Working moms have more successful daughters and more caring sons, Harvard Business School study says

The guilt many working mothers confess to may be real, but it’s looking less and less warranted.

According to a working paper (pdf) published June 19 by the Harvard Business School, daughters of working mothers are more likely to be employed, hold supervisory positions, and earn more money than the daughters of women who don’t work outside the home. The researchers also found a statistically significant effect on the sons of working women, who are likely to spend more time caring for family members and doing household chores than are the sons of stay-at-home mothers.

Analyzing data from two dozen countries, the researchers concluded that the daughters of employed mothers are 4.5% more likely to be employed themselves than are the daughters of stay-at-home mothers. While this number may seem small, it is statistically significant at the 99% level, meaning there is less than a 1% chance that such a result is due to chance.

Even more surprising, says Kathleen McGinn, a professor at Harvard Business School and the lead author of the study, is the effect that working mothers have on their daughters’ chances of being a supervisor at work. “We did expect that it would effect employment but we didn’t expect that it would effect supervisory responsibility,” she tells Quartz. Read the story on Quartz.

Jennifer Lawrence Highlights Wage Inequality

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"All I hear and see all day are men speaking their opinions, and I give mine in the same exact manner, and you would've thought I had said something offensive," says 'Hunger Games' star in Lena Dunham's 'Lenny Letter'

Jennifer Lawrence opened up about feminism and wage inequality in an essay featured in Lena Dunham's "Lenny Letter" newsletter titled "Why Do I Make Less Than My Male Co-Stars?" The Hunger Games star wrote that she was candid about her initial reticence when the feminism conversation seemed to be "trending" and because she didn't think her experiences were relatable, but she's speaking out about wage inequality and unfair perceptions. Read the story in Rolling Stone.

Amy Guth takes aim at online harassment of women

Celebrated Chicago journalist Amy Guth knows what it’s like to be the target of vicious and terrifying harassment by online trolls — and to be advised by well-meaning friends to pretend it didn’t happen.

She’s not pretending anymore.

On Wednesday Guth launched a Kickstarter campaign to secure funds for production of an ambitious documentary series about “harassment and civility in the online world and how it relates to women.”

The untitled series, which will be released in episode form over two seasons or more, will explore women’s stories in the digital world and delve into the complex and widespread problem of invisible predators on social media. As host and producer, Guth already has begun lining up interviews around the country. Read more by Robert Feder.

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.

Glenbard East's Rebecca Deluca-Lane scores an IHSA first

Like other Glenbard East football parents, Colleen Lane was milling around in the tent behind the north end zone last Friday when there occurred something relatively ordinary yet totally unique.

The Rams completed a pass deep in East Aurora territory that was fumbled. The football bounced off an East Aurora player and was recovered in the end zone by another Ram for a Glenbard East touchdown.

That will happen. The player who scored is what made it special.

"When I heard the referee yell, ‘Let go of her!' I'm like, ‘I know that her. That's my kid,'" Lane said.

Her?

Yes. Her.

Senior Rebecca Deluca-Lane recovered that fumble in the end zone to record a touchdown. According to an unofficial state media survey conducted by Illinois High School Association assistant executive director Matt Troha, who also asked around the IHSA offices in Bloomington, it's the first known touchdown scored by a female varsity high school football player in Illinois. Read the story in the Daily Herald.

#GirlPolitics: Meet Political Activist Rebecca Sive

Rebecca Sive is Academic Director of the Women in Public Leadership Executive Education Program, Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago, where she has taught classes on women in politics. She was among Illinois Gov. James R. Thompson's inaugural appointees to the Illinois Human Rights Commission, on which she served for eight years. She is a contributor to The Huffington Post and a speaker on women and politics. She is the author of "Every Day Is Election Day: A Woman's Guide to Winning Any Office from the PTA to the White House."

How and why did you become a political activist?

I was born in New York City and my parents were very political, but I went to college at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn. Do you remember Paul Wellstone [progressive Minnesota Senator from 1991 until his death in 2002]? He was my college advisor. That was an era when there was lots of campus political activity. The women's movement was getting going. One of the things Paul organized, along with colleagues at other schools, was an urban studies program in Chicago for people interested in urban affairs, political science and sociology. I came to Chicago for that program and fell in love with the city. The politics were endlessly fascinating.

 Read the entire interview in the Huffington Post.

Women Firsts in Illinois Government

In 1922, just two years after women were given the right to vote, Lottie Holman O'Neill was the first woman elected to the Illinois State legislature.  She continued to serve in the Illinois House and Senate for 40 years.

Two years later, in 1924, Florence Fifer Bohrer, daughter of Governor Fifer, was the first woman elected to the Illinois Senate.