Life After Birth: Caregiving, Work Strategies with Founder, Author, Power Up Speaker

Many would agree the parenting process from birth to adulthood is not easy. Strategizing for equity as a parent and caregiver in the workplace is even more complicated, stressful and grueling for millions of American mothers, fathers, daughters and sons.

So Lauren Smith Brody, 48, journalist, author, caregiving activist, mother and founder, trademarked a phrase and declared the process of support her life’s mission: The Fifth Trimester.

"The idea was to address the corporate angle of motherhood, and it morphed into all moms and dads and all people providing short term and longterm care. We are all in the Fifth Trimester," says Smith Brody, the married mother of two sons, 15 and 18 years old, who is speaking at Take The Lead’s Power Up Conference August 26 on the panel, The Power of Care: Women Leading at Work and at Home.

How Kathleen Turner's Voice Made Me Find Mine

You know that voice. Deep. Smoky. Unmistakable.

So when I asked my friend Kathleen Turner to be the Voice of the Goddess for Take The Lead's Power Up Conference, I expected a quick yes.

Instead, silence.

Then: "Do you know I'm playing God right now?"

She sounded a little unnerved. I was too. This is the woman who went from smoldering as Matty in Body Heat to mousy Joan in Romancing the Stone to the gleefully murderous Beverly Sutphin in Serial Mom to Chandler's dad-turned-mom on Friends — and who will soon play Gertrude Stein.

Seats at Power Up 2026 are going fast and the women who are meant to be in that room are claiming theirs right now. The question is will you be one of them?

This August 25–26 in Washington, D.C., the most audacious women in leadership are coming together for two transformative days at The Ritz-Carlton. Margaret Atwood takes the keynote stage live and in person. Minda Harts, Jamia Wilson, Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, and Wanjiku Kamau are among the brilliant voices who will challenge the way you lead, the way you think, and the way you show up in the world. The BETTY concert will close out the evening in the most powerful and celebratory way possible.

This is not the kind of experience you can recreate on your own. The energy, the community, the conversations they only happen in that room. And that room is filling up.

Audacious women do not wait for permission. Do not wait on this.

Power Up 2026: Audacity: Leadership in Action

thepowerupconference.com

What I Learned From Take The Lead:

Power Tool #4: Embrace Controversy (The Disruptor)

Meet Wonder Wendy Farrell — 2026 Power Tool Champion for Power Tool #4: Embrace Controversy (The Disruptor). A longtime business leader, storyteller, and champion for women who believe their best chapters are still ahead, Wendy has spent her career fearlessly taking on the fights that matter — from co-leading a national campaign challenging the WWE’s portrayal of domestic violence to preserving Centennial Field in Vermont and serving as Founding Chairwoman of 50 Women Can Lead the Change Valley of the Sun. Join us in celebrating her at Power Up 2026 in Washington, DC on August 25–26! 🏆
Learn more: ThePowerUpConference.com

The Sandwich Generation Suffers

Caring for children and older parents while working stresses working women more than men. Especially if work is not remote. "According to the most recent HR Trends and Issues survey from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, just under 50% of employers are offering hybrid work options, down from 70% in the fall of 2024. Remote work options have also fallen since 2024: 44% of employers are offering remote work, down from 54% in 2024.
"This is a workforce issue, not a personal issue. Sandwiched caregivers cut hours, decline promotions, and sometimes leave their organizations entirely. That’s talent walking out the door, and it’s often the experienced, mid-career talent you spent years developing." Read more here.