The media industry has lost Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) leaders over the last two weeks with layoffs and resignations at Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Who Has Gone? After more than six years, Disney’s chief diversity officer Latondra Newton was the first to exit her role. She oversaw the company’s “commitment to producing entertainment that reflects a global audience and sustains a welcoming and inclusive workplace for everyone.” Disney said she was leaving to pursue “other endeavors.” Netflix’s first-ever head of
National Crown Day has been extended this year to a two-week celebration commemorating the initial signing of the Crown Act in 2019. The celebrations began on June 12 and will finish on July 3 with the official National CROWN Day celebration in New Orleans as it marks the fourth Crown Day anniversary. Black women have faced hair discrimination in the workplace for a long time since the 2023 CROWN Workplace Research study found that Black women’s hair is 2.5 times more likely to be perceived as unprofessional. What is National CROWN Day? CROWN stands
Wage bias has long affected marginalized groups, including women and people of color. Recent data from Hired shows a widening wage gap, except for white and Asian women, with Black women earning the least of any demographic group. Salary transparency laws and practices aim to close the race and gender pay gap by removing biases. But can they really undo centuries of inequity? Salary expectations and negotiations As well as systemic issues of discrimination and prejudice, the expectation gap contributes to the wage gap. The expectation gap is the difference in salary
The United States is the most dangerous and expensive high-income country for childbirth, especially for Black and Indigenous women. Drawing on her own pregnancy experiences, Emagine Solutions Technology co-founder and CEO Courtney Williams has developed The Journey Pregnancy app. This data-driven tool couples the power of technology with a human touch to ensure a safer and more informed pregnancy journey. Addressing Disparities in Maternal Healthcare Black women face a nine times higher risk of maternal death compared to their white counterparts, and it is not because of differences in wealth.
Fearless Fund has announced it has received multi-million dollar follow-on investments from Bank of America, Costco, and Mastercard. Investing In WOC Founded in 2019 by Arian Simone, Keshia Knight Pulliam, and Ayana Parsons, Fearless Fund invests in pre-seed, seed level, and series A women of color founders building scalable and growth-aggressive companies. Their portfolio includes Bitsy’s, the clean food and beverage brand co-founded by Gabrielle Union, Melissa Butler’s cruelty-free beauty brand The Lip Bar, Pinky Cole’s Slutty Vegan, and Sevetri Wilson’s Resilia. Read: Resilia Closes $35M Series B, Largest Raise Ever For A
The Fifteen Percent Pledge was launched three years ago by creative director, activist and fashion designer Aurora James to urge major retailers and corporations to commit 15% of their shelf space to Black-owned businesses. Since then, more than 625 Black-owned businesses have developed business relationships with 29 companies across three countries that have taken the pledge such as Ulta, Sephora, Vogue, Macy’s and Old Navy. According to Forbes, the Pledge’s work with its partners has created the potential to shift $14 billion to Black entrepreneurs and businesses. Now, to mark
A new report by Dropbox DocSend has shed light on the funding divide in the tech industry, particularly regarding race and gender disparities among founders. While 2021 witnessed record-breaking levels of VC funding and increased engagement with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, 2022 proved to be more challenging for historically underfunded founders. Turning tides In 2021, VC funding for early-stage founders experienced a significant boost, with record-breaking funding levels. Historically underrepresented founders also experienced a surge of investor interest driven by DEI-related investment initiatives in response to the murder
This Juneteenth, we want to celebrate some Black startups that have set out to uplift and support the Black community. What is Juneteenth? Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the day more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, finally learned that slavery had been abolished – two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. The first Juneteenth was observed in 1866 and has been celebrated by Black Americans ever since. It is often referred to as the country’s second independence day and became an official
The regulation and ethics of AI image generators have been a topic of conversation for several years, with EU lawmakers considering proposals for safeguards to address some of the issues. In March, more than 31,000 people signed an open letter calling for a six-month pause in AI research and development to answer questions about regulation and ethics. Recently, the free-to-use graphic design tool Canva came under fire after DEI Thought Partner Adriele Parker prompted its text-to-image app to generate a Black woman with Bantu knots. An error appeared and told
Retail technology consultant Jessica Couch is launching an AI-generated fashion tech platform with co-founder Bo Hu Yang, aiming to help stylists and stylish people to monetize their influence. The AI-powered platform, which officially launches in October, is a personalized fashion discovery engine that matches people to products based on fit and style. How does Looks work? Stylists, can tag and post their looks on the platform and share them with their community. The stylist will get paid whenever someone buys an item that they post. The platform incentivizes peer-to-peer relationships
