It is important to recognize two interrelated factors at the onset of this course:  

1) Everyone one of us in the class is likely at a different starting point, with different experiences, reactions, and feelings about this course material. All starting points are respected and appreciated. You may find that revisiting this course as you move through your career and leadership journey will bring with it surprising new lessons.

2) You will find that we will we often talk about women as a group. We must simultaneously recognize that not all women or all persons are the same. This course will also examine and validate the unique experiences that arise from our individuality and our intersectionality.

Please learn much more about these two these factors by watching the short video below.

Questions for reflection before, during, or after the video include:

1. Where are you currently in your own identity development?
2. How about others in your life with whom you work and live, where do you suspect they may fall in their identity development?
3. In what ways is it easy or challenging, or both, for you to engage in discussions around issues of gender and leadership?
4. How do your reactions change when discussions about women in leadership do or do not include explicit considerations of race?