As women, our biggest hurdle to professional success isn’t a glass ceiling; it’s a broken rung — that first step of being promoted from entry-level roles to managers. Passing that first rung on the ladder happens less often and at a slower pace for women, which is a systemic barrier to entry we need to fix.

We’ve all heard the stats before – women make 53 to 79 cents on the dollar of what men earn. Only 8% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women. Less than three percent of venture capital goes to female-owned businesses. And, there are more men named John in positions of leadership across America than there are women in leadership roles, PERIOD.

If the last couple years have taught us anything, it’s that the best-laid plans…well, you know. With everything going on in the world, many of us have taken a hard look at where we are, what we’re prioritizing, and — most importantly — WHY we’re doing what we’re doing.

Have you ever set your mind on the final outcome of something, only to have your hopes dashed when it didn’t come true?  When you have an expectation and believe that something is going to happen, that’s the result of your imagination kicking in.

Organizations with a diverse workforce are proven to perform better. Companies with female CEOs and CFOs see higher profits and stock returns. Yet there are more men named John in positions of leadership than there are women in leadership roles.

Every day we make judgments about others. It’s human nature to make snap decisions. It’s the way our brains are wired so we can function without spending too much time or energy processing everything we encounter.  As a result, we pass judgment on people as soon as we see them.

Ok, it’s confession time.  We hope this is a safe space where we can reveal we’re not an expert on superheroes. That’s right: we don’t even have a favorite universe. We know there are some heroes, some villains and…that’s about it.