There is a lot we can control in 2022: Let’s talk about it

Welcome back to Working Together, a weekly series on professional women and equity in the workplace. Are you hiring for a role on your team? I want to hear about it and share it with the Working Together community. Share your job post in the comments below or email me at [email protected].?

I started 2022 feeling a bit helpless. Helpless about the continued spread of the coronavirus. Helpless about the notion of another year of pandemic-era work. Helpless about all the things we can’t control.

So, rather than focus on the standard New Year’s resolution fare, my mind kept returning to a quote from ultramarathon runner and Peloton instructor Robin Arzon: “The antidote to anxiety is action.” (Check out my colleague Jessi Hempel’s recent conversation with Arzon.]

In that spirit, I am pleased to share the many conversations we have planned for you in 2022, focusing on leaders who are taking action to make the workplace more equitable. Starting on January 20, Working Together will go live from the LinkedIn News page every Thursday at 3pm ET, where we'll have conversations as a community on topics that matter to us all.?

Here’s what we have to come for the beginning of our second season:

On January 20th, we’ll speak with Carrot Fertility CEO Tammy Sun about the changing landscape of employee benefits and why fertility is crucial to this discussion.?[RSVP here]

On January 27th, Eventbrite CEO Julia Hartz will join us to share how the pandemic inspired her to change how she leads, even amid major disruptions to her business.?[RSVP here]

On February 3rd, Cleo CEO Sarahjane Sacchetti will walk us through the continued impact of the virus on working parents and what solutions her company has to offer.?

?On February 10th, IFundWomen of Color General Manager Olivia Owens will break down the funding landscape for female founders of color and the growing opportunity for investment and growth.?

?On February 17th, Founder and Managing Director of HM Risk Group Ashley Hunter ?will share her journey to founding her own insurance firm, an industry where Black people account for less than 15% of employees.?

On February 24th, Citiblock Health Co-Founder Toyin Ajayi will share how her company’s efforts to disrupt primary care catapulted her company to a $5.7 billion valuation.?

?On March 3rd, Harvard professor Frances Frei and diversity and inclusion expert Anne Morriss, the authors of Unleashed, The Unapologetic Leader's Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You, will discuss leadership and how hybrid work could be a boon for diverse hiring.?

On March 10th, Sisters In Media Founder Oladotun Idowu will explain how she has expanded media opportunities for women of color through her company and the importance of representation.?

These conversations are meant to give us space to discuss issues that matter to all of us, and I want to hear from all of you in the comments. During each show, I’ll be bringing in insights and questions from the stream. To be notified when we go live, follow the LinkedIn News Page. I’ll also share the event pages here weekly, with the hopes that you will hit “Remind Me” and join us live.?

Have ideas of who we should speak to or general topics you would like us to cover? Let me know in the comments below or email me at [email protected]. I look forward to seeing you in the stream.

As we discuss more weeks than not, the world of work is changing rapidly and we’re all rethinking the role our jobs play in our lives. That means a record number of people are changing companies — and industries — and just as many employers are hiring.

I want to hear from you: Do you have a job you are trying to fill right now that we can share here with the Working Together community? Chances are, if you subscribe to this newsletter, you may enjoy working for a manager or hiring someone who subscribes to this send as well.?

Share your job post in the comments below or email me at [email protected] and I’ll share the listings next week.?

I'll go first: My colleague Callie Schweitzer is looking for a Creator Programs Manager for Black and Latino Creators. This is the perfect opportunity for someone who is entrepreneurial and loves to think big picture and has a passion for DE&I. [Apply here]

What’s Working

Prepared to lead. By 2039, a majority of U.S. workers will identify as members of non-white racial and ethnic groups, according to the BLS. Managers need to be equipped to lead diverse teams by understanding their own biases, seeking to understand the backgrounds of their team members and tracking promotion and retention by race and gender. [HBR]

Action in 2021. A series of nine high-profile equality cases — including convicting the former Minneapolis cop that murdered George Floyd and releasng Britney Spears from her controversial conservatorship — shone the spotlight on racial inequality and sexually abuse. Not all verdicts were a win for equality, however. The courts heard arguments for anti-abortion laws and went back on long-standing protections such as the 1965 Voting Rights Act. [Bloomberg]

Holmes verdict a win for women? Like me, I am sure you have read many takes on the troubling trends for female founders that could come after Elizabeth Holmes was convincted of fraud. Here is a fresh opinion: Holmes’ getting convicted is good as it demonstrates that women can be in charge as well as responsible for their own actions. “Accountability for powerful women who falter is consistent with principles of equality and the need to see women as complex, intelligent, imperfect, and fully actualized human beings.” [Slate]

What’s Not

Engagement drops. For the first time in the past decade, employee engagement in the U.S. dropped significantly. Gallup points to a lack of clarity in expectations from employers as a key driver of the decline. [Gallup]

What took so long? Directors who are Black, Asian, Hispanic, Middle Eastern or from another nonwhite ethnic group now take up 25% more board seats in the Russell 3000 stock index? than they did in 2020 “The biggest problem is that people had not spent enough energy focusing on finding people who could be great candidates for boards,” one expert told NYT. .[NYTimes]

Who’s Pushing Us Forward?

What topics do you want to discuss next time? Let me know in the comments below using #WorkingTogether