Workflow
‘Workplace diversity goes far past hiring. How leaders can support employees of color’
Advice aimed at supporting employees of color rarely dives as deep as Michelle Silverthorn does in this interview. The founder and CEO of Inclusion Nation, Silverthorn tackles lackluster recruitment efforts (you can’t just hire from Ivy Leagues, and expanding your pool to HBCUs isn’t the solution, either), the importance of pay audits even when budgets are frozen, and why companies should turn inward and focus on advancing the Black employees they already have. The article offers quick takeaways, but the full 19-minute report is well worth a listen. NPR
‘Extremely transparent and incredibly remote: GitLab’s radical vision for the future of work’
Imagine spending your first two weeks at a company checking off a 100-item to-do list, the tasks ranging from “set up two-factor identification” to “schedule a coffee chat with a random coworker.” That’s what new hires at GitLab do before they even start their jobs, and it’s all in an effort to cultivate the all-remote company’s team culture. GitLab’s employees, who were remote long before the pandemic, are based all over the world. If you work in a more traditional office, this deep dive into the company’s radical approach to transparency, documentation, and team bonding will be wild. Fast Company
‘Now is the time to bring back away messages’
You’re on Twitter tweeting. You’re on Slack slacking. And none of that equals getting real work done. Angela Lashbrook argues here that, in order to drown out our virtual distractions, it’s perhaps time to resurrect our old AOL pal: the away message. For those of you didn’t log on as sunnysideup768 or the like, an away message is a quick note to let your adoring fans know why you’re not responding and when you might be back again, aka the in-office out-of-office reply. OneZero
Women to know
‘Citigroup’s Fraser to be first woman to lead a big Wall Street bank’
Citigroup announced last week that Jane Fraser, their president, will replace CEO Michael Corbat when he retires in February. Fraser will then, as the headline says, become the first woman to lead a big Wall Street bank. Beyond the obvious, what’s notable is this tidbit: “Ms. Fraser’s ascension will break one of corporate America’s longest-enduring glass ceilings. At a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee last April, one lawmaker asked Mr. Corbat and six of his peers to raise their hand if any of them believed they would be succeeded by a woman or person of color. None did.” Plans change. The New York Times
‘Behind the growing movement to add more women to history lessons’
How old were you when you first realized how few women were in your history lessons? Women’s stories make up only about 0.5 percent of recorded history. There are researchers and writers who’ve penned studies and essays about the catastrophe of women’s erasure (read “Grandmother Spider” by Rebecca Solnit). Now finally, we see the topic where it matters most: schools. This article details a new wave of activism to bring women’s heroism to the classroom, an effort to ensure every young girl has someone who looks like her to look up to. The Washington Post
