Dear Followers, As you know, I enjoy sharing the stories of a wide variety of women. To me, the era, country of origin, type of talent, or passion are not what's important. What matters is the struggle to fulfill a dream or survive challenges, and there seem to be an unlimited number of women who capture my attention ( and, hopefully, yours as well). Today's woman worth knowing is the legendary actress Sarah Bernhardt, who was born in 1844 in … [Read more...]

Dear Followers, Regardless of your political persuasion, the fact that Elena Kagan has been sworn in as a Supreme Court Justice this week is a noteworthy event. She is only the fourth female Justice in the Court's history, and for the first time ever there are now three female Justices. Kagan is the eighth Jewish Justice to be appointed to the highest court in the land. Elena Kagan began displaying traits of a Self-Empowered Woman from an early … [Read more...]

Dear Followers, As so many of you know, my blog has been sharing news about women of achievement from a wide variety of cultures, countries and eras. And this seemed like a perfect time to introduce you to another blog (Pensieve) that is written by an accomplished woman for females who are on the move -- both emotionally and intellectually. My blog (and book) centers on the fact that it's amazing that a young woman in Cambodia, a … [Read more...]

Dear Followers, Instead of writing about one individual woman today, I'd like to share information from New York Times economic write David Leonhardt. In today's paper he wrote a thought-provoking article about mothers and the labor market that punishes them. Leonhardt uses the Supreme Court as a prototype for the job market. He points out that the last three men nominated to the court were all married and had seven children among them. But … [Read more...]

Dear Followers, In recent blogs, we've met astronauts, authors, a singer, a nurse and a nun, and today I'd like to introduce you to a remarkable woman whose life experiences have taken her from Cambodia to California, Paris, Italy and back to Cambodia to work as a political activist on behalf of women. Mu Sochua, who is the most prominent female member of Cambodia's Parliament, was born in Phnom Penh in 1954, and was sent to California in … [Read more...]

Dear Followers, One of the things that I love about The Self-Empowered Woman project is that the members are so diverse. One day I'm learning about a woman in Zimbabwe, the next I'm researching a novelist in London, then I'm learning about a Hollywood director or a South American activist. Today, I'd like to honor an amazing woman who died this week in Oklahoma at the age of 64.Wilma Mankiller was the first female cheif of the Cherokee nation. … [Read more...]

Dear Followers, Today I'd like to write about a working class girl from Edinburgh (born Muriel Sarah Camberg in 1918) who became a best selling author (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie), lived in Italy, bought a race horse from the Queen of England, and became Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1993. Her father was a Jewish engineer, her mother was an English music teacher, and as a child she loved literature and read … [Read more...]

Dear Followers, I have been doing a lot of talks lately about The Self-Empowered Woman, and am intrigued by the fact that audience members are almost always interested in Mother Teresa's story. So today (since it is March Madness) I thought I'd share the story of another nun who has accomplished a great deal and done so without a lot of fanfare. Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio may not hold a handful of NCAA Championships, but they … [Read more...]

Dear Followers, Today's post is about a story that seems hard to believe, but is (unfortunately) true. In 2008, the parents of a nine year old little girl in Yemen - Nujood Ali - married off their daughter to a deliveryman in his 30s. Her mother wasn't happy, but didn't protest because "In our country it's the men who give the orders, and the women who follow them." Nujood's father asked the deliveryman (now his son-in-law) not to touch . … [Read more...]

Dear Followers, Sorry for the gap in blogs, but the Olympics captured my attention more than they should have. Anyway, I'm back on track and ready to share more stories. Next week I'll be speaking at the West Palm Beach Library as part of their Women's History Month program (March 16th, 4 to 5pm, Clematis Room), so I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to explore how Women's History Month came into being. In 1911, in Europe, … [Read more...]