5 Things / louder please
This week my family and I (and maybe you) watched in horror during the coup attempt of the U.S. Capitol building by supporters of President Trump during the certification of election results. This was a traumatic event for the U.S. democracy.
The police response to this coup attempt was mild compared to the aggressive response to the Black Lives Matter protesters at the Lincoln Memorial last year. In fact, the police response was so weak that the Capitol police chief and other key staff resigned.
Many senior business leaders quickly denounced the coup attempt as "undemocratic", "unpatriotic", "horrifying", and demanded a peaceful transfer of power. But most did not acknowledge the white supremacy that led to the Capitol breach or criticize Trump for inciting followers.
I believe the business theme of the year ought to be "accountability" for the racial justice commitments made last year. The organizations that made promises in 2020 yet didn't acknowledge this week's very public examples of systemic racism will loose the trust of their employees.
Here's the good news: some business leaders did much better. Dr. Erin Thomas, Director of Diversity, Inclusion, Belonging and Talent Acquisition at Upwork tweeted: "Today, I am grateful for my company leaders, who:
- reached in to team members thru multiple channels to address the chaos we're in
- were identity conscious in their comms
- said "white supremacy"
- don't need me to ask them to do any of the above
That's how it's done.
Here are the other good vibes I found this week:
New York State passed a law that requires all single-stall public restrooms throughout the state (like those in restaurants and stores) be designated as all-gender. This simple policy change matters because it creates safer spaces for transgender people (and is more equitable for women in general). Businesses can comply by simply removing gendered signs from restrooms. This is systemic inclusion.
The law firm Clifford Chance is using artificial intelligence to remove all gendered language, including gendered pronouns, in its legal templates. Terms like "sir" and "Chairman" will be replaced with neutral terms such as "Colleague" and "Counsel". This matters because there are more than two genders and we can't assume someone's gender based on appearance, voice, or even name.
Giant Foods will begin labeling products from companies that are women-, Black-, Asian-Indian-, Hispanic-, LGBT-, Asian-Pacific- or veteran-owned. The equitable policy will provide these brands with greater access and will, in turn, increase visibility and sales.
The Boston Red Sox made history when they became the first Major League Baseball team to have a Black female coach. This matters because she opens doors for others to follow and becomes a possibility model for young Black girls.
This week I had a great time on the Jen(n) Show with my friends Jennifer Brown and Jenn T. Grace. Here's the link if you want to take a look.
Finally, registration is open for our (free) January 19 fireside chat 5 DEI Predictions for 2021. I hope you'll join us.
Thanks for all you do to build a more inclusive world-
Image: Louder Please|Facebook