHWCC WBC is dedicated to enhancing opportunities for potential entrepreneurs and small business owners to become self-sustaining and successful contributors to their communities, with special assistance for women, low-income, minority, veterans, and non-profit businesses in Montgomery County, East Harris County and Chambers County.We have a diverse Advisory Board of 18 that represents the chambers geographic service area who assist and support the WBC activities including business consulting and hosting workshops.The GHWCC SBA WBC Advisory Board members serve as advisors for the WBC team, sharing insights and strategies to help women entrepreneurs succeed.

The GHWCC SBA WBC provides educational workshops and events to build capacity, make connections and overall elevate entrepreneurs business acumen to remain competitive in the marketplace. For a comprehensive understanding of our offerings, visitwww.ghwcc.org, emailinfo@ghwcc.org, or call 713-782-3777.

How can members get involved?

SuzanDeison said, GHWCC Members have many opportunities for leadership and engagement!

GHWCC Programs include: The SBA Womens Business Center and LAUNCH, helping women-led businesses start or expand their business by providing valuable education, tools and resources including access to capital, Women On Board Institute, an initiative to increase the number of women serving on corporate boards by helping them become board-ready, and STEAM Town USA, an initiative to increase at-risk third grade girls interest in math and science through STEAM concepts, and encourage them to pursue STEAM careers.

GHWCC committees include Governmental Affairs, Womens Health Network of the Texas Medical Center, Education, Marketing, 40 Under 40, Ambassadors, and HR Roundtable. We also have regional chapters; Central Houston/Energy Corridor, Southwest Houston/Fort Bend County, Baytown, Bay Area and The Woodlands North Houston.

Tell us about the Volunteer of the Year, Chapter Chair of the Year, and other annual awards.

The GHWCC hosts five signature events each year that recognize women who are leading in their respective fields, who support gender diversity and who are making a positive difference in our community. They are the GHWCC Annual Meeting and Awards, The Greater Houston Conference for Women, Women in the Fast Lane of STEAM Luncheon and Style Show, The Woodlands North Houston Conference for Women and the Greater Houston Hall of Fame Gala, said SuzanDeison.

What and when is theGHWCC Conference in The Woodlands area? What can attendees expect and how can people register?

SuzanDeison responded, The Woodlands North Houston Conference for Women will be held November 18, 2021 at the Woodlands Resort.

The Greater Houston Womens Chamber of Commerce (GHWCC) is excited to host The Woodlands North Houston Conference for Women on November 18, 2021 at The Woodlands Resort, 10:30 am to 2:00 pm. Demonstrating to our business community that women truly have no limits, and highlighting your support of gender diversity, we want you to be a part of it. We encourage you to seize this opportunity to influence over 400 members of our business community at our Conference. Sponsors will earn recognition through a variety of media from videos to pre-event PR, e-blast and advertising.

The GHWCC is the fastest growing womens chamber in the country, and The Woodlands North Houston Chapter continues to have tremendous support. Our events host nationally and internationally recognized speakers, from First Ladies Laura and Barbara Bush, to the first Asian woman to receive a Pulitzer Prize, Sheryl WuDunn, to Tiffany Pham, of Mogul and Amy Lacy of CaliFlour Foods. Our panel of CEOs and C-suite executives will share invaluable business insights that members can take back to the office and use for creating real change. We will honor twelve Trailblazers at the Conference, outstanding leaders who are recognized for being trailblazers in their industries and in their career, thus opening doors for our and the next generation of women.

We are excited to have the leadership of Natalie Saikowski Goertz as a co-chair of the Woodlands North Houston Conference for Women. Natalie also dynamically serves as a co-chair of The Woodlands North Houston Chapter and the GHWCC Board of Directors.

Natalie Saikowski Goertz, Co-Chair of the Woodlands North Houston Conference for Women, shared, I got involved in the Greater Houston Womens Chamber of Commerce because I wanted to cultivate new relationships with other business women in our community. I continuously to seek opportunities to lock arms with other women and have everyone rise to the occasion together. Serving others is something I have always been passionate about, so I jumped right in to getting involved with the Chamber. One of the characteristics of this Chamber that was attractive to me is the diversity of the members, which has been beneficial to my personal and professional growth.

For more information about the Greater Houston Womens Chamber of Commerce and to register for The Woodlands North Houston Conference for Women on November 18, 2021 at The Woodlands Resort, visitwww.ghwcc.org.

