Supporter Spotlight
A Conversation with Courtney Yeakel
We recently had the opportunity to sit down with one of our newest Board Members, Courtney Yeakel. Her story is one of legacy, leadership, and the ongoing fight for gender equity, carrying forward the work of her mother, Lynn Yeakel, a founding member of WOMEN’S WAY and trailblazer in the movement for gender equity.
Inspired by her mother’s dedication to representation and leadership, Courtney continues to advocate for collective action to protect and expand gender equity. As we celebrate Women’s History Month, Courtney’s dedication to her work speaks to the importance of honoring those who carried the torch before us and the urgency of taking action today.
WOMEN’S WAY:
What motivated you to become a WOMEN’S WAY Board Member?
Courtney Yeakel (Courtney):
So that’s an easy one. As you may already know, my mom was a co-founder of WOMEN’S WAY back in the ’70s, and she passed away unexpectedly and tragically about three years ago. Since her passing, I’ve been searching for a way to honor her legacy and the fight for gender equity, which was a lifelong goal — something she was striving for even up until the day she died. When the WOMEN’S WAY opportunity presented itself, it was just fortuitous. I said, “Aha, this is the way I can channel my mom’s energy and keep her legacy going.”
WOMEN’S WAY:
Your mother, Lynn Yeakel, was a powerful advocate for gender equity. Can you share more about the specifics of her work and what motivated her to fight for women’s rights and gender equity?
Courtney:
Well, I think one defining moment in her life — and I always remember her telling this story — occurred after she graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Randolph-Macon Women’s College. She went to interview for her first job in New York City with the SmithKline Corporation; she was under the impression that she was interviewing for a corporate job, but the very first question they asked her was, “Can you type?”
That moment set into motion this whole idea for her of, “Wait, why would the default assumption be that women are merely ‘assistants’ for men in more powerful positions? Women are more than 50% of the population. We are educated, our voices matter and we have something to contribute. Our voices and contributions need to be represented and recognized at all levels of society, including in positions of power — whether in the corporate boardroom, in the halls of the legislature, in the executive branch, or in the judiciary.” I think those early experiences led her to her role as a co-founder of WOMEN’S WAY.
After serving as Executive Director of WOMEN’S WAY, she went on to run for Senate in 1992 during the Year of the Woman. She was one of the five women who decided [to run for office] [following the outrage after the] interrogation of Anita Hill during the Justice Thomas confirmation hearings. She lost that Senate race by less than a percentage point, but that experience propelled her to a new level as a public figure in the fight for women’s rights and gender equity.
From there, my mom worked as the Regional Secretary for Health and Human Services under Donna Shalala during the Clinton administration. Then, she launched what I think was her most important initiative — the one she was most proud of — the Institute for Women’s Health Care Leadership at Drexel. That’s where she founded the Vision 20/20 initiative, a national initiative to achieve gender equity by increasing the number and power of women leaders to accelerate economic, political, and social change.
WOMEN’S WAY:
I read a little bit about your mom’s story and some of these key points, but I didn’t know she had ties with the Clintons! I also read deeply into what she did at Drexel, and it seems like she really cared about uplifting others. She started her journey and was always about saying to others, “Come along with me.”
Courtney:
She was! And everything she did was framed in an uplifting way. She never drowned in negative rhetoric — ever. It was all about mobilization and positivity.
One of her last publications was called Majority Rules: Completing the Journey to Women’s Equality. It’s an amazing book, and I think it really captures her positive outlook on mobilizing women as the majority of the population. She argued that we as women need to stand up for ourselves — and for each other — to ensure we’re a coalition defined by solidarity in seeking to have our voices heard and represented at all levels of society and positions of power.
WOMEN’S WAY:
I can’t wait to dive more into that book. I think that’s something a lot of us need right now. We’re all looking for ways to mobilize, organize, unify, and push forward, so that’s key. Coming from a gender equity legacy, what drives you to continue this work? I know you said you wanted to honor your mother’s legacy, but is there a specific aspect of gender equity that really drives you?
Courtney:
Certainly. Reproductive justice is a huge one for me right now. It’s an issue that’s simply integral to the equitable treatment of women. When the right to self-determination in reproductive healthcare is eroded, the equality of women as a whole is eroded. I know my mom would have been horrified to see what’s happening right now.
On a personal level, I try to live up to and embody one of my mom’s final initiatives — achieving a “seat at the table.” A Seat at the Table was part of a momentous installment at the Kimmel Center, which celebrated the 19th Amendment and the progress we as women have made over the past 100 years.. One of the trademark terms used throughout that exhibit was “A seat at the table,” meaning we need to ensure women have a seat at the table in the corporate boardroom and in the halls of governmental power. Sometimes, I find myself in work meetings with 10 men, and I’m the only woman. And I think to myself, “I’m privileged to have this opportunity, to be living out what my mom had hoped for — to have a seat at the table.” I’m also so proud to have a “seat at the table” of the Women’s Way Board of Directors!
