Beware of Microaggressions Through Microinvalidations Backhanded compliments are just as damaging as more overt forms of bias Recently on LinkedIn, I stumbled upon a post that praised Prince Joel and Princess Ariana Makonnen of Ethiopia. Prince Joel is an HBCU graduate, attorney, and businessman (and he speaks five languages!), and…

How ‘What About’-isms Use Inclusion to Silence Diverse Voices Marginalized people’s stories are often policed and diluted when the privileged feel left out — this has to stop Recently, I shared a LinkedIn post celebrating Kamala Harris as our first female, Black, and South Asian Vice President. The post included a simple photo, which used emojis to illustrate the…

Creating more inclusive spaces requires strategy, sincerity, and a focus on belonging America faced an unprecedented racial reckoning this year, and in response, several major companies like Apple and Facebook made sizable donations to social justice organizations[1]. But perhaps they would have been better served by fixing diversity within their…

Virtue Signaling and Performative Allyship Won’t Combat Systemic Racism In early June, social media feeds were filled with black squares, as part of the Blackout Tuesday initiative. The intent was to ignite a national dialogue about racial injustice and draw attention to the Black Lives Matter movement. But there were two problems. First, many of the people who posted…

Moving beyond diversity… Statistically: 43% of companies with DIVERSE BOARDS NOTICED HIGHER PROFITS Companies with highly gender-diverse executive teams PERFORM SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER Racially & Ethnically diverse companies are 35% MORE LIKELY TO PERFORM BETTER Diverse companies are much more likely to CAPTURE NEW MARKETS Inclusive companies are 1.7 …

Diverse workers have been a casualty of the economic downturn, but it doesn’t have to be this way There’s no denying the harsh professional reality of the pandemic — an estimated 36 million Americans have filed for unemployment in just two months. Many of those workers have been furloughed or…

The buzzworthy phrase is often an excuse for homogeneity Cultural fit is perhaps the buzziest of buzzworthy business phrases, with everyone from new startup leaders to veteran CEOs touting its virtues. On the surface, cultural fit seems harmless, even desirable. What executive doesn’t want to hire someone whose professional style…

It’s time to amplify all the voices at the table The benefits of diversity have been recognized at scale. Among the many perks, diverse teams lead to increased creativity and increased productivity, which boosts revenue and returns. Diversity also improves a company’s reputation, making it easier to attract top-tier talent…