Like a lot of you, we’ve been talking about the so-called “return to work” for a while—thinking about how to maintain equitable practices in remote work, and how to support women and caregivers in the return to work. We’ve been chatting with our clients and those in our networks about their unique approaches, and the keys to ensuring equity along the way. I recently had a conversation with a connection we’ve had since the early days of Gild Collective—Katy Tombaugh of Wellness Collective.
Career Advancement: A Conversation with Paula Gorman of Lift Up Career
Write a resume that proves you are THE candidate, not A candidate
I’ve been the applicant and the hiring manager many times, so I know firsthand what works and what doesn’t. Whether you are writing your first resume or your 100th and are not hearing back from recruiters or hiring managers and want to re-evaluate your resume, these best practices are for you!
Your resume should reflect you and there is not a rule that says it has to look any specific way, however after reviewing hundreds of resumes, ranging from entry level to C-Suite level folks, I do feel strongly about a few things…
Returning to Work as Caregivers: Insights from Katelyn of Mother Nurture
Mothers and caregivers have unique challenges, and therefore unique needs, to take into consideration as organizations are establishing their “return to work” plans. We invited Katelyn Denning of Mother Nurture. Katelyn is a life coach who helps busy, working moms manage their time, be more present, and truly enjoy their lives. She herself is a mom of three young kids, and has navigated a “return to work” pre-pandemic several times.
Supporting Women in the Return to In-Person Work
Along with many of our clients, Gild Collective is beginning the transition back to in-person work. With several in-person workshops scheduled this June, the trend for companies returning to some amount of in-person work is clear.
As the transition to in-person work begins, how can each of us—regardless of role—push back against the negative impacts on women caused by the pandemic, and avoid new ones?
#StopAsianHate – Allyship for AAPI People
White people, and the United States as a whole, have a longstanding and despicable history of dismissing white violence against Asians and quickly letting it fade into cultural irrelevance. And while the new year did not bring a respite from violence and discrimination against AAPI people, it did bring the opportunity for us all to grow as allies, advocates, and anti-racist activists for AAPI communities everywhere. It did present us with the opportunity to keep our eyes open. To truly see these horrific acts for what they are – discrimination, prejudice, and hate crimes. To turn our outrage into action.
Meeting Women's Needs Today + Planning for Growth Tomorrow: Dress for Success Cincinnati
Dress for Success Cincinnati has been the “first step to a better life” for thousands of women in this community since its founding. The mission of Dress for Success Cincinnati is to empower women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire and development tools to help them thrive in work and in life. Join us for this short conversation with Executive Director Lisa Nolan on how DFS Cincinnati has shifted to meet the needs of women during COVID-19, and how they will be able to expand their vision even further with their new location and the TransformHER Campaign.
Case Study: Confident Communications During Job Searching for Xavier University Alumni
The economy, like every other aspect of life, what rocked in unprecedented ways when COVID-19 hit in early 2020. The Xavier University Office of Alumni Engagement (a longtime partner of ours) decided to provide the graduating seniors and alumni community with resources for the daunting task of job searching during an economic downturn. We created this session, Confident Communications During Job Searching, to help them on their job search journeys.
The Future of Work is Flexible. Let’s Ensure it’s Equitable, Too
In December 2020, Mercer released their final survey in a series designed to measure the impact of COVID-19 on the workplace. It asked the question, “How are companies addressing flexibility, inclusivity, and the continued impact of the pandemic?”
The data on flexible working is clear, but while it shows that employers are more focused on inclusion than ever before, culture changes aren’t happening. We have the opportunity to form flexible work practices focused on being inclusive from this point forward.
Women + Burnout: A Conversation with Dr. Casen of Drugless Doctors
We’ve been talking a lot about burnout recently—from our review of the 2020 Women in the Workplace report, a deep dive on what organizations can do to retain their female talent, and our new workshop topics on Navigating and Managing Burnout.
Last week I had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Casen DeMaria of Drugless Doctors on this topic. As a chiropractor, Dr. Casen works with many women and helps them to identify the gaps and challenges they may be facing, finding the right place to begin and helping her patients get their gusto back.
Retaining Women During COVID-19
As we continue to wrap our heads around concerning data points from the Women in the Workplace 2020 study and recent research from Deloitte, we ask ourselves what can be done to retain women in our organizations to avoid a reversal of the representation progress that has been made in recent years.