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GHWCC to host The Woodlands North Houston Conference for Women - hellowoodlands.com

With American troops hurried withdrawal from Afghanistan, President Joe Biden finally admitted what millions of Americans have known for years: there would be no triumphant fanfare to mark the end of the War on Terror that is finally, mercifully, ending on his watch.

But who will lead the charge to wind down Americas domestic national security panopticon that, after decades of taxpayer funding and expansions of its opaque surveillance powers, still failed to anticipate critical developments like the rise of ISIS or Afghanistans swift collapse to the Taliban?

Over the past 20 years, our failures in Afghanistan have become synonymous with the overreach and blind arrogance of the War on Terror. But that didnt just unfold on some distant desert battlefield. An equally treacherous surveillance state was built by American lawmakers right here at home.

Just three weeks after President George W. Bush launched the invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001, a Senate supermajority voted 98-1 to enact a bundle of emergency counterterrorism measures known as the USA PATRIOT Act. Among a slew of authoritarian nightmares, the Patriot Act vastly expanded the federal governments authority to spy on its own citizens without oversight, indefinitely detain immigrants even vaguely suspected of terrorism, wiretap Americans without probable cause and compile incomparably massive databases of Americans internet activities and cell-phone metadata.

The Act answered many Americans post-9/11 desire for ever increasing layers of domestic security theater. It also paved the way for the paranoia and authoritarianism that gradually consumed the Republican Party.

The Patriot Act helped Republicans cloak their growing antidemocratic tendencies in the language of urgent national security imperatives, a trend that continues unbroken in Donald Trumps migrant caravan fearmongering and the FBIs Trump-era efforts to treat Black Lives Matter activists as a national security threat.

By 2002, driven by the Bush administrations dire warnings of future attacks, Republicans had already constructed most of what we now consider Americas post-9/11 national security apparatus. The new focus on domestic and foreign surveillance was given physical form by the creation of an imposing new Department of Homeland Security. 18 years later, DHS is now the third-largest Cabinet department behind Defense and Veterans Affairs. Homelands sway over Washington remains so powerful that Bidens recent proposal togaspstop increasing the DHS budget led to heated bipartisan outcry on Capitol Hill.

For many of the lawmakers compromised by an influx of surveillance industry lobbying cash, Americas future is one where you are always being watched.

Anyone who lived through the early years of surveillance gone wild remembers the emergence of a new popular vocabulary designed to mask our new realities: torture became enhanced interrogation, government disappearings extraordinary rendition and torture facilities black sites. Guantanamo Bay, a strip of land on the Cuban coast, became both a prison into which Muslims disappeared and an international symbol of Americas abandonment of the rule of law.

As a senator, Biden enthusiastically supported the construction and gluttonous overfeeding of our domestic surveillance state. At $1.25 trillion, building the American surveillance state was roughly equivalent to funding more than a decade of war in Afghanistan. As president, the task of deconstructing the leviathan now falls in Bidens lap. Its a topic he and his administration have been conspicuously silent about even as they tout the end of the war in Afghanistan. Theres no end to Americas forever wars without dismantling the surveillance state here.

The Patriot Act expired in bits and pieces over the past 20 years, but key provisions still remainand stripping them away must be a priority as Biden seeks to wind down the War on Terror. Any effort to end the federal governments cataloging of its citizens will face opposition: just last year, lawmakers fought a pitched battle to extend key surveillance provisions.

Far from winding down along with the War on Terror, the surveillance state is expanding like never before.

When PATRIOTs controversial Section 215 governing bulk collection of telephone metadata from U.S. citizens expired in 2015, Senate Republicans quickly passed nearly identical provisions with a fresh new facethis time called the USA FREEDOM Act. That the metadata-tracking program harms civil liberties, cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and provided practically no useful information didnt seem to matter to lawmakers. And while USA Freedom includes several important limits on domestic spying not included in Patriot, it represents nothing less than Patriots survival into its fourth presidential administration.

Far from winding down along with the War on Terror, the surveillance state is expanding like never before. Private companies like Palantir now pledge to empower organizations to effectively integrate their data, decisions, and operations. If youre a state or federal law enforcement agency, that empowerment means utilizing powerful new facial recognition and crowd surveillance technologies to track nonviolent protesters and other troublesome Americans.

