5 Things / And Other S#*T
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The other night, I attended a candidate forum for the mayoral and commissioner races for my town of 14,000 right outside of Chicago. As I was leaving, I overheard someone say. “They talked ad nauseam about diversity, equity, and other s#*t…”
Diversity, equity, and other s#*t. I had to laugh. There were a couple of questions, and the incumbent mayor mentioned that he brought gender pay equity to the village. The crowd liked that. But the good news here is that these questions were submitted by the attendees, by my neighbors, and by people largely applauding pay equity. There has been progress, and there will keep being more, because those questions will continue to be asked, and accountability is expected, despite the resisters.
Here are the good vibes I found this week:
Rei Co-op Asks Suppliers to up Their Inclusivity Game
REI Co-Op, where I worked part-time in my mid-twenties, has established new inclusion standards for its suppliers. The new standards include expanded sizes with price equity, headwear gear large enough to accommodate “higher volume or textured hair”, and marketing guidelines that require representation across race, age, gender, body size and type, and disability. I love this story because REI is using its buying power as leverage to incentivize its suppliers to become more equitable and inclusive. This matters because it can expand the outdoors to more people. The outdoor industry has been largely homogeneous, in part due to a lack of representation and lack of inclusive products
Major Companies Are Using AI to Avoid Bias and Cliches in Advertising
There’s a new AI tool to reduce racial bias and stereotypes in advertising. The team behind X_Stereotype is entirely people of color who used surveys and focus groups to create profiles that represent various demographic groups. Those profiles are then fed into the AI diversity tool which analyzes written communications, like scripts. The AI can catch things like stereotypes about angry Black women, and flag when characters can be perceived as too racially ambiguous, diluting its perceived diversity. This matters because advertising has largely been full of stereotypes, inadvertently reinforcing and perpetuating biases.
Supporters Rally Around Trans Activist in Hershey’s Women’s Day Campaign
Hershey’s Canada released five special chocolate bars in time for International Women’s Day, and one of the featured faces is that of Fae Johnstone, a transgender woman. Hershey received major backlash from anti-transgender people who dispute the validity of their very existence. Representation, yes, even on a chocolate bar, matters to affirm transgender women as women. End of story.
Nordstrom Teams With The Folklore Group to Grow Black-owned Brands
Nordstrom is very committed to increasing racial diversity in its suppliers and recently partnered with The Folklore Connect platform to do just that. This partnership will enable Nordstrom’s buyers to identify and work with 100+ wholesale fashion and lifestyle brands founded by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color). White Americans hold 84% of total U.S. wealth and buying from BIPOC businesses and giving them access to your customers is simply an equitable thing to do to reduce the gap.
Gabrielle Union-Wade, Dwyane Wade Call for Black LGBTQ Community Support at Naacp Image Awards
This is allyship in action. Actor Gabrielle Union and NBA star Dwyane Wade (who are married) were honored with the President’s Awards at the recent NAACP Image Awards. They received this honor one day after their teen daughter, who is a young trans woman, was granted a legal name change and approval to update government records. The parents used their speech to praise their daughter’s bravery and call for advocacy. Gabrielle Union pleaded:
“First, the intersection of Black rights and the rights of the LGBTQIA, trans, and gender non-conforming people continues to be a huge understatement, even as we demand equality at the top of our lungs. We consistently fail to extend our advocacy to protect some of the most vulnerable among us. And second, Black trans people are being targeted, terrorized, and hunted in this country. Every day, everywhere. And there’s rarely a whisper about.”
Call to action:
This Women's History Month, read about some of the women honored in the National Women’s Hall of Fame. The Executive Director, Jen Gabriel, was my college roommate and I deeply admire the work she’s doing to showcase great women from increasingly diverse backgrounds: https://www.womenofthehall.org/women-of-the-hall/
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