Career Development Insights

A new study of NIH grant terminations shows that women—especially early-career researchers—have been disproportionately affected, despite already receiving less NIH funding overall. On average women had 57.9% of their grant terminated, while men had 48.2%. Among doctoral students and assistant professors, 60% of terminated grants were led by women. At these critical career stages (graduate students, postdocs, assistant professors), women led a majority of the projects that lost funding—raising concerns about long-term impacts on the research pipeline. These cuts risk reshaping who gets to participate in science. When early-career researchers lose support, it can mean stalled projects, lost opportunities, and in some cases, leaving academia altogether. https://lnkd.in/geDaxFDa

Forty percent of Black women are Onlys. The only woman in the room. The only Black person at the table. The only one who looks like them in the entire department. Double the rate of women overall. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐓𝐚𝐱™ Being the Only doesn't just feel isolating. It costs you money. Here's how: 51% of Black women who are Onlys report needing to provide more evidence of their competence than their colleagues. For men who are not Onlys? 13%. That's a 38-point gap in proof burden. Every time you re-explain your qualifications. Every time you over-document your decisions. Every time you CC three extra people to establish a paper trail because you know your word won't be enough. That's labor. Unpaid labor. 77% of Black women report "prove it again" bias — having to demonstrate competence over and over, while their white male counterparts get presumed capable from day one. And when you do succeed? They don't credit competence. They credit luck. Affirmative action. Help from someone else. Timing. Your wins don't compound in your file. They evaporate. So you prove it again. And again. And again. Meanwhile, Brad's first success is still paying dividends three promotions later. This is not a confidence gap. This is an extraction gap. The time you spend re-proving yourself is time you're not spending on visible, credited, compensated work. It's time stolen from the record that determines your raise. Your promotion. Your equity. They're not asking you to prove it again because they forgot. They're asking because the system is designed to make you work twice for half the credit. And half the credit means half the compensation. Document the proof burden. Track the hours. Name the pattern. Because the Only Tax isn't invisible. It's just unbilled. How many times have you had to prove something twice that Brad only had to prove once? Thank You; It's True™ #BlackWomensWealthLab #DocumentEverything #TheOnlyTax

Many of my podcast episodes will make you better at your job, but a select few will make you better at life. Today's episode is one of the latter. Carole Robin, Ph.D. spent 20+ years teaching a class called Interpersonal Dynamics, affectionately known as “Touchy Feely” at Stanford University Graduate School of Business. After leaving Stanford, she founded a nonprofit called Leaders In Tech, which applies the Touchy Feely principles to help Silicon Valley executives build their leadership and interpersonal skills. Carole also co-authored the popular book Connect: Building Exceptional Relationships with Family, Friends, and Colleagues, which shares key insights from her decades of teaching these courses. In our conversation, we discuss: 🔸 How vulnerability makes you a stronger leader 🔸 Why mental models you build early in life hold you back later 🔸 The 15% rule of disclosure 🔸 The art of inquiry 🔸 The three realities and “the net” 🔸 Practical tips for avoiding defensiveness when getting (and giving) feedback 🔸 The impact of long Covid on Carole’s life 🔸 Much more Listen now 👇 - YouTube: https://lnkd.in/ejqmeUv2 - Spotify: https://lnkd.in/egW9afwc - Apple: https://lnkd.in/eQw2HxcS Some key takeaways: 1. When giving feedback, remember that in any interaction between two people, there are three realities: - Reality 1 includes their motives and intent - Reality 2 is what they say and do - Reality 3 is the impact of their behavior on you 2. Embrace the 15% rule: By pushing yourself just 15% beyond your current boundaries, you can create opportunities for growth and deepen connections with others. This approach allows you to gauge your comfort level and adjust gradually, avoiding overwhelming discomfort while still fostering meaningful progress. 3. You should address minor irritations (“pinches”) before they escalate into major conflicts (“crunches”). Early identification and resolution of pinches promotes honest relationships and minimizes the expected pain of a crunch. 4. When someone responds in a way you didn’t expect, ask them, “What did you hear me say?” Most of the time, the other person heard something incorrect. Follow up with “I’m glad I asked; let me try that again.” 5. When seeking to understand someone’s motives and intent, inquire genuinely without judgment. Avoid asking “why” questions, as they provoke defensiveness. Instead ask what, when, where, and how to gain insight into their perspective. 6. Don’t use phrases like “I feel that” or “I feel like,” as these often lead to statements rather than emotional expressions. Instead, use “I feel” followed by an actual feeling word. This simple change is more likely to result in a connection with the other person.

