5 Things / Unique Wisdom

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I’m a lesbian and yesterday was Lesbian Visibility Day. 👋🏻🏳️‍🌈Despite putting myself out there as a speaker and writer for years now, it took me a long time to figure out how I wanted to be in the world. What gender expression feels authentic? How to find the balance between being open and vulnerable while still protecting myself? But those are things many of us navigate.

What I know is that I have a hell of a lot of resilience and empathy because of my sexuality. It’s made me stronger and amplified my gifts and my messages. It’s given me unique wisdom.

But whatever your story is, whoever you are, gives you unique wisdom. Whatever the stories are of the people on your team, even of the people who annoy you, gives them all unique wisdom as well. It would be cool if we took a moment to be curious about each other’s unique wisdom, and the gifts they have from their experiences. The things they can teach us. It all starts with curiosity. My ARC (Ask-Respect-Connect) Method helps.

Here Are This Week's Good Vibes:

1. PBS Kids Adds ASL to Six Shows

   • PBS Kids is enhancing accessibility by adding American Sign Language interpreters to popular shows, benefiting children who are deaf or hard of hearing. With content aimed at ages 2 to 8, many kids may not yet read captions, making ASL crucial. Partnering with Bridge Multimedia, PBS conducted user testing to optimize interpreter placement, ensuring seamless integration. ASL versions of six shows are now available online, with plans to expand.

2. Delta Continues to Invest in Employees

   • Delta Airlines is giving a 5% pay raise to over 80,000 ground employees and flight attendants, a 20–25% cumulative increase in comp in 2 years. This rise follows a generous $1.4 billion profit-sharing payment to employees, doubling last year's payout. Delta has a $125 million profit-sharing fund already allocated for next year and has a stable and loyal workforce. Delta’s my favorite airline to follow for this reason…it’s too bad Chicago’s not a hub.

3. Korean Company Uses Korean Names

   • Kakao Games distinguishes itself by abandoning its longstanding tradition of using English names for employees, opting instead to embrace their Korean identities. This unique move underscores the company's respect for individuality and is a departure from the common practice in Korean workplaces. By prioritizing authenticity and inclusion, Kakao Games sets a precedent for other organizations to do the same.

4. Retail/Grocery Employees to Have More Protections

   • Starting July 2025, retail and grocery workers in unincorporated L.A. County gain more control over their schedules, thanks to a new ordinance mandating employers to provide schedules two weeks in advance, offer compensation for last-minute changes, and space out shifts by 10 hours. This policy, mirroring L.A. city's 2022 ordinance, affects around 200 businesses and up to 6,000 workers. With many workers being people of color, this policy promotes equity, fair treatment, and hopefully stability.

5. Dell Sees ERG Success

   • Dell’s Employee resource groups (ERGs) have a 52% participation rate across its 120,000 global employees. They achieved this because CEO Michael Dell mandates that each direct report sponsor an ERG. This leadership buy-in then incentivizes employees to show up! When the leaders are bought-in, great things can happen in DEI. That’s the way it’s done.

This Week’s Call to Action:

Join my next DEI Double Feature: The Belonging Buzzword. I’m hosting it with Michelle Silverthorn on May 8 and you can join right here!

5 Things / empower ERGs

One of the questions I enjoy speaking with organizations about is: "Do our policies or products exclude anyone?" Chances are, they inadvertently do. For those organizations with Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), consider the possibility that those groups may help unearth and solve these exclusions. 

Here's a great example: Equifax's (the credit reporting agency) LGBTQ ERG had a transgender guest speaker last year. The speaker shared that their credit score went down after transition because their great score was attached to their former name. Equifax thought they might be able to help solve this problem.

The ERG did some digging, figured out why this was happening (because first name changes with banks didn't automatically update with Equifax). While the ERG couldn't solve that problem specifically, it did craft detailed guidance for transgender customers to change their name within Equifax (even online) so that their credit score is accurate.

While the onus for change is still on transgender folks and that remains a problem, the Pride Network addressed an important inclusion gap that may improve the experience for members of their own community -- and they were empowered to do so. 

That's the key takeaway here: ERGs can be incredibly valuable to your business, but it starts with empowering them, giving them access to executives, and investing in leadership development.

Here are some other good vibes I found this week:

• Major League Baseball is moving its All Star Game from Atlanta in protest of the racist voter suppression laws being passed in the U.S. state of Georgia. The statement reads, in part: " the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport is by relocating this year's All-Star Game." This matters because MLB is a powerful, influential system using its platform to send a signal to Black players that they matter.
  
  

• Bank of America expanded its commitments to racial justice, committing an additional $250 million to their programs. The bank's statement specified its commitments to Asian communities as part of its larger program. This matters because Asian communities have often been overlooked in antiracism work, and these communities are suffering.
  
  

• Lululemon has new ads, and they're incredibly body-positive. The ads tell the stories of a variety of runners, including that of badass antiracism advocate and ultra-marathoner Mirna Valerio. This matters because there's no one way to be an athlete or runner, and these inclusive ads (and stories) break down stereotypes.
  
  

• You may know that caretaking duties due to the Covid pandemic forced many women out of the workforce. Even pre-Covid, women who stayed home to care for loved ones faced resume' gaps, which can later trigger unconscious bias from prospective employers. LinkedIn has updated its features so users can select from new job titles, including "Stay at home mom", "Stay at home dad" and others. This matters because these career gaps can lead to bias and lower future salary. This feature hopefully removes some of this stigma.

Image by: The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia