5 Things / Still Learning

This week I had a bunch of planning meetings in anticipation of upcoming keynotes. About 80% of the time, the client advises: “As a heads up, our employees are generally pretty conservative.” I’ve heard this from clients in many industries: financial services, energy, manufacturing, commercial real estate, and more.

Still, they’re willing to learn – and admit what they don’t know. Recently I had an attendee from a “conservative” industry send me a private email hours after the keynote sharing a recent experience being called out on their own microaggressions towards others, and looking for some additional resources to be better informed in the future.

I appreciated this email so much because it required some vulnerability for that person to reach out to me, share an embarrassing experience, and ask for resources. It also showed humility and curiosity, both of which are essential to the work of DEI.

I appreciate that you take the time to read 5 Things – because we’re all still learning. The discipline of writing 5 Things every week is part of my own learning journey.

Here are the good vibes I found this week:

  1. The NFL’s First Out Trans Cheerleader Readies for Her Carolina Panthers Debut

  2. Ms. Marvel Is the First Muslim Superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

  3. Ben & Jerry’s Launches Multi-State Billboard Campaign to Support Trans Youth

  4. Biden Administration to Pay White House Interns for the First Time in Recent History

    • U.S. White House interns will now be paid. It’s shocking to me that this opportunity was previously unpaid. This matters because it’s often unaffordable for young BIPOC to intern/work for free – and that means that white people are more likely to be interns, and then more likely to get jobs in government, perpetuating a lack of diversity.

  5. 220 CEOs Demand Immediate Action From the Senate to Reduce Gun Violence

    • Levi Strauss is leading the corporate fight against gun violence. They led the charge of more than 200 business leaders from every state who wrote an open letter to the U.S. Senate calling for stronger gun control laws. This matters because it will hopefully put pressure on Senators to make it harder to buy guns and hopefully reduce the absurd number of mass shootings in the U.S.


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5 Things / Pride Paradox