Illinois teens selected for national women's mentoring program

Two Illinois teens are making a difference in people’s lives, thanks to inspiration and financial support from a national mentoring program.

Jaiden Fallo, of Chicago, and Ava Polzin, of Libertyville, are among 50 people nationwide selected from 2,476 who applied for this year’s ANNpower Vital Voices Initiative. The initiative aims to seek out the next generation of female leaders.

Fallo, 17, is trying to shrink the gender gap in computer science. Polzin, 18, is helping Native American girls learn about music. Read more in the Chicago SunTimes.

Naperville woman launches book project to help young girls

Cindy Harris of Naperville has raised three daughters, worked with young girls over the years and has seen how peer pressure can be a problem while growing up.

An aspiring writer, Harris developed Rising Empress, a package of posters, stickers and related products with a book that provides inspirational role models. It is for girls ranging in age from 3 to 12 and promotes creative and interactive play with trading cards featuring fictional empresses and their talents.

Rising Empress was recently launched in Salt Lake City, Utah, and also was introduced recently at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville.

"I saw a need for creating more empowering products for girls in the market place," said Harris, 47. Read more in the Daily Herald.

Chicago parks have zero statues of women, 48 statues of men

Plenty of men are memorialized in stone and bronze in Chicago’s parks: Explorer Leif Ericson, president George Washington, former Illinois governor John Peter Altgeld, even Greene Vardiman Black. Not familiar with him? He’s the "father of modern dentistry." Chicago’s public spaces do have statues of female figures — nymphs, goddesses, and Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz to name a few — but you won’t find a single statue or bust of a historically significant woman in any of the city’s 580 parks.

“It’s really time to honor more females,” said Asya Akca, a University of Chicago political science major who is pushing for a statue of a notable woman on her campus in Hyde Park. “It’s a huge oversight that they’re not being honored.”

According to the Chicago Park District, there are no statues of women in our city’s parks because the heyday of public figurative sculpture in the United States took place at a time before women had earned the right to vote.

To rectify that lack of representation, the district has named and renamed more than 40 parks to honor the legacies of notable women over the last 11 years. There are now 66 parks named after women in Chicago, according to the park district. Yet, during that same period, figurative statues and busts of men have continued to be erected around the city.

In 2004, a tribute featuring several figurative bas-relief sculptures of George Halas, founder of the Chicago Bears, went up near Gate 15 of Soldier Field in Burnham Park. That same year, Martin Luther King Park on West 76th Street in Auburn Gresham got a bust of the civil rights leader. WBEZ has the story.

How Melissa McCarthy Plans to Change the Way Clothing Is Sold

Melissa McCarthy wants to change the way clothing is sold.

That might seem like an odd goal for the movie star and comedienne, who's starring in the new comedy Spy. But McCarthy comes from a fashion design background: She studied clothing and textiles at Southern Illinois University, then moved to New York City to study at Fashion Institute of Technology. Then a classmate suggested McCarthy perform at an open mic night, and that was that.

Then, preparing for the 2012 Oscar ceremony, McCarthy was unable to find a designer willing to make her a dress worthy of the red carpet. Designing her own line suddenly seemed a bit more urgent. After about four years of development, Melissa McCarthy Seven7 is due to launch at the end of the summer, when it will be available online and in stores including Macy's, Lane Bryant, and Nordstrom. McCarthy will start by introducing sportswear ranging from $54 to $159.

Unlike most mainstream designers, McCarthy is going to be releasing clothes in sizes 4 to 28. Her goal is to get stores to sell all of them in the same location, rather than sending some customers to the plus-size department or online to find the same clothes that their friends are buying in the main section of the store. Inc has the story.

The 20 most powerful women in Chicago business 2014

From Crain's Chicago Business:

Yes, corporate America still has a woman problem. And Chicago isn't exactly a capital of progress on this front: Of the area's 100 largest public companies, only seven are helmed by women. Now for some good news. We've recently witnessed a string of high-profile promotions of female executives, and more local female business leaders are being named to major corporate boards outside of the city. This movement prompted Crain's to assemble this first-ever ranking. The list below is strictly business: No politicians, or philanthropists, or cultural leaders appear here. Editors considered four criteria: size and importance of a company; title and performance; career trajectory; and an individual's sphere of influence.

Women in Leadership: Sarah Hochman

As part of msnbc’s “Women in Politics” series, Bloomingdale, IL native, Sarah Hochman was nominated to represent the University of Illinois as a leader making a difference not only through key issues on campus, but in bridging the gender gap in politics.

Sarah is studying Agricultural Economics and Policy and her dream job would be U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. She is currently Vice President-Internal for the Illinois Student Senate.

Here are her answers to MSNBC's questions:

What is your biggest challenge as a leader on campus?
Championing the female voice without alienating the men on campus.

Which female leaders do you draw inspiration from?
I draw inspiration from many female leaders, but my mother has inspired me since day one. She has worked tirelessly to build a successful career, but she has always remained involved in my life as well.  She was my Girl Scout troupe leader for seven years, the elementary headroom mom for 10 years, listened to every band concert I played in, volunteered with our marching band, and supported us through it all.  Even when she became a single mother, she ensured everything was the same for my brother and me. She is the woman who inspires me every day to be the best person I can be.

Read the rest of  Sarah Hochman's interview.

Read about Sarah's efforts on campus.

Tell us which women leaders most inspire you.

Who's your pick for the face on the new $10 bill? Only catch, it must be a woman

US Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew announced last week that paper currency will for the first time feature a woman and he is seeking public input on which woman should be represented on the newly designed $10 bill.

The focus of the Treasury Secretary selection will be a notable woman who championed for our inclusive democracy.  In keeping with that theme, the U.S. Department of the Treasury is asking the American people to share ideas, symbols, and designs for the new $10 note that reflect what democracy means to them. You can share your ideas using the hashtag #TheNew10 or by visiting thenew10.treasury.gov.