Bossed Up

What do uneven benefits changes from mega corporations tell us about how these workplaces value women? In the past few months, both Deloitte and Zoom have publicly announced significant changes to particular portions of their employee benefits packages. These adjustments amount to telling certain employees (mostly women) that they matter less than others.  By slashing paid family and medical leave...

When’s the last time you got caught up in a mental spiral, going over and over a past event or constantly reimagining a future one? Research shows we’re more prone to this habit than ever. That cycle that peaks your anxiety and distracts you from what’s happening at the moment is called rumination, and my guest wrote a book all about it. Donna Jackson Nakazawa is an acclaimed science journalist wh...

How do you do more without burning out? People often ask me how (and why) I do so many things. From running multiple businesses to raising two young children, from the outside I understand how my life can seem chaotic and primed for collapse. But what if my latest “side hustle” isn’t the final nail in the exhaustion coffin? What if it’s the very thing keeping me from burnout? In today’s episode, I...

What can you do to improve your executive presence? Perception of your leadership abilities directly impacts your career trajectory, for better or worse. You’ve likely heard of executive presence before, but even though it often comes up in the context of something to improve, it’s difficult for many people to identify a clear path to make that improvement. My guest, Dr. Alexa Chilcutt, is an exec...

What does attribution bias have to do with women adopting AI? Research has shown that women are more reluctant to embrace these new technologies than men and that this discrepancy is creating a whole new kind of workforce gap. One big reason for this reticence is a belief that using AI is somehow “cheating.” As an April 2026 study from Lean In shows, this assumption is backed up by a whole lot of...

How do you manage your anxiety-driven overachieving without losing your competitive edge? There’s a good chance that, if you’re an avid Bossed Up listener, the spiral of the do-it-all overachiever is familiar to you. You’re stressed out, maybe burnt out, and potentially navigating anxiety, too.. Maybe you fear that seeking more balance means losing the drive that makes you successful and sought-af...

How can a strong value proposition help you stand out in your job search? If you can’t explain how your skills and experience make you perfect for a position, you’ll have a hard time convincing a hiring team to choose you. That’s why, whether you’re looking to rise in the ranks at your current organization or go in an entirely new direction, selling yourself with clarity and confidence is essentia...

How can you leverage your strengths, values, and AI tools to make the job search a bit less daunting? The job market in 2026 is chaotic and confusing. Job seekers are sending out hundreds of resumes and getting only a few interviews in return. But finding your dream job is still possible, and Sam DeMase can help you make that happen.  Sam is ZipRecruiter’s first career expert, and she goes by “You...

Does using AI to optimize your schedule or do your research give you a distinct sense of unease? There’s something innate keeping women from incorporating new automation tools into their workflows, and it’s not just a lack of interest. Many are describing it as actual repulsion, and I want to understand why. Women are facing a double disadvantage: they’re more likely to lose their jobs to AI, and...

For many of us, the standard workday is a constant stream of alerts: messages on the team group chat, texts from your child’s daycare, emails from your boss, co-workers popping by to chat in person. It’s enough to set even the most focused professional on edge. When Alex Gilbert, an expert in neurodiversity advocacy for working adults, started Cape-Able Consulting, she intended to help put an end...

It’s no secret that AI is transforming the workforce. Countless op-eds and studies have been published in the past few years, but wherever you stand on using AI, one thing is abundantly clear: women’s jobs are at risk. Furthermore, there’s a double disadvantage at play that we aren’t talking about enough: the AI revolution is threatening the jobs many of us do, and most of us don’t benefit from th...

If you’re disillusioned with your current job, you’re far from alone. Turns out, a whole generation is looking for a better road to career “success.” In the face of all this well-deserved disillusionment, I sought out the person behind the trending “millennial career crisis” hashtag to really get to the bottom of what the phenomenon is and why it seems to be affecting my generation especially.  Ja...

