Photography by Lori Sax

Whether you’re a young woman starting your career, a woman in mid-career looking to advance or an established woman wondering if it’s time to start your own business, you’ll find our Women’s Issue packed with inspiration and advice.

We interviewed 16 female leaders in Sarasota and Manatee in our story “A Field Guide to Getting Ahead,” probing them for their top career strategies, everything from how to land their dream job in that first interview to how to know when it’s time to change careers.

In “Golden Girls,” we asked the five women who lead our top charitable foundations (with a combined endowment value of $900 million) about the nuances of creating a culture of giving and how the field of philanthropy is changing.

“She’s the Boss” profiles three women who took the universal entrepreneurial risk of financial insecurity to launch their own companies—and found success and fulfillment.

My takeaway? Don’t be a good girl. Women still politely (and grudgingly) say “yes” to taking minutes, getting coffee or doing thankless day-to-day tasks instead of stepping up to ask for the opportunity to sit on an influential committee, lead a project or launch their own company. Be responsible—and persistent—for your own advancement.