Take the #standupchallenge
At a LinkedIn R&D leadership offsite earlier this week, I asked the audience to stand up if they were born outside the US or if they had parents who were born outside the US. What happened next was amazing.
More than 70% of the couple hundred people in the room stood up!
It was a powerful moment for everyone. It's one thing to learn that all 2016 American Nobel Laureates are immigrants. Or that the first woman to win a Fields Medal, the equivalent of Nobel prize in Mathematics, is Iranian-American. Or that 40% of all Fortune 500 companies have been founded by immigrants or their children, creating millions of jobs and contributing trillions of dollars to our economy.
It's another thing to find out that the company you work for every day wouldn't be successful or even exist as you know it, without immigrants. And that so many of your colleagues may be impacted by or concerned about the recent immigration and refugee ban.
Afterward, several people told me that it was a moment of realization that we're all in this together. It's not about taking sides on a political issue. It is about being there for people you've known and worked with for years. It is about standing up for your friends.
How many of your colleagues or classmates are immigrants or children of immigrants? Take the #standupchallenge and ask them the next time you're in a meeting or a class. Then tell them you will stand up for them.
Education & Nonprofits
8 年Would be an interesting experiment to try in Congress.
Workshop Facilitator * Training Specialist * Office Coordinator * MS Office Master Instructor * Focused on easing the job search process for customers
8 年Acceptance of people different from you, and pride of their accomplishments and contributions – this is so refreshing, and so precious nowadays. We definitely need more of it.
VP of LinkedIn Architecture, and Head of Design
8 年Yes! This was so powerful Aatif. Thank you. Ps- that photo looks familiar. ;)
Thank you for that moment. I feel privileged to work with so many brilliant and passionate people from around the world on creating economic opportunity for the entire global workforce.