Fear rarely shows up at work as panic. More often, it appears as overthinking, hesitation, people-pleasing, or the pressure to get everything exactly right. Over time, these patterns create internal “noise” that can cloud judgment, influence decisions, and quietly affect our mental health.

In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, business psychologist Dr. Jena Booher will explore the core fears that shape behavior at work and how they influence how we interpret risk, feedback, and opportunity. Drawing on her research on psychological courage, she will share practical ways to separate signal from noise and make clearer decisions under pressure.

We are excited to share recent research published in MIT Sloan Management Review. In this article, we map 18 skills that caregivers develop against the skills that employers say they need most, using the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Research from our team — Krystal Duarte, PhD, Kate Mangino, PhD, and Lisa Kaplowitz — found that capabilities developed through caregiving align with 76.5% of core workforce skills and have 100% overlap with the three most in-demand skills across occupations: adaptability, interpersonal communication and detail orientation.

Recent CWIB research published in Fast Company, led by Krystal Duarte, PhD, Post‑Doctoral Research Associate, and Lisa Kaplowitz, Executive Director, challenges a common assumption about women’s careers. The findings show that caregiving strain—not fading ambition—is a powerful predictor of burnout and workforce exit, particularly for women in mid‑level leadership roles.

Why this research matters for organizations:

• Misinterpreting the mid-career gap as a lack of ambition leads to the wrong retention strategies.
• Mid-career women are key to leadership pipelines - and they’re leaving.
• Women are not opting out of ambition; they are opting for work that make room for caregiving such as entrepreneurship and self-employment.
• This loss comes at a cost: companies with greater gender diversity are 39% more likely to financially outperform and see a 73% improvement in decision-making.
• Exits due to caregiving strain is a structural workforce issue (e.g., inflexibility, greedy worker norms) —not a personal one.

CWIB’s research calls on organizations to rethink how work is designed, evaluated, and supported if they want to retain and develop future leaders.

Your voice matters—learn how to make it heard with confidence and impact.

Missed the workshop? Speak Up! Communicating with Confidence and Clarity brought together CWIB and AdviseHER Consulting coaches Holly Reimel and Beth Fitzgerald for an interactive session on overcoming nerves and communicating with confidence and impact. Watch the recap to gain practical tools to strengthen your authentic voice and influence.

Success isn’t one-size-fits-all — especially for women navigating mid-career with evolving priorities. Our "Beyond the Ladder" webinar explored what it really means to ask, “What’s next?” without pressure or a single definition of ambition.

We heard from three women who made intentional career choices — from building businesses to reshaping roles within their organizations — and the lessons they learned along the way.

Missed it live? Watch the recap for honest insights and practical guidance on choosing the path that works for you.

Thank you to our sponsor Crum & Forster and panelists Arleen Paladino, Melissa L. Jenkins and Karen Holzberg for sharing their insights.