We’ve explored recommendations from a variety of sources and are guiding our clients to focus on 7 things to benefit all employees, but with a specific emphasis on the challenges and biases women in your organizations may be facing.
A Roundup of Expert Career Advice for Navigating COVID-19
No matter where you live – or if your local COVID-19 cases are rising or falling – it clear that as a country we are going to be navigating this pandemic for months to come (if not longer). For many of us, that means that our employers are choosing to continue remote work, or some hybrid form of it, for the foreseeable future. For some, this is great news – we have thrived working in a remote environment. For others, this reality feels professionally paralyzing.
After Watching, Learning, Listening, and Grieving: Action
Over the past few weeks, the nation has turned their intense sadness over the unjust deaths of more and more Black people at the hands of the police into unprecedented action. Like many white people, we, the founders of Gild Collective, have been unsure of how to respond, how to react, and how to move forward as agents of change that elevate the Black community. We have been watching with open eyes, learning as much as we can (including a lot of re-learning what we thought we already knew), listening to Black voices, and grieving for and with Black communities.
More than anything else, we have been thinking about how we will commit ourselves going forward to anti-racist action and Black community support. How will we take action?
COVID-19 Impact on Diversity & Inclusion
Since we often work with Diversity & Inclusion leaders within organizations, we were curious about the impact COVID-19 has had on the roles and responsibilities for these leaders and their plans for the rest of the year. In connecting with our network, we identified a couple themes and how to address each one.
Training for Mid-Level Managers to Mend the Broken Rung
The Broken Rung identifies the initial move from entry-level to manager as “the biggest obstacle women face on the path to senior leadership.” There are five suggestions to fix the broken rung in organizations that see this drop in representation of women moving up to managerial levels. All of these elements work together to interrupt bias in the hiring and promotion process, and it is clear how they can ensure that all diverse candidates are given the appropriate consideration for advancement.
The recommendation I want to focus on today is putting evaluators through bias training. While it is critical for organizations to focus on eliminating bias in all of their processes, it can be especially important for entry-level employees.
Fostering an Inclusive, Equitable Environment During COVID-19
Managing inclusion efforts, or simply being inclusive in managing your team or engaging with your colleagues, has most likely shifted to the lower end of your consciousness and priority during this season. However, many employees who are working from home for the first time are struggling now more than they ever did in a traditional work environment, and need support more than ever.
#EachforEqual - International Women’s Day 2020
International Women’s Day is just a few weeks away! March 8, 2020 marks a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women - while also marking a call to action for accelerating gender equality.
This year’s theme—Each for Equal—is a call of collective individualism. It relies on everyone taking individual action to create a more gender equal world.
3 Things You Can Do in 2020 To Be a Better Champion for Gender Parity in your Workplace
On an individual scale, committing oneself to be a person dedicated to mitigating bias and creating cultural change is much simpler. It begins with a choice, or setting a goal. As it happens to be the time of year where we are creating and refining out goals, we encourage you to consider this one: (re)commit yourself to be a champion for intersectional gender parity. While it may seem lofty, there are small changes that you can make on a daily basis to ensure you are living this pledge.
Three Ways I Respond To The Idea That Men are “Victims” of #MeToo
There is an alternate and continuing narrative, however, that needs to be addressed before we move forward. It is the narrative that pities men and the “backlash” they have had to bear since #MeToo became a household term, and perpetuates two very false ideas: First, that women are the only survivors of sexual assault. And second, that men everywhere now have to “be careful” or that they will be accused themselves. The latter is particularly problematic, as it implies that women who do come forward with accusations are not being truthful.
The Importance of Discomfort – Identifying & Owning My White Privilege
A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to attend the Racial Equity Institute’s (REI) Phase 1 Racial Equity Workshop. The Greater Cincinnati Foundation (GCF) invited REI to Cincinnati offer several (free!) sessions of this Phase 1 workshop as a part of their Racial Equity Matters series, “illustrating their commitment to conversations about racial equity that build connections and move us forward with enhanced insights and shared purpose.” The two-day session, facilitated by REI trainers Suzanne Plihcik, Matt Bell, and George Clopton, delivered on that commitment and so much more.