The Women’s Equality Day gathering will convene over 1,000 leaders to examine women’s leadership amid shifts in AI, healthcare, workplace culture, and the economy.
WASHINGTON DC, DC, UNITED STATES, July 21, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Take The Lead® today unveiled the speaker lineup for Power Up 2026, its yearly Women’s Equality Day summit that gathers more than 1,000 executives, entrepreneurs, policymakers, advocates, and emerging leaders to tackle the opportunities and obstacles shaping women’s leadership.
Set for August 25-26 at The Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C., Power Up 2026 will showcase globally renowned author Margaret Atwood in a fireside discussion alongside Take The Lead co‑founder and president Gloria Feldt, hosted by well‑known sports journalist Kelsey Nicole Nelson. Atwood, the celebrated writer of The Handmaid’s Tale, The Testaments, and many other works, will be joined by over 40 leaders from business, healthcare, technology, media, finance, education, and advocacy for dialogues aimed at propelling women’s leadership forward.
Among the featured speakers are Cheyenne Hunt, Minda Harts, Sophia Yen MD, Joanna Strober, Rachel Rubin MD, Jamia Wilson, Eva Goicochea, Heather Florio, Stacey Engle, Wanjiku Kamau, and other influential voices examining the factors that affect women’s capacity to lead, such as artificial intelligence, women’s health, caregiving, workplace culture, economic opportunity, and confidence.
Structured around Take The Lead’s 9 Leadership Power Tools framework, Power Up 2026 will center on practical steps for speeding up gender parity in leadership and arming women with the tools necessary to navigate a quickly evolving landscape.
“Women today are building companies, transforming industries and reshaping culture, yet they continue to face significant barriers to leadership,” said Gloria Feldt, co-founder and president of Take The Lead. “Power Up brings together leaders across sectors to have the honest conversations and develop the solutions needed to help more women lead with confidence, purpose and impact.”
Exploring the Factors Shaping Women’s Leadership
Power Up 2026 will host discussions that examine the hurdles influencing women’s progress and the remedies needed to build more equitable workplaces and opportunities.
Women’s Health Unfiltered: Sex & Leadership
Moderated by Heather Florio, CEO of Desert Harvest, healthcare, advocacy, and entrepreneurship leaders will consider how talks about women’s health, confidence, and identity shape leadership opportunities and career growth.
“Power Up creates space for conversations that have too often been overlooked in discussions about leadership,” said Florio. “By addressing these issues openly, we can help more women lead with confidence, authenticity and impact.”
The Human Advantage: AI Risks, Representation & Real Solutions
Technology leaders will investigate how artificial intelligence is transforming hiring, productivity, and career paths while examining both opportunities and challenges around representation, access, and workforce evolution.
The Power of Care: Women Leading at Work and at Home
Workplace leaders and advocates will explore the effect of caregiving duties on women’s careers and look into solutions for fostering more sustainable workplaces.
The Audacity to Thrive: Women Claiming Midlife Health & Power
Healthcare experts will analyze how overlooked health experiences, including menopause, impact confidence, careers, and leadership prospects.
Invest in Herself: Women, Money & Long-Term Success
Entrepreneurs and financial leaders will discuss economic independence, wealth creation, and how financial power acts as a driver for leadership and lasting impact.
Extra programming will include networking and mentoring sessions, the Mission Matters Podcast Stage, SHEposium exhibits showcasing women‑led companies, interactive leadership experiences, and wellness activities.
Power Up 2026 speakers represent leaders from business, AI, healthcare, technology, media, education, and advocacy, including voices from organizations such as Midi Health, Pandia Health, maude, Twin Protocol, Penguin Random House, UBS, NYU Law, and Johns Hopkins University. The complete speaker lineup and agenda can be found at [Power Up 2026].
Event Details:
What: Take The Lead Power Up 2026
Theme: Audacity: Leadership in Action
When: August 25-26, 2026
Where: The Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C.
Expected Attendance: 1,000+ leaders in person and virtually
About Take The Lead:
Take The Lead is a nonprofit organization with the mission of preparing, developing, inspiring and propelling women to take their fair and equal share of leadership positions across all sectors. Through research-based leadership development, mentoring and coaching rooted in the 9 Leadership Power Tools curriculum, the organization accelerates gender parity in leadership for everyone’s good.
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