The technologies supposedly created to track a vague, undefined foreign threat have been turned against Americans with startling effectiveness.

If that seems like a far cry from monitoring the foreign-based communications of possible terrorists, thats because it is. The technologies supposedly created to track a vague, undefined foreign threat have been turned against Americans with startling effectiveness. Atlantas Flock Safety recently raised a $150 million investment round on the promise that it could capture and analyze vehicles and license plates better than anyone else. For many of the lawmakers compromised by an influx of surveillance industry lobbying cash, Americas future is one where you are always being watched.

It might be a different story if this eye-wateringly expensive, rights-eroding proto-Skynet actually improved American safety. In fact, its actively jeopardizing national security. Take Palantir, the private surveillance technology firm that last year wrapped up a high-profile $500 million funding round. According to new reports first published in the New York Post, a massive glitch in Palantirs confidential systems allowed unauthorized individuals to access sensitive FBI employee data for more than a year. But the FBI is small potatoes: the vast trove of private information Palantir helps the government scoop up is only as secure as Palantirs least-interested programmer.

But Americas surveillance hell isnt all high-minded data-mining by the boys at Langley and hunkered down in Silicon Valley. As citizens, weve been conditioned over the course of two decades to accept ever-greater incursions into our privacy. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in the pernicious security theater produced and directed by the Transportation Security Administration.

A Congress eager to show Americans it would do anything necessary to protect them foisted the TSA on travelers in November 2001. Since then, airport security has become one of the nations greatest running jokes: according to research by Voxs Dylan Matthews, there isnt any solid evidence that TSA has made air travelor Americansany safer. But it has accustomed citizens to accept gradually more intrusive government requests on our freedoms.

As a frequent (until recent global health events) air traveler, I can barely imagine a world before TSA PreCheck, Global Entry, Clear, and a host of other services designed to ease the all-consuming inconvenience of War on Terror airport security measures. And thats whats so wrong. By placing theatrical but ineffective security roadblocks in front of Americans and then introducing a program like PreCheck, which required me to provide TSA with scans of my retinas, a full set of my fingerprints, and enough information to conduct a deep background check, TSA effectively inconvenienced me and most Americans into filling a database with our most personal data. And they charge 85 bucks for the privilege.

Sure, PreCheck is a choice you are free to declinebut by treating our privacy as a negotiable token to be traded off for a little convenience, we forfeit the chance to decide whether our government should even have the terrifying power to warehouse our eyes in the first place. Its past time our elected officials had that conversation and accounted for the failure of our intrusive security apparatus to actually deliver better intelligence outcomes and a safer country for Americans. Its time to restore our civil liberties to a pre-PreCheck world.

Only congressional Democrats and the Biden administration have the power to fully dismantle 20 years of deeply entrenched intrusion by the federal government into our private data and personal lives. That will be more difficult than withdrawing from Afghanistan, but inaction will do further damage to the already frayed relationship between our government and its people.

Democrats can begin our great national de-spyification process by revoking the sweeping surveillance powers successive Congresses have bestowed on organizations like the NSA and FBI. The past 20 years have demonstrated that our surveillance state is woefully ineffective at improving American national security.

Democrats can lead an overdue rethinking of the entire operational theory behind Americas use of surveillance. We must apply what weve learned from the past two decades of surveillance overreach to build a system that respects our most cherished rights.

A generation later, the War on Terror is drawing to an ignominious close. Americas surveillance state must not outlive it.

Read more:

Forever Wars Won't End if the Surveillance State's Still Here - Daily Beast

Women represent a massive pool of untapped human capital in South Africa. With 38% of all households in the country headed by women rising to over 45% in some rural areas they face the double burden of raising children and securing an income to provide for their families. To successfully accomplish this, women require access to affordable childcare that allows them to go out and find jobs. The early learning sector could hold the key to providing both to the benefit of women, children, and the countrys economy.

Without easy access to affordable childcare, women are more likely to have to stay at home. This means that they are unable to present themselves for interviews or engage in meaningful employment opportunities. The result is that a significant part of the existing workforce is constrained which has a knock-on effect in terms of being able to build a better life for themselves, and access to opportunities for their children, says Samantha Maasdorp, Network Strategist at early learning social franchise SmartStart.

By creating childcare venues for women who want to go out and work, early learning programmes help to stimulate the economy by giving agency back to mothers and caregivers. These programmes also have the potential to provide direct employment and social enterprise opportunities, while setting children up for future personal and economic success.

