Capable Lucie Sullivan

Throughout the Capable podcast, listeners have learned about the many different struggles women face throughout adolescence and into adulthood. Data from professors, testimonials from survivors, and leaders of empowerment organizations have given the listener some sense of the female experience. To round out the fifth and final episode of the series, four capable young women are interviewed. They are asked what advice they would have given their middle school selves if they could go back, and who their role models are that have helped them strive to be the strong women they are today.

In episode four of the Capable podcast, a Marquette University W.Y.S.E. mentor, Anabelle McDonald, is interviewed. W.Y.S.E. stands for women and youth supporting each other, and it is a national female empowerment organization that supports young women by providing resources and support for them to make positive life choices. Through group sessions and one-on-one meetings, W.Y.S.E. mentees are given a space to feel comfortable and capable.

In the third episode of the Capable series, the effects of domestic violence on black women is discussed. Dr. Alice Belcher, a trained researcher of domestic violence and advocate for survivors, is interviewed. She herself is a survivor of domestic violence, and she shares her experience, research, and insight on the issue and why it disproportionately affects black women.

In episode two of the Capable series, we learn about the different struggles African-American women face growing up, and how this actually pushes them to achieve more and boosts their self esteem. Dr. Angelique Harris, an associate professor of sociology at Marquette University and director of the center for gender and sexualities studies, is interviewed and shares some insight as to why this is the case. We also discuss differences in self-esteem based on the way women of different races are socialized differently through a study done by Glamour magazine.

In episode one of this five part series, the Capable Podcast focuses on understanding an especially pressing issue in American society today: why aren’t we seeing more women in politics and other important leadership roles?