In 1950s America, my mother Rosalie was told she couldn’t become a physician because “medicine wasn’t a place for women.” She never forgot that. (She became a nuclear physicist instead.) Seventy years later, I’m married to a woman physician. I have three sisters who are physicians. And our daughter is already imagining a future in medicine. Their experiences shape every conversation I have about women in medicine. Here’s what the data show: • Patients treated by female physicians have lower mortality rates — one large U.S. study found a 30-day mortality rate of 8.15% for female patients treated by female doctors vs 8.38% for those treated by male doctors. • A meta-analysis of more than 13 million patients found that care by female physicians was associated with an odds ratio of 0.95 (95% CI: 0.93–0.97) for mortality — roughly a 5% relative reduction. Yet despite this superior performance, the daily barriers women in medicine face persist, often unrecognized and unaddressed. On this week’s Unfiltered episode, my wife Dr. Julie Fisher spoke candidly with host Dr. Robert Pearl, M.D. about the pressures women physicians still face — being expected to be more nurturing, more accommodating, more likable — and how those very expectations often don’t translate into authority, leadership, or equitable advancement. If we want a more equitable and effective medical culture, this is a conversation worth hearing. 🎧 Listen: https://lnkd.in/e59-bc6k #HealthcareOnLinkedIn #FixingHealthcare #WomenInMedicine #Leadership #EquityInHealthcare #JustOneHeart

I’m a lawyer turned recruiter. And I wish I knew this as a baby lawyer: Success isn’t about all-nighters, designer suits, or prestigious titles. Now, as a legal recruiter, I see it clearly. Here are 10 Hard-Earned Lessons: 1. A Big-Name Firm Isn’t the Only Way to Succeed 🚀 ↳ Your greatest mentor might not be a high-flying partner. ↳ It's the senior associate who patiently explains the basics. 2. You’re at the Bottom of the Hierarchy 🙇♂️ ↳ It goes pantry lady, secretary, partner, senior associate, associate… ↳ And then, finally, you. 3. You Don’t Need Designer Clothes to Fit In 👔 ↳ No one’s handing out promotions for wearing luxury brands. ↳ Show up as yourself—most partners started with nothing, just like you. 4. When You Need to Go, Just Go 🚻 ↳ Holding it in during a packed courtroom isn’t brave—it’s unhealthy. ↳ Take the break. (And maybe skip that third coffee! ☕) 5. Don’t Work Late Just to Be Seen ⏰ ↳ Staying late isn’t a badge of honor. Use your downtime. ↳ But when it’s crunch time, show up and deliver. 6. Learn From Everyone 👀 ↳ From the receptionist who knows every client by name… ↳ To the partner who commands the room—there’s wisdom everywhere. Pay attention. 7. Ask Questions—Even the “Stupid” Ones ❓ ↳ Faking it won’t help you grow. ↳ Your curiosity is your superpower. Use it. 8. Reputation Is Everything 🌍 ↳ The legal world is tiny. Every interaction matters. ↳ What you say, how you act—it all comes back around. 9. Ditch the Legalese ✂️ ↳ No one’s impressed by jargon. ↳ Get to the point—clients don’t have time for mental gymnastics. 10. Your Career Is Yours to Shape ✨ ↳ Carve your own route ↳ Even if it doesn’t look like anyone else’s. If I could go back, these are the lessons I’d tell my younger self. What did I miss? What else would you add? 👇 ♻️ Share this to inspire your network. ➕ Follow Shulin Lee for more. P.S. I learned No. 4 the hard way—let’s just say it involved a packed courtroom and zero exits in sight. P.P.S. Lesson? Don’t challenge your bladder. And yes, skip that third coffee. ☕

I have always been interested in sport and while I believe there is something to learn from all experiences, I feel there is a lot that sports teaches that is applicable to management. I always look at CVs to see whether there is any sports in the candidate’s history. Plato figured this out long ago when he said, “ You can learn more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” Sport has a way of distilling truths that no management course can teach. It compresses ambition, teamwork, ego, pressure and resilience into the duration of play. It reveals character in real time, showing how people respond when they win, when they lose and when they have to keep going despite both. Over the years, I’ve come to believe that sport is leadership in motion and that its lessons for management are significant. In individual sports — tennis, golf, running — there’s nowhere to hide. You are simultaneously the strategist, executor and critic. Every decision has an immediate consequence. The scoreboard doesn’t care about intent; it measures only outcome. For leaders, that mirrors the journey of self-management. You learn accountability. You learn that excuses don’t help and that success comes from consistent preparation, not occasional brilliance or intent. You discover the art of emotional regulation: how to stay calm after an error, how to start again after losing. It’s a life skill. Team sports, in contrast, are a masterclass in interdependence. You realize quickly that talent without chemistry is noise. The best teams aren’t the ones with the brightest stars, but the ones where everyone knows their role and trusts each other and the system. In management, this translates into two ideas: clarity and culture. Clarity, because people perform best when they understand what’s expected of them. Culture, because shared purpose is what turns cooperation into cohesion. Whether individual or team-based, every athlete understands the value of practice. The repetitions nobody sees. The corrections nobody applauds. It’s a powerful metaphor for organizational excellence. The best managers— like the best athletes — separate themselves in the invisible hours. They iterate, reflect and improve, often when the world isn’t watching. Sport also normalizes failure. You win some, you lose some but you always review to learn. In management, that habit of learning from losses without personalizing them is pure gold. At its best, sport is not just about performance but about flow. The moment when effort becomes effortless and the team moves as one. That’s what great organizations strive for too — a state where purpose, people and performance align. In the end, sport reminds us that leadership isn’t a title — it’s a practice. You train for it every day. You fail, recover and play again. And, just like in sport, the real victory is not in winning every game, but in building a team, and a self, that keeps getting better.

