August 7 was Black Women's Equal Pay Day. #38PercentCounts presents high-level numbers about how, "Black women in the U.S. are paid 38% less than white men and 21% less than white women," and videos about how it affects women and their families. The project, which will launch another awareness campaign around Latina Equal Pay Day on Nov. 1, is a collaboration between LeanIn, SurveyMonkey and the National Urban League.
Venture capitalist Richard Kirby compiled data on venture capital firms showing that the industry continues to be predominantly white male. However, over the last two years gains were made for women (+7 points), Black females (+1 point), Asian females (+2 points), white females (+4 points), and Asian males (+1 point). Representation by Hispanic males and females, and Black males were unchanged. He also found that 40% of venture capitalists went to either Harvard or Stanford business schools. The lack of diversity in venture capital can then impact industries in which venture capitalists are active such as in the tech industry. Progress across the full corporate ecosystem is needed to make headway on diversity and inclusion.
Academics at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas, published findings of their study showing that words matter when managers make hiring or firing decisions about age 50-plus workers. Those referred to as "older workers" were viewed more positively than those described as "Boomers." This led the authors to conclude that generational labels, like "Boomers" should be avoided. To build a more inclusive workforce, share this learning with your manager.
Stanford sociological researchers' work shows why some women deliberately pursue developing their careers in, "... a risk-averse, conflict-avoidant approach to navigating unequal workplaces" or "intentional invisibility." Women adopt this strategy as a way to navigate the biases they face at work, including being perceived as too aggressive or being penalized for having commitments outside of work. In addition, many women find this strategy lets them be more fully their authentic selves at work. The study helps illuminate changes organizations need to make to develop a more diverse workforce.
Financial services organization TIAA ranks #27 on the 2017 DiversityInc Top 50 list and has been ranked in the top 50 for five years. Led by Roger Ferguson, one of three Blacks among the Fortune 500 CEOs, it harnessed its Employee Resource Groups to tackle business challenges directly. Creating TIAA Incubators think tanks offer business leaders diverse opinions to drive success but also shines a spotlight on talent within the organization that might otherwise go unnoticed. Includes video interviews with TIAA executives (5 min. 5 sec.).
Professor of Organizational Behavior Margaret A. Neale goes through common explanations for why there aren't more women in tech and, citing analytical research, offers different ways to mitigate those issues. (16 min. 34 sec.)
Upcoming Dates
Aug. 20 is Senior Citizen's Day
Aug. 26 is Women's Equality Day
September is Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 through Oct. 15)
