The room buzzed. Pulses quickened. As women stepped through the heavy doors of Forbes on Fifth, we knew that something big was happening.

Convening change-makers, activists, and founders from a variety of backgrounds, the Forbes Equal Pay Day Forum asked action-oriented women to approach the haystack of equal pay - and move the needle.

Why do we watch?

Why, every year, do we scramble onto couches with remotes or laptops to glimpse the fashion, predict the winners and comment on the speeches? What is it about the Academy Awards that continues to hold our interest?

We asked girls at Être, and while answers like we like to see talent recognized and it makes me want to see more movies in theaters bubbled up, today’s teens actually added to our list of questions with more of their own. Here are a few things that next gen girls wanted to know about the 95th Oscars on the morning after…

I'm back in class. And I couldn't be happier.

As a corporate lawyer-turned-founder, I was an unlikely entrepreneur. But when I launched a mentorship platform for girls called Être, designed, as our French name suggests, to bring girls directly into companies to see what it is possible to be, I knew that everyone I met would have something to teach me. My two main jobs, I told myself, were to listen and learn.

According to CDC data released this time last week, nearly 3 in 5 (57%) teen girls in the U.S. “felt persistently sad or hopeless in 2021—double that of boys, representing a nearly 60% increase and the highest level reported over the past decade.”

The numbers left us stunned.

It started with a fly-over.

For the first time in NFL history, the Super Bowl pre-game flyover was piloted by all women, in honor of 50 years of female US Navy pilots. Led in diamond formation by Lt. Peggy Dente, Lt. Arielle Ash and Lt. Saree Moreno, the group of seven paid homage to those who preceded them and gave an encouraging nod to girls watching.

Who’s winning Best New Artist? What will Lizzo be singing? How many new categories are there, even? Will Beyoncé make history and win the most Grammy Awards ever?

How does it feel to ring the bell at Nasdaq?

“Surreal.” “Crazy exciting.” “Powerful.” “Like I could do anything.”

These are words I heard girls around me say last Thursday as Être rang the Closing Bell at Nasdaq in honor of National Mentoring Month.

Why is ringing the bell so important?

What a gift for National Mentoring Month. Three powerful viral videos shared everywhere on social. Three mentor moments offered with insight and intent by actors Kate Winslet and Reese Witherspoon and Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern.

Today, as we honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a day of admiration and celebration, we have ample time to reflect on Dr. King’s leadership and the lasting impact his words and service had on the world.

Including his impact on women and girls. For while Dr. King was a tireless civil rights activist, he was also an early and effective advocate of women’s rights.

Like what? Girls researching his work over the holiday might ask.

Like the fact that women's rights are civil rights.

It’s a new year and there’s a first internship or new job on the horizon! Spoiler alert – there are new rules about what to wear. As we head back to the office after a long hiatus or step boldly into new frontiers after hybrid learning, experts are weighing in on what to wear, what not to wear and when to bend the rules…just in time for a new generation of smartly-clad feet to step into the workforce.

Taking the mic is brave.

Striding to a stage, looking directly into bright light and raising your voice can be scary for accomplished public speakers, and downright terrifying for first-timers. But, that's what makes it so important to start early.

And TED-Ed gets it.

This Thanksgiving, as we look skyward following the latest launches, hold each other close after recent tragedies, and gather at tables to give thanks, we're adding our gratitude for the organizations around us that give girls support. From the role model networks showing the next gen how work is done to the peer groups joining Être in our effort to empower today's girls, this week is all about spreading the love and giving deep thanks.

Keyed off of the wildly popular TED channel which highlights impactful talks from world-renowned experts and thought leaders, the TED-Ed Student Talks program supports students in over 130 countries and as young as grade school in “identifying, developing and sharing their ideas in the form of short, TED-style talks.”

This week, as February glides into March, Women’s History Month begins. And today’s girls have questions. Like why do we celebrate this and when did this even start? What do you mean there’s an annual theme and aren’t women represented in every industry by now?

We hear you. And Être has answers.