Chicago’s Most Powerful Women 2023

According to the study Empower Women, Empower Your Organization published by the management consulting firm Culture Partners, organizations with more women in leadership improve outcomes on financial performance, increase innovation and enhance corporate culture. The formula is simple: to empower women in the workplace, add more women. Maria Salterio Doughty, president & CEO of The […]

International Women’s Day 2023: Ways to Celebrate All Month Long

Every March, we honor Women’s History Month and on March 8, specifically, we celebrate International Women’s Day — a time to examine the social, economic, cultural and political impact of all women across the globe, now and throughout history. Many women at the forefront of intellectual, artistic and political progress — the likes of Ida […]

10 of Chicago's Top Black Women of Impact — 2023

McKinsey & Company in partnership with Lean In recently published its eighth annual Women in the Workplace study. This annual report card is the largest research project of its kind to assess the impact women are making in corporate America. Among other findings, the study concluded that 59 percent of Black women leaders want to […]

Q&A: Red Cross Board Member Jan Tratnik Talks Following Her Passions and Sharing the Lasting Impact of Photography Through Her Book 'Hand Me the Camera'

As a young child, Jan Tratnik stepped off a bus and into conversation with a “small man” in a child-size car. A photo of this interaction between Jan and what was actually a ventriloquist’s dummy appeared in the Sunday paper soon thereafter. She was fascinated by this. Thus was born her life-long passion for photography. […]

Chicago's Most Powerful Women 2022

Challenging times require leaders with courage, strength and authenticity.  At Better, we think it’s important to highlight women who exhibit those positive attributes as they build businesses, lead cultural institutions, guide non-profits and serve as public servants.  That’s the motivation behind our list of the most powerful women in the Chicago area. We combined our […]

10 of Chicago’s Top Black Women of Impact — 2022

During challenging times, the 10 women named to our Black Women of Impact List for 2022 have taken the helm of a range of different important institutions and have provided what is most needed to guide us forward in a positive way: energetic, caring and visionary leadership.  At Better, we think it’s important to take […]

Chicago’s Most Powerful Women 2021

Now more than ever, businesses, nonprofits and government agencies rely on strong, energetic leadership to thrive during challenging times.  At Better, we think it’s important to recognize the leaders who are building businesses, serving as public servants, and leading nonprofits, all of which inspire positive change in the world — whatever the arena.   That’s the […]

10 of Chicago’s Top Black Women of Impact

Sound, inspired leadership has never been more critical to the future of our communities. At Better, we’ve made it our mission to celebrate local and global leaders driving positive change. From eco warriors fighting to save our planet, to athletes making an impact on and off the court, to forces for change achieving progress in […]