Let's not mince words today, everyone—we all know that both overt and low-key sexism in business attitudes, and even internalized in working women themselves, can hinder young ladies' ambitions and professional success. But we also know that you're hard at work paving the way for more women in leadership roles, simply by being excellent educators and showing your students that their possibilities are endless. There's still a good deal of advancement to be done in the workforce, however—so how can you make sure your female pupils are stepping up to take their fair share? Well, like everything else in life these days, there's a TED Talk for that. And right now, we're getting the good word from Sheryl Sandberg—the COO of a scrappy little company called...Facebook. Wow.

Take a look at the video, or check out the TED Talks site for a full transcript if you're pressed for time. (Hey, who isn't?) You'll come away with an exact temperature reading of the kind of climate your GEAR UP girls will be changing someday. Inspiration, straight ahead...