WOMEN’S WAY:
Yes! You’re quite literally having a seat at that table and knocking that barrier down day by day; that’s amazing.
Community Action and collective effort are essential for meaningful change. We previously spoke about organizing and mobilizing, but as a new member of the WOMEN’S WAY Board, how do you encourage others to get involved in this work?
Courtney:
Well, one thing I’m immediately going to be doing is helping to raise money for WOMEN’S WAY so that we may continue this important work. Obviously, it won’t be just about raising money, but also raising awareness and bringing people together to talk about the recent erosion of some of the progress that has been made by people like my mom over the last 50 years and how we can stop that erosion and come together, even in small ways, at the community level.
For example, I hope to immediately raise money to support WOMEN’S WAY’s Rapid Response Operating Fund. I also hope to host an event to raise awareness. The more people who come together at the grassroots level to try to raise awareness and say, “We’re not going to let the rights we’ve had the privilege of having today, or at least before the last couple of years, be further eroded. We’re going to take whatever small action we can to chip away at that (erosion) and re-mobilize.”
WOMEN’S WAY:
Absolutely. That ties into the next question: What aspect of WOMEN’S WAY’s mission and work resonates with you the most?
Courtney:
I love that WOMEN’S WAY is working on extremely concrete goals and following up on them with initiatives like the Gender Economic Equity Program. I think that’s a fantastic initiative. As I mentioned, every contribution — no matter how large or small — is important to the ongoing mission to achieve gender equity and collective power and to prevent erosion of the progress achieved by groundbreakers like my mom!
WOMEN’S WAY:
How do we continue to develop and grow?
Courtney:
I think a lot of people feel helpless right now, and that’s leading to collective silence. There are all these attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion, and people feel paralyzed. I don’t want to be paralyzed. Being part of the WOMEN’S WAY community helps me resist that paralysis; it’s about taking steps, whether small or large, to push back.
WOMEN’S WAY:
I love that we’re not backing down! The folks before us didn’t, and neither will we. Looking ahead, what do you hope to accomplish on the Board?
Courtney:
One thing Diane recently brought up is that corporations are pulling away from sponsorship. I’d like to help mobilize more individuals to get involved through grant-making, donations, and awareness-raising. That’s why I’m organizing events — to bring people together and accomplish that goal.
WOMEN’S WAY:
I love it. It all keeps touching back on community power and collective action. Do you have any advice that you would give to the next generation of gender equity advocates?
Courtney:
I have a daughter, who’s 23. She’s a teacher in early childhood education, and I know that’s one of the target areas of the Gender Economic Equity Program. It’s one of the areas where WOMEN’S WAY has decided that we need to do something about the care industry — something about the fact that women, collectively and from a societal standpoint, are being undervalued for the important work they perform in that industry.
I tell my daughter all the time to stand up for herself. Don’t be silent. Ask for a raise. Make sure people know that the work you do is important and your contributions valuable! You have value, and what you do has value. We have power, both individually and collectively, as women!
WOMEN’S WAY:
It’s frustrating that, after all the advancements in gender equity, we’re still fighting to have our voices heard.
Courtney:
Absolutely. And sometimes, speaking up doesn’t get you anywhere in the moment; it may take speaking up over and over again. I still experience that in certain spaces, but I keep speaking up.
I remember the boldness of my mom. When I was a teenager, the Union League didn’t admit women. So, she organized a walkout. There was a big event happening, and at one point in the middle of a presentation, all of the women who were guests stood up and walked out. Not long after, the Union League admitted women. That’s the power of collective action, of refusing to be silent.
WOMEN’S WAY:
Absolutely. In your mind, what does true gender equity look like for women and gender-expansive folks?
Courtney:
That’s a complicated question because people can debate the academic concepts of equity and equality forever without reaching a consensus. But in my view, true gender equity looks like equal opportunity for women and gender-expansive individuals to advance in their careers, lives, and in society as a whole. It also means equal representation. My mom believed this deeply, and she wrote about it in her book Majority Rules. We are more than half the population, so when will we finally be equally represented in decision-making spaces across society?
WOMEN’S WAY:
Those are essential starting points. Put us in the room, allow our representation to show up, and then we can move forward from there. I’ll now move to the last question. If you could see one major policy change for gender equity in the next four to five years, what would it be and why?
Courtney:
That’s an easy one. I’d like to see the federal government legislatively restore reproductive rights as a federally guaranteed right. Without the right to self-determination over reproductive healthcare, we are taking a massive step backward. It’s an erosion of women’s rights as a whole.
WOMEN’S WAY:
I couldn’t agree more. It literally starts with bodily autonomy.
Courtney:
Exactly. It’s concrete. It’s obvious. And anyone who doesn’t recognize that, they’re ignoring reality. The loss of that right explicitly and implicitly treats women as less than our male counterparts. Because there are decisions being made about us, rather than by us.