How could you diversify your income streams by pursuing your interests? Anyone who knows me knows I have a lot going on—I run Bossed Up, I have a corporate day job, I’m a parent…and that’s not even half of it. But I firmly believe that expanding your career portfolio is a wise move, for your finances and your energy sustainability.  Especially in the current wildly unstable job market, why focus a...

What are the leadership qualities that inspire people to follow you? There is no shortage today of people in power leading through force and intimidation. This frightening reality should serve to remind us how essential it is that the people we choose to follow lead with empathy and compassion, not coercion.  Tamra Ryan is a nationally recognized speaker, author, and leadership expert who redefine...

What would change if you stopped agreeing to take on everything at work? If you have perfectionist and overachiever tendencies like I do, it’s possible this question has never even occurred to you. In the race to the top, it can feel like everything is urgent and our responsibility. But there’s a better way. A new trend floating around social media recently caught my attention, and it’s called “st...

How often have you heard the rhetoric that if you want success badly enough, if you work hard enough, you’ll find success? As women, we grow up with a promise—from little girls who can “be whatever we want to be” to full-grown “girl bosses,” the world is our equal-opportunity oyster.  But the data doesn’t prove this out. It’s that data Stefanie O’Connell breaks down and picks apart in her new book...

When someone at work shares an opinion you don’t agree with, what’s your response? Do you move on with an agreeable nod, or do you push back? All too often, we take the former route. So many of us are taught not to rock the boat by expressing disagreement. But here’s my hot take: you can share your honest and dissenting opinion in a way that wins you major leadership points. In fact, I firmly beli...

How do you rest and recharge when the world feels chaotic? After an unexpectedly hectic December, the Bossed Up podcast is back with a look at what recharging really requires—and it’s not quitting everything or carrying on as usual. I’ve come to realize that the sweet spot, at least for me, is somewhere in the middle.  This episode breaks down the balance I’m seeking to find this year, and I’d lov...

How can you advocate for yourself when you’re operating in a broken system? We’re gearing up to face even more unprecedented times in 2026. And recent research shows, unsurprisingly, that inclusive and DEIB policies continue to be phased out while hostile work environments expand. Many of us are all too familiar with the lack of resources out there to help us cope with all this, especially options...

What can you do to help turn the widening gender pay gap around? For 20 years, American workers watched as the discrepancy between men’s and women’s incomes slowly lessened. Then, this October, a new report showed that the positive trend is reversing. Women in the U.S. are now making 76 cents for every dollar men make—a difference of around $14,000 a year.  In this episode, I’m breaking down why w...

As managers and employees, how can we ensure that we support equitable disability accommodations for everyone? The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) offers a wealth of protections, but many workers and leaders are unaware of what these protections entail. Luckily, there are experts like Rachel Shaw out there to shed light on their intricacies and help educate us all. Rachel is a leading strate...

How do you find contentment in the face of career compromise? So many of us want to “have it all,” but the weight of trying to be it all is crushing - and totally unrealistic. So if you find yourself struggling to keep your head up while navigating necessary trade-offs, today’s episode is for you. In order to even come close to our ultimate career goals, we need to accept that compromises are part...

How would a one-month mini-retirement benefit your mental health? I know I’m not alone in feeling burnt out these days. And while the idea of four weeks away from work—to rest, to recalibrate, to pursue a passion—might feel out of reach, Jillian Johnsrud knows firsthand how to make it happen. Jillian’s book, “Retire Often,” is the culmination of everything she’s learned from her own dozen short sa...

How do we advocate for equity amidst federal policy changes that actively widen gender and racial gaps? Since April, a record-low unemployment rate for Black Americans has skyrocketed, surging from below 5% to 7.5%. At the same time, the unemployment rate for white Americans dropped slightly to below 4%. The economic position for Black women in particular was just beginning to get better, and toda...

We tell women to negotiate harder, lean in, and ask for what they’re worth. But what if the system was designed to make that impossible? Economist Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman calls it the double tax —the compounded price of racism and sexism that drains women of color’s time, money, and energy just to show up and succeed. In this episode, we unpack how that hidden tax shows up at work—from policing w...