10 years ago, EY & ESPN teamed up to understand the impact that sports have on shaping women leaders. They found that 94% of female c-suite execs played sports.💪 Fast forward, and the Women's Sports Foundation took a refreshed look at the connection between sports & leadership for women today. ⬇️ The new report from titled, "Play to Lead: The Generational Impact of Sport on Women's Leadership," is a refreshed look at how the skills, traits, and experiences gained from playing sports helps girls become leaders in the workforce and beyond. Specifically, the study looks at the impact of Title IX, and how the expansion in school-sponsored teams for girls & women brought about by Title IX correlate with increased adult leadership roles, reinforcing the need to fully protect & enforce Title IX. Some key findings include: 🏅 71% of women with formal leadership roles held titles like Manager, Director, President, or C-suite Executive, and the longer girls play sports, the more likely they are to hold these leadership roles. 🏆 A significant 67% of women believe the skills they learned from sports carried into adulthood. 💪 Half of women credit the skills acquired through sports for their leadership development. 💼 69% of women who played sports held at least one formal leadership role outside of the family. ✨Why is this research important?✨ These findings from the are the latest proof points for the prioritization of youth sport participation - especially for girls. When girls play sports it creates a vibrant leadership pipeline that benefits society & bolsters the economy. This research emphasizes why Title IX is so important and why sports are not a nice-to-have, but a must-have for all girls. It underscores why we all need to be working together to create a future where the playing field is truly equitable for all. Because when girls play sports, everyone wins.⚡️ Read the full report from the Women's Sports Foundation here: https://lnkd.in/ej9kipXs

I've worked in-house for nearly my entire career. Some observations for those who want to be effective in-house lawyers: 1) Stop leading with disclaimers. When executives seek guidance, they're looking for pathways, not barriers. Quantify impacts, propose alternatives, and frame discussions around business outcomes. Your credibility grows when you speak the language of metrics rather than maybe. 2) Legal judgment divorced from business context is inherently flawed. Witness your company's customer interactions firsthand. Observe how products evolve from concept to market. Understand the competitive pressures your colleagues navigate daily. These experiences will reshape your counsel more profoundly than any legal treatise. 3) Business moves at the speed of incomplete information. Develop the courage to make calculated recommendations without perfect clarity. Document your reasoning, advance the objective, and stand behind your judgment. Curiosity matters—but not when it becomes an excuse for inaction. 4) True value comes from integration, not isolation. The most impactful legal professionals don't wait for invitations—they actively engage, anticipate strategic needs, and become indispensable to business outcomes. #legaltech #innovation #law #business #learning

Many women doctors in India leave practice or post-graduate training mid-career, creating a quiet workforce gap, Sohini Das reports for Business Standard, citing a study by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Dasra. About 30% of women medical graduates in India drop out before starting early practice or specialisation, compared with 5–10% of men, the report says. High-demand fields such as cardiology, orthopaedics, neurology, gastroenterology, and oncology are the most affected. Long training timelines, relocations for post-graduate seats, and hospital duties make continuous practice difficult, the report says further. “The challenge is not that women doctors are less committed. It is that the system often prevents them from pursuing training consistently,” says Neera Nundy, co-founder and Partner at Dasra. However, some hospitals, such as Max Healthcare, Wockhardt, and Tata Memorial Centre, are now offering mentorship, flexible schedules, refresher courses, and safe accommodation to help women return to practice. With India facing a shortfall of 700,000–800,000 specialists, retaining women doctors could add 130,000–170,000 to the workforce, the report adds. “Re-entering clinical practice after a break is very much achievable with the right institutional support,” says Vipul Jain, CEO of CK Birla Hospital. How can India’s healthcare system retain more women doctors? Share your thoughts in the comments section. Source: https://lnkd.in/d9QKTJzS ✍ Dhritiman Deb 📷 Getty Images #WomenInMedicine #WomenDoctors #GenderGap #InclusiveWorkforce

Most career confusion doesn’t start in college. It starts in Grade 8. By the time students are 16, they’re already: • Choosing subjects • Comparing colleges • Optimising for entrance exams But very few have: • Explored industries • Spoken to professionals • Tested real-world problems Clarity doesn’t come from choosing a stream. It comes from structured exposure. That’s why I’m starting— ‘The Career Exploration Lab’🧪🥼 A mentoring-led series for students between 14–21 who want to explore careers before committing to one. Over the next few weeks, I’ll break down: • How to test careers before internships • What exploration should actually look like • How to build signals without burnout • And what “careers of the future” really mean Because the students who win long-term aren’t the ones who decide early. They’re the ones who experiment intelligently. If you’re between 14–21 — or a parent navigating this phase — this series is for you. (We start next week.) #careerexploration #careerguidance #careernavigation #futureofwork #mentoring