5 Things / more than words
Organizations had a new opportunity to speak up this week in support of their Asian employees and customers. By now, most of you probably know about the killings at Asian spas in the Atlanta area. This community, who carries the burden of the "model minority" myth is hurting. I see this up close when I speak with one of my BFFs, a Korean-American woman.
The bit of good news is that some powerful people with huge platforms are finally starting to speak up as allies. Trevor Noah, Dwyane Wade, and Jessica Chastain are just a few of the celebs who specifically called out the shootings as a hate crime, despite the media's reluctance to acknowledge them as such. Business leaders finally began to speak up, too, but I was most impressed by the concrete antiracist commitments made by Jumpstart. They made commitments. They went beyond just words.
In a world where the lines between work and life are blurry, it's critical for organizations to acknowledge these hate crimes and create brave spaces for conversations -- without burdening Asian Employee Resource Group leaders to do the emotional labor of leading these conversations themselves. My friend Michelle Silverthorn organized a list of AAPI speakers here.
Here are some other good vibes I found this week:
Starbucks is improving the customer experience for those who are visually impaired. The company will unveil braille and large print menus this summer at all locations. This matters because every customer matters and expanding access is always a good thing. Ask your organization this powerful question: do our policies exclude anyone? You may be surprised by how much you come up with.
Mastercard has a new credit card that offers additional rewards for shopping at women-owned businesses. The card is issued in partnership with the company Seneca Women, which created a marketplace of one million women-owned businesses (and is looking for more!) This matters because it's an equitable way to amplify these businesses and give them expanded access to customers.
The PBS kids show Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood is about to have a new kid on the block, Max, a young boy with Autism. The show will have a storyline that shows how the other children learn to keep spaces calm for Max to play. Max is voiced by a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder. This matters because positive representation help people feel a little less like outsiders.
JP Morgan Chase revised its bylaws to be gender-neutral, substituting language such as Chairman for Chair. All gendered pronouns also became gender neutral. This matters because language is power and sets subconscious tones for who is and is not valued within an organization.
Image by thevinetroy.com