5 Things / work the polls
Tom Brenner / Reuters file
This week I learned that Old Navy will pay its employees a full day of pay to work the polls on Election Day.
64% of Old Navy's 50,000 employees are 18-29, the age group least likely to vote...so perhaps they will this year.
This matters because there's a projected shortage of 250,000 U.S. poll workers this year, and Old Navy's commitment may be significant. I also appreciate Old Navy valuing its customer-facing team enough to give them this opportunity.
Here are some other things that inspired me this week:
Uber released a massive new ad campaign: "If you tolerate racism, delete Uber." Although this campaign met some criticism for several valid reasons, I believe this matters because the company is taking a stand that racism is unacceptable, even by paying passengers.
Ben and Jerry's (which is owned by Unilever) is launching a 6 part podcast on systemic racism. The podcast, which starts on September 15, is about the history of systemic racism in America. This matters because we are only at the beginning of our racial reckoning, and these stories of centuries of injustice are important to hear.
Male and female football teams in Brazil are now paid equally. This is not the case for the U.S. teams, where male players are paid more than female players, despite the wild success of the U.S. Women's National Team. This matters because pay equity is simply the right thing to do.
Capital Group, an investment firm, decided to no longer show internship candidates' resumes' to hiring managers. Managers instead focused more on the conversation with the candidate. This one change resulted in a 50/50 gender balance and 58% people of color among the internship class. This matters because the hiring process is riddled with bias, which leads to a lack of diversity. Much of the bias comes when reviewing resumes.
These stories remind me that collectively, we can make real, systemic impact towards a world where everyone feels safe to walk with dignity.
Photo by Tom Brenner/Reuters