5 Things / found on TikTok

Here’s a real-life example of why diversity and inclusion is important. I don’t go on TikTok. Maybe I’m too old. But I have a team full of people who are different than me, and one of those people, October, is a Millennial and is non-binary. They sent me a link to a TikTok video in which user Star_Sama13 discovers that Old Navy has gender neutral clothes integrated throughout the store.

You can watch the emotional video here as the user tries on clothes and remarks on how these clothes showed up with zero fanfare. They’re thrilled that they don’t have to choose between the men’s and women’s departments.

This inclusion, which I hadn’t previously seen covered anywhere else in the media, matters because it normalizes all-gender fashion and gender diversity. 

Having diversity on my team reduces the potential gaps in my worldview. It makes me a better person and a better leader, and that makes me better able to serve my company’s diverse clients. It’s as simple, but as significant, as that. 

Here are some of the good vibes I learned this week:

• Survivor fans will notice something different this season. Host Jeff Probst has stopped using the phrase, "Come on in, guys!" in an effort to use more inclusive language. This is a hard habit to break, even for me. But this matters because at the end of the day, 'guys' is a gendered term, and that means it's not inclusive of everyone.
  
  

• In my book, I wrote about Chobani Yogurt Founder Hamdi Ulukaya’s The Tent Partnership which helps refugees get jobs. Ulukaya has a new Tent Coalition for Afghan Refugees with more than two dozen companies who have committed to joining Chobani in hiring, training, and resourcing Afghan refugees. This matters because the public sector's capacity is limited, and the private sector can play a significant role in supporting these refugees, especially when there's a worker shortage at many companies.
  
  

• The NCAA "March Madness" basketball tournament will now include women's basketball under the brand. The commitment also promises greater financial equity. Although women's basketball is incredibly popular, the sport has been under-resourced at both the college and professional level. This decision by the NCAA matters because it's the equitable thing to do and shows greater investment in women athletes. Finally!
  
  

• Lastly, Switzerland became the 30th country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage. It was one of the few holdouts in Western Europe. This matters because marriage rights should be equal, regardless of gender-- and this story is notable because there are still more than 150 countries without this basic right.

Screenshot from video by @Star_Sama13

5 Things / lessons

Sometimes I feel like being a leader means I’m in a near-constant state of asking myself, “OK, so what can I learn from this?”

I often look at work (and sometimes life) as an experiment. I’ve been a business owner for over 17 years now and it’s impossible to get it right all the time. And it’s certainly impossible to be all things to all people. My work, whether it’s writing, or speaking, or building and leading a team, is constantly being evaluated, tweaked, and adjusted along the way. But one thing being a business owner has taught me is to focus on progress over perfection. 

Your work towards creating a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization is also an experiment. There is no one way to do this work. Mistakes will happen and you might even accidentally offend someone. It's unrealistic to expect otherwise. But self-reflection, tweaking, and adjusting are (or should be) part of the process. I often say in my talks, “what matters is how you recover.”

Will you stall out or keep moving forward? 

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Here are some good vibes I found this week:

• There are some great virtual Pride ideas in this article which focused heavily on ActiveCampaign. Among other things, they had a drag queen read the children's book A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo, and made an effort to involve the employee resource groups for parents. AC's Pride group was inventive this June and there are some good ideas in this article you can file away for next year. This matters because virtual employee engagement can be challenging, and AC showed real creativity in how it builds allies.
  
  

• L'Oréal USA became the first company to achieve certification of pay equity across gender, race, ethnicity, age, ability, and LGBTQ identity. The company used a global third-party auditing company to certify the results. For L'Oréal, this is not a new initiative - they got started in 2011. This shows a real commitment and matters to the underrepresented employees who will benefit from equal pay for equal work.
  
  

• The abortion law that recently passed in Texas is the strictest and most archaic in the U.S., and most companies said nothing. The dating app companies Match and Bumble, however, created relief funds to help people affected by the law. Uber and Lyft said they would cover all legal costs for any of their drivers who get sued for driving a customer to an abortion clinic. This matters because those companies used their influence and power to speak out against a law that is abhorrent and will affect thousands of people.
  
  

• Speaking of Bumble, the woman-led company unveiled a fantastic new employee leave policy which includes, among other things, 20 days paid time off for victims of domestic violence and 15 days paid time off for grief. This matters because employee wellbeing matters and a generous employee leave policy is a signal to employees that they matter.
  
  

• The Football Association of Ireland is now paying equal match fees for its men and women's teams. There was previously a €2000 disparity. The men's teams willingly took a pay cut to create pay parity. This matters because it shows allyship on behalf of the men, and because equal pay for equal work is just the right thing to do.

Image by Chaos Soccer Gear