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Dear friends,
One year ago, we had no idea what we were in for. It felt like the world was about to collapse, and I was terrified. I had built a small but successful company over the seven years prior and had recently added two new employees. No one really had a clue of what was coming, but all I knew was I had to fight like hell to ensure I wouldn’t have to let any member of the team go. I can’t believe I’m writing today with a team that has doubled in size — thanks in large part to our incredible clients and the resilience of our community. I don’t take it for granted even for a second.
As a team of 11 women, we have much to celebrate and be grateful for during Women’s History Month. After all, we know our successes are in large part due to the heavy burden borne by those who preceded us. But yes, there is still much work to do — the pandemic has been a wake-up call about the challenges that parents, and women of color particularly, face in the workforce and everywhere else. We can and must do better.
One last thing: as many of you know, my book The Lost Art of Connecting, is out later this month. I’d love you to attend my launch party with Soledad O’Brien on March 16 at 6pm ET.
Happy weekend,
Susan
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ON OUR MINDS
Today’s issue is by Ellen Miller Gilcrest, our VP of Strategy & Culture, whose quads are still on fire from a 30-minute curling game last weekend.
Making Women’s History
Did you know that just 50 years ago, women couldn’t even get credit cards? That’s part of what makes this new product from client Seneca Women, Mastercard and Deserve so exciting: a credit card that rewards you for shopping women-owned. Speaking of women’s history, congratulations to Chloé Zhao, the first Asian woman and second woman ever to take home a Golden Globe for directing for Nomadland, and to Jodie Foster, possibly the first woman to win a Globe while wearing silk pajamas (#goals). None of that erases the need for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association — the organization behind the Globes — to do something pronto about the lack of their Black representation. During this month and all months, we love to see companies use their platforms to advance meaningful systemic change. Netflix is doing just that with a new $5 million fund to train women filmmakers.
Time To Ante Up
The Internship Debate reared its head this week when an NFL reporter, Jane Slater, sparked backlash after tweeting a link to an unpaid position — and then doubled down. Several other (mostly white) reporters chimed in, underscoring how their unpaid internships got them to where they are today. Well, duh! No one is questioning the value of hard work and experience, but with more than 40% of these positions unpaid, internships are “early exacerbators of inequality” — ones that deepen the racial pay gap and exclude young talent from certain fields, including journalism and communications. Do you pay your interns? We do!
Home Stretch
Anybody else do a happy dance when President Biden announced we’ll have enough vaccines for everyone by the end of May? Of course, availability doesn’t guarantee a smooth rollout, but we were glad to see that competitors J&J and Merck teamed up to accelerate the process (that’s corporate responsibility!). Inequalities with the vaccine rollout remain deep, with the wealthy and tech-savvy benefitting from a hard-to-navigate registration maze. But may your heart be warmed by the story of this 13-year-old who built an easy-to-use website to help get elderly neighbors vaccinated.
ON OUR RADAR
Read:
Learn:
- Get the story behind the first COVID-19 vaccine for animals. Important work from our client Zoetis.
- With 2.6 million Black-owned businesses in our country, this impact report from HelloAlice, NAACP and DivInc provides recommendations on investing in this critical engine of our economy.
- Between a Supreme Court case and the HR 1 bill, it’s been a big week for voting rights. Vox has the explainer.
Watch:
Cheer:
Go:
Apply:
- The Social Innovation Summit announced the first annual SIS Impact Awards, which recognize collaborative initiatives between corporations, government, grantmakers, entrepreneurs, and non-profit organizations.
- VICE is providing 12 Black-owned businesses pro-bono media campaigns, creative marketing services and mentorship opportunities for one year. Apply here.
- The Climate Jobs National Resource Center — a new McP client! — is looking for a communications director.
- The Resolution Project is looking for a program manager.
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