Tory Burch's New Venture Might Be Her Most Important Yet

When it comes to ambition, Tory Burch has got it in spades.

And having seen firsthand how fruitful being driven in business can be, the designer and entrepreneur is on a mission to encourage other women to do the same through her eponymous foundation, which is hosting a super-inspiring speaker series right now. 

The Tory Burch Foundation Embrace Ambition Series is a five-city event meant to empower women. 

Why is it so important encourage women to fight for themselves in the workplace? According to Burch, it's about making steps toward gender equality. "I’ve learned that women entrepreneurs face unique, systemic impediments," she told us. "Only 1 in 23 loan dollars in the United States goes to women-owned businesses and women CEOs only receive 2 percent of U.S. venture-capital dollars. Our goal is to change the dynamic of this inequity." 

Each installment (in Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas and New York City) will feature inspiring women sharing their stories and doling out advice, including Glamour Editor-in-Chief Samantha Barry, equal pay activist Lilly Ledbetter, Gitanjali Rao, a 13-year-old scientist who created a patent device to detect lead in water and Burch herself. 

Best of all, if you didn't get a ticket to attend any of the events in person, you can stream each through the foundation's site or PureWow's Facebook page. 

We should note that the while the events are ticketed, there's no price for admission. That was a highly conscious decision, according to Laurie Fabiano, the foundation's president. "There are so many events for women but you see all the same attendees," she told us. "With high ticket prices, the important conversations are happening in an echo-chamber. This not only isn’t fair, it does little to change social norms. By having people apply to attend, we’re ensuring that our audience is diverse and brings what they learn back to broader communities."

For Burch, it all comes dow to learning how to become your own biggest fan. "I can’t encourage women enough to advocate for themselves," she said. "If you don’t, no one else will."