Woodhull Institute Brings Women into the Public Debate

“As some of the women [who have gone through our retreats] are reaching levels of expertise and are in leadership positions,” Jager-Hyman explains, “we want to ensure their voices get out into the public debate.” Holding retreats in cities including Miami, Atlanta, San Antonio, San Francisco, and Chicago, Jager-Hyman says Woodhull will expand to four new cities each year. This year, Woodhull is offering an intergenerational retreat along with its young women’s, 30-something women and older women’s retreats.

Woodhull takes a holistic approach to leadership development. It’s not just about practical skills but about tackling the psychology behind them, Jager-Hyman adds. “Women have an inherent aversion to positions of power. They shy away from realizing they can handle money and it’s really what you do with your money and power that’s the crux,” Jager-Hyman says. “The negative connotations around those words are something we deal with on a visceral, emotional level.”

That explains in some way why it’s so hard to accept, let alone enjoy, applause—but how crucial it is to do so. Once you are a Woodhull woman, now more than 1,300 strong, you belong to a group that keeps clapping for you. “You join a community that understands the need to work together and the power of having access to each other,” Jager-Hyman says, “so each one becomes more successful.”

Don’t hold the applause.