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ON OUR MINDS
Brought to you this week by Associate Account Executive Chloë Barran, who’s been waiting for the return of Christmas music season all year.
Why should we brace for backlash when women succeed?
A controversial op-ed that appeared in The Wall Street Journal attempts to belittle the academic accomplishments of incoming First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden — and, by extension, the accomplishments of women all over the world who hold doctoral degrees. As an antidote to this headache, we recommend this article on rebuilding a better world, which addresses key issues like the future of work and racial justice from the perspectives of female leaders. We look forward to a future where opinions like Joseph Epstein’s aren’t given a platform, but until then, we can honor the many, many accomplishments that women achieved this year, from superior containment of the COVID-19 virus to voter mobilization efforts that changed people’s understanding of southern politics. Celebrating these women feels much better than engaging with tired, sexist rhetoric, anyway.
Capitalism as we knew it
One thing we’re watching for in the new year is the business community’s continued reckoning with its history of systemic homogeneity. The landscape of capitalism is changing: millennials will soon control trillions of dollars in wealth, 2020 has been devastating for working moms, and DE&I took center stage this year in the wake of calls for racial justice. Following a year that increased the wealth of our country’s billionaires and caused financial ruin for many others, we’ll need more than MacKenzie Scott’s $4B in donations to effect change at the systemic level, though Scott’s philanthropy has significant implications for the world of giving. Initiatives like ProjectDiane, which provides insights into our nation’s overlooked talent, and OneTen, a coalition of companies pledging to provide “family-sustaining” jobs for one million Black workers during the next decade, are vital to addressing the disproportionate impact that this year, not to mention centuries-old inequities, has had on people of color.
Conscious gifting
With the number of companies putting purpose at the heart of what they do, there’s no shortage of options for conscious gift-giving this year. Gender Fair, an app and Google Chrome extension that helps people buy from companies that support women and gender equality, ensures purchases adhere to a standard guided by the UN's Women Empowerment Principles. And to effect real change towards an equitable marketplace, we need to continue to buy from Black-owned businesses, beyond the summer’s surge of support. The Female Founder Collective’s gift guide features products from amazing female-founded companies, and you can also check out this roundup for a curated selection of gender-neutral gifts. Lastly, if you’re into cute, fuzzy ornaments, we highly recommend Craftspring, where you can find everything from Ruth Bader Ginsburg to an adorable octopus, felted using a traditional method by women in Kyrgyzstan.
ON OUR RADAR
Learn:
- Berlin Cameron’s Consumer Insights Report 2021 offers a glimpse into consumer trends for the next year.
- This is prime soup weather. Haul out the Dutch oven and try your hand at one of these beautiful concoctions.
- In January, McPherson client Reimagine Gender is launching corporate training workshops, including a 90-minute Foundations Training to help people understand the basics of gender and one-hour Practitioner Trainings for HR, marketing and customer service. As perceptions of gender continue to change rapidly, companies must adapt their understanding of the issues to be inclusive of all people.
- We have yet more evidence that a business strategy built on social impact just makes good business sense. This time, it’s a correlation between strong corporate purpose and improved financial performance.
Read:
- McPherson client Dr. Angela Jackson of New Profit wrote for Blavity on the importance of funding Black proximate entrepreneurs, the key to ensuring “Black people have shared prosperity in the future of work.”
- When companies put out statements on diversity and inclusion this summer, they were met with a healthy dose of skepticism. But we now have evidence of a correlation between what corporations say and the actions they take, according to Fortune’s research.
- “Can people expect us to back down at all? Hell, no.” Read Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert’s take on what a post-Trump future means for the business.
Watch and listen:
- Sesame Workshop hopes to fight the traumas of ethnic violence in Rohingya refugee children with Muppets Noor and Aziz Yasmin.
- “Spark and Fire” is a new podcast from media innovator WaitWhat launching in January. The series features accomplished creatives and the stories behind their work. Hear conversations with Yo-Yo Ma on the Silk Road Project, Rian Johnson on Knives Out, Kemp Powers on Pixar’s Soul, and many more hosted by former TED executive producer June Cohen.
Support:
- Give Blck is a database for donors interested in advancing racial equity in their charitable giving.
- Public Inc. has launched the cheekily named FU 2020 campaign, a cathartic send-off to acknowledge the trials of the year and support the Mental Health Coalition.
- The annual Women & Girls Index, published by McPherson client the Women’s Philanthropy Institute, offers insights on charitable giving to women’s and girls’ causes. As Melinda Gates pointed out, the research shows only 1.6% of philanthropic giving goes to those organizations.
- If you’re in NYC, support the city’s restaurants (and discover new faves!) by subscribing to the Summerlong Supper Club.
Celebrate:
- At 39, Rashida Jones is the highest-ranking Black woman in TV news.
- The Ad Council’s new campaign Belonging Begins with US aims to foster a society where everyone feels that they belong, regardless of their background or where they were born. The effort is supported by a broad coalition of foundations, corporations and nonprofits.
- Ben & Jerry’s new ice cream flavor, Change the Whirled, honors Colin Kaepernick’s “courageous work to confront systemic oppression and to stop police violence against Black and Brown people." Plus, it’s dairy-free!
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