For admission to Chief, a women’s leadership network, members pay up to $7,900. That gets them executive coaching, big-name speaker sessions, a Rolodex of female executives and, for an extra cost, access to five sleek clubhouses. Chief is essentially an “old boys’ club” — for the ladies. The venture capital-backed company has grown to over 20,000 members and over $1 billion in value since it started in 2019. This month, in social media battles, some of its members have begun to ask: What does their club of high-powered women stand for? On LinkedIn, some Chief members have criticized the community’s approach to racial diversity and its response to political issues like the overturn of Roe v. Wade, and some have announced plans to quit. Chief’s founders, Lindsay Kaplan and Carolyn Childers, say they’ve donated to abortion access groups, issued statements in the wake of racial violence and acted on their members’ feedback, while remaining focused on the company’s primary goal, which … [Read more...] about Is Empowering Corporate Women Enough?
Sophia bollag
British Royal History, and Intrigue, in a Quaint German Town
The quaint timbered houses of the German town of Celle recall the center of Britain’s most picturesque towns and villages. What is less obvious to the naked eye is that Celle is an ancestral home of Britain’s royal family, the House of Windsor. That connection has drawn unusual royal interest in this pretty place near Hanover. No other German town of its size — about 70,000 people — has seen anything like two visits from Queen Elizabeth II, as well as one in 1965 from her mother, known as the Queen Mum, and a walkabout by Prince Charles and Princess Diana, who visited in 1987 . What ostensibly drew the modern royals to Celle (pronounced TSELL-uh) was partly the presence of British troops during the Cold War. But Queen Elizabeth II, who first came to Celle in 1984, returned last year, at age 89, in conjunction with her visit to the nearby former Nazi concentration camp at Bergen-Belsen, liberated in 1945 by the British. She was also following in the footsteps of her ancestors. … [Read more...] about British Royal History, and Intrigue, in a Quaint German Town
