Menopause - a naturally occurring stage of life for all women - has been misunderstood, hushed up, and often poorly treated for generations. Yet in recent years, a sea change has taken place. Women know more, speak up more, and their doctors - often female - are able to respond with more options. Where are we today? Join us for a conversation with Dr Kelly-Ann Shedd-Hartman about this topic every woman should know more about.

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Electricians, construction workers, plumbers, power plant technicians, heavy equipment operators: all these and more make up the 'skilled trades.' Such jobs typically offer some of the best pay for workers without a college degree. These skilled trades make up almost 30% of our economy - and have historically been all male. Today, women hold only 4% of these jobs. (Take that, Rosie the Riveter.) Why? Sue Hoffman is our guest to plumb (!) this topic. Sue has spent a lifetime working to expand workforces for women. She brings a wealth of experience, including as a consultant, the head of Women in Nontraditional Careers Initiative in Philadelphia, and as a tradeswoman herself. Listen in to learn about some of the biggest impediments to getting more women into more skilled trades. And, spoiler alert, it's not hiring discrimination.

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It can be hard to step back and 'see' our gendered world - all the different behaviors, work and family roles, clothes, speaking styles, body language, hair styles that to us mean 'male' or 'female.' This gendered world is all we've ever known, after all.

All those seemingly small gendered manifestations yield big consequences however: men are 4 times more likely to commit suicide, women accumulate about half as many assets over a lifetime, men experience more physical violence and a dearth of satisfying social relationships, women provide the vast bulk of unpaid care for children, other adults, and the home - the list could go on.

Yet these differences are not innate. They are not just a function of our hormones or our different reproductive functions. In fact, they reflect thousands of years of socializing norms and the creation of systems and institutions that govern our lives.

We think it's time for a fresh look at how we got here - gendered world and all.

Resources: A Gendered World makes a Gendered Brain | Gina Rippon | TEDxCardiff, Anglea Saini: The Patriarchs, How to talk to kids about gender equality and stereotypes | UN Women – Headquarters, National Women's History Museum, Invisible Women | Caroline Criado Perez, Gender stereotypes begin at age 10 | Hub, Gender and media - GSDRC, Geena Davis Institute, "Historical Perspectives on Violence Against Women" by Vivian C. Fox

How do YOU view the government? Does it have a role in ensuring protections or enforcing rights? Does it handicap our lives with wasteful inefficiencies and rules? Does it help you - or do you think it only helps others? Whatever you think, you probably have good reasons for those beliefs. Which we get! In this episode, we peek into why and how we develop our attitudes about the government - and how listening to one another might just help us all thrive more.

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Out of 50 states in the US, women hold 13 governorships, 28% of Congress, and have never been elected President. The US is 53rd in the world in political gender parity. This is 2025, so really, why is this? And does it even matter - do we really need equal representation in elected offices? In this episode, we look at the social forces at work (who is a leader?) as well as some pragmatic impediments. And yes, it does matter. Bonus: we talk about our deep-seated expectations of who should be in charge.

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The League of Women Voters sounds like it comes from another era, like maybe that time of Victorian dresses festooned with "VOTES FOR WOMEN" sashes. Well, it sorta does. And yet it's still here today, more meaningful than ever. Today we talk with Terri Kondos, the Manatee County League Voter Services Chair. Terri spent 38 years with the Department of Defense in intelligence and national security, but her current beat is voter rights and information.

So, did you know the League publishes voter services guides on national AND local issues? And that they are ALWAYS non-partisan, and never advocate for any candidate? They're here for all of us! After you listen to Terri, sign up for the August 26 Women's Equality Day event in Sarasota - free and open to all. Sign-up link below.

Are people having the families they want? Why or why not? And are women really to blame for low fertility rates? A new report surveyed 14,000 people in 14 countries to really understand what is happening and why fertility rates are dropping all over. The findings may surprise some policy makers who are struggling to identify incentives for families, but really shouldn't surprise any of us. Spoiler: people want MORE children! Take a listen.

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