5 things / praise serena
If you've been following me on LinkedIn or Twitter over the past months, you may have noticed some videos popping up in your feed. I've been committed to sharing #1ThingILearnedToday each weekday. What I share takes about 30 seconds, is usually related to diversity and inclusion -- and I try to focus on good news.
Each week, we'll be sending a quick email with a summary of some of the interesting pieces I've learned. Here we go:
#5ThingsILearnedThisWeek:
Serena Williams was named America's Richest Self-Made Woman by Forbes. But reading on, I found it even more interesting that 60% of the companies she's funded through Serena Ventures (her VC fund) are led by women or people of color.
The Mayor of Mexico City has changed a public school policy requiring boys' uniforms and girls' uniforms. Now all students can choose the uniform that best fits their gender expression.
In a new TD Bank survey, 42 percent of LGBTQ millennials either use gender-neutral pronouns for themselves or have a partner or close friend that does. This is compared to only 26 percent of LGBTQ2+ Gen X and Baby Boomer workers
Google (which owns YouTube) employees are saying the company hasn't gone far enough to enforce restrictions on hate speech, leaving up many hateful videos. Some LGBTQ Google employees have said the company isn't living its values, and even asked San Francisco Pride to remove Google from the parade.
Sephora closed all its stores this week for a 1 hour diversity training for all employees (office, manufacturing, and front line). The question is how much can someone really learn about inclusion in one hour? I happen to believe it can be taught well in less than that, if done thoughtfully and in conjunction with other corporate DEI initiatives...