Through the SmartStart programme, I have seen my life change and become so much more than I had planned. I believe in myself more now and know the power that I have inside me. I know that I am making a difference in my community, and I make sure that I teach this to my children. Our community has a lot of opportunities, and all we have to do is find how we fit into the solution, says Thobisa Gatu, one of SmartStarts practitioners, who has been providing early learning in her community since 2017.

Using a social franchise model, SmartStart taps into the experience of existing civil society organisations who recruit, train, and license women to launch and run early learning social enterprises, for children aged three to five. To date, SmartStart has trained over 8 800 people to fill the gap in early learning service provision to the benefit of over 98 000 children across the country.

Childcare and early learning is frequently deemed to be the work that a mother should be doing within the home. It would be a huge step forward, both socially and economically, for South Africa to recognise the importance of this professional career pathway. Through the setup of these social enterprises, we are supporting women to become early learning professionals and for the caregivers in their community to see them in this way as well, says Maasdorp.

SmartStart operates in all nine provinces and has built a network of over 90 000 parents and caregivers, whose children are enrolled and active in one of SmartStarts programme formats. By 2030, SmartStart aims to reach 750 000 children between the ages of three and five annually. For more information, visit http://www.smartstart.org.za.

See more here:

Women find economic empowerment in early learning - Yiba

Little Simz has previously objected to being described as the best female rapper in Britain. And quite rightly too. Her magnificent fourth album demonstrates that she is one of the best rappers in the world, period.

Its title, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, is a phrase formed from the letters in Simbi, the family nickname of Simbiata Ajikawo. A British woman of Nigerian heritage, Simz has established herself over 10 years as both an actress (with roles in BBC series Spirit Warriors and Netflix drama Top Boy) and hip-hop artist, whose 2019 album Grey Area was nominated for a Mercury Prize.

Her new albums opening track, Introvert, sees the bravura lyricist come riding in on a six-minute cinematic orchestral funk epic that sounds like Wagner doing battle with Isaac Hayes. A massed choir towers above strings and horns amid percussive timpani booms, while the 27-year-old Londoner wrestles with her inner demons and sharply articulates her personal, social and political imperatives, the track reaching a pitch of excitement as she declares Im a black woman and Im a proud one. It is a position she reasserts from a different angle as the groove shifts seamlessly into the sweet soul of the sisterhood anthem Woman, on which she mischievously declares When you have beauty and brains, they find it astounding.

To be fair, this album is kind of astounding. Regular collaborator Inflo (Dean Josiah Cover) is the producer behind elusive collective SAULT, who have won praise for a powerful series of albums addressing black British identity (to which Little Simz contributed). Many of the same pliant funk, soul, jazz and gospel elements manifest here (the dazzling use of choral voices evoking such greats as Sly Stone and Curtis Mayfield), fused with atmospheric trip hop, grime-flecked electro and a joyously percussive twist of Afrobeat, all set to monumental orchestrations and given dramatic focus by the fierce intent of Simz herself.

Although she puts herself across with armour-plated confidence, Introvert wrestles with private feelings of insecurity: I bottle it up and spill it in verses / One day Im wordless next day Im a wordsmith. Admired by such leading rap exponents as Stormzy and Kendrick Lamar, her skills are fantastic, essaying a rat-a-tat-tat delivery that enables her to fire off lines of different lengths and locate the rhythm in anything (All we see is broken homes here and poverty / Corrupt government officials, lies and atrocities you try saying that quickly).

She rarely resorts to profanity or obscures her meaning with inscrutable slang, enunciating every phrase with clarity and purpose whilst conjuring up constantly interesting rhymes (one sequence in the soulful Two Worlds rhymes drama / marijuana / Bahamas / karma / calmer / charters / koalas and, stretching it a little, gives a little nod back to Kendrick Lamar).

An overarching narrative entangles her family background and artistic struggles with issues of political and personal empowerment. Lending a touch of fantasy, actress Emma Corrin (who played Diana in The Crown) appears amid rippling harps to offer encouragement like an aristocratic fairy godmother. Its a gift and a curse to be this pretty and blessed, Little Simz mischievously declares on the storming black pride anthem Standing Ovation. This is an album that deserves one.

Out now on AWAL

Originally posted here:

Little Simz, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, review: an album that deserves a standing ovation - Telegraph.co.uk