The Broken Rung: When the Career Ladder Breaks for Women–And How They Can Succeed in Spite of It by Kweilin Ellingrud
The broken rung is more pervasive than the glass ceiling in holding women back from career success. Three McKinsey senior partners offer strategies for overcoming it and fulfilling your potential.
Women around the world do extremely well when it comes to their education. They graduate at higher rates than men and have higher average GPAs. But then a strange thing happens: upon entering the workforce, they immediately lose their advantage. When the first promotions come around, the slide continues. For every 100 men promoted to manager, only 81 women overall and 77 women of color get promoted.
This is what McKinsey senior partners Kweilin Ellingrud, Lareina Yee, and María del Mar Martínez call “the broken rung,” and its effects compound throughout women’s careers, causing them to fall behind at the start and keeping them from catching up. In this groundbreaking book, the authors reveal the problem’s underlying cause: while about half of a person’s lifetime earnings come from education and half from work experience, men get more value from their experience than women do. It is also here, in one’s work experience, that the solution lies: women need to build their “experience capital” to level the playing field and maximize their earning potential.
The book combines over a decade of research, personal conversations with more than fifty remarkable leaders, and the authors’ own rich experiences as leaders at McKinsey. They weave data on the potential pitfalls with inspiring and instructive stories of women who have climbed over the broken rung using strategies that increased their experience capital.
Leaders and companies must do more to address gender inequalities in the workplace. But you don’t have to wait. The Broken Rung is your guide, right now, for moving up the career ladder and reaching your full potential at work.
Impact: Stories of Change Makers, Creators, and Everyday Women Doing Extraordinary Work by Samantha Tradelius
Women are an eternally special and integral part of the world. They are lifebearers and caregivers. More often than not, they juggle a full-time job that provides compensation and an additional full-time job in the home that does not provide additional compensation or adequate recognition. It seems that much of the accolades that do go to women go only to those of great influence and power within the public eye. Behind the scenes and behind the public eye, there are women of great impact. These are their stories.
This book is a collection of stories of women who have made an everlasting impact on my life. These women have had a paramount influence in the lives of women all around them. They are makers and artists, doctors and chefs, financial officers and volunteers, peacekeepers and changemakers. The impact we leave on one another is the greatest gift of all. Who you are is defined by those you surround yourself with.
Becoming Girlilla: My Journey to Unleashing Good–In Real Life, Online, and in Others by Jennie Smythe
Becoming Girlilla is an unfiltered, inspiring memoir of Jennie Smythe’s rise from unlikely beginnings to digital marketing powerhouse, showing readers how resilience, authenticity, and passion can make a real impact both online and off.
“Jennie’s story is a master class in what it means to have your hard work pay off.” —Kristin Chenoweth, Recording Artist, Performer, Actress, Author & Philanthropist
What would you do with your life if you knew it was half over?
It was the question that faced Jennie Smythe during a pivotal point in her early adult life. Becoming Girlilla answers that question and more, as this digital marketing trailblazer candidly shares her path to success, full of sometimes surprising and oftentimes laugh-out-loud moments.
Jennie’s career in music started with a job interview set up by a stripper in Los Angeles. Her experiences at Elektra, Disney’s Hollywood Records, YAHOO! Music and beyond evolved into a high-powered role as CEO of her own Nashville-based firm, Girlilla Marketing. Along the way, she navigated an industry that often underestimated her, fought through personal and professional hurdles, and rose to the top of her field.
Jennie’s inspiring journey, full of raw grit and humor, unfolds through– Her battles with career uncertainty, the loss of her estranged father, her courageous fight against breast cancer, the challenges of entrepreneurship, including the lean, early days of Girlilla Marketing and the path from acquisition to regaining control of her company, lessons for young professionals, including how who you know can often be more important than what you know, practical insights for creating a digital presence with purpose and authenticity, and discovering new ways to use social media for good. Becoming Girlilla isn’t just about one woman’s resilience–it’s a call to embrace change, unleash potential, and make a positive impact in your world.
At li, we’re ALL about the Hustle! Get a load of these extras!
2026 Amy Knapp’s the Very Busy Planner: August 2025 – December 2026 by Amy Knapp
Tackle your busy lifestyle, express your creativity, and be yourself with this 2026 self-care planner!
Amy Knapp’s bestselling planner is now all about YOU! This easy-to-use, 17-month productivity organizer helps even the busiest woman gain control of her active lifestyle. Perfect as a student planner, mom planner, or for anyone looking to keep their busy life organized, this interactive self-discovery engagement calendar will inspire you to get creative, plan your dreams, and embrace the true you–because you’re more than Very Busy! Featuring beautifully designed journal prompts and guided activities for self-reflection and growth, weekly and monthly calendar grids, to-do lists, goal-setting, inspirational quotes, and color-coded stickers, Very Busy is the perfect college planner, family planner, or daily planner for creative women and professionals everywhere!
17-MONTH WEEKLY PLANNER (AUGUST 2025 – DECEMBER 2026)
- Four planner sticker sheets with over 250 stickers and four large designed stickers to customize your planner cover
- 6″ x 8″ trim size with wire-o spiral binding for easy, lay-flat writing
- Environmentally responsible, FSC certified paper
- Sturdy jacket for durability with internal pocket perfect for storing notes, lists, and receipts
- Monthly and weekly spreads with ample writing space for planning projects and tracking appointments, school events, birthdays, meal planning, and more
- Fresh, matte design with removable cover band
- Monthly goals pages, motivational quotes, and aesthetic, themed activities
- Extra bullet journaling pages in the back
- Holidays, moon phases, and observances
- Year at a glance
Girl You Got This – Ceramic Mug
Our Girl, You Got This! Ceramic Coffee Mug brings some get-up-and-go to your morning. Pour your coffee in this pink mug and keep it coming! Almost as good as can’t never could this mug will remind you that where there’s a will, there’s away.
When you finish your cup of deliciousness, you’ll find a Bless Your Soul imprint right at the bottom of the mug for extra smiles. Use the Girl, You Got This! Ceramic Coffee Mug for coffee, tea, or to hold pencils on your desk! Perfect for your best friend, a work colleague going for a promotion, or a college student facing exams. Great for new moms too! So cute, you’ll want one yourself!
- Bless Your Soul Collection Pink exterior with white interior and black rim
- Large black outlined lettering
- Sentiment appears on both sides
- Microwave and dishwasher safe
- Packaged in a kraft brown gift box
- Capacity: 18 fl. oz
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Upon successful receipt, you will be eligible for a prize pack that will include: (1) The Broken Rung: When the Career Ladder Breaks for Women–And How They Can Succeed in Spite of It By Kweilin Ellingrud (9781647827182), (1) Impact: Stories of Change Makers, Creators, and Everyday Women Doing Extraordinary Work By Samantha Tradelius (9798985005738), (1) Becoming Girlilla: My Journey to Unleashing Good–In Real Life, Online, and in Others By Jennie Smythe (9781637633977), (1) 2026 Amy Knapp’s the Very Busy Planner By Amy Knapp (9781728292236), and (1) Girl You Got This – Ceramic Mug (1220000138094). Total value of the prize pack is $107.93 together. To three (3) individuals. Only one entry per e-mail address per day will be valid.
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