March 5 - 11, 2021

On June 19, 2020, I made a commitment to educate myself on the lingering effects of racism, discrimination, and bias in America. Every day through June 18, 2021, I will read an article or book chapter, listen to a podcast, watch a movie or documentary, view a webinar, or do something substantive to educate myself in these areas. As part of that commitment, I will post to this blog each Friday with a list of what I've done over the past week as well as any pertinent thoughts or reflections.

Today's post covers the week of March 5-11, 2021.

 

For Women in Music, Equality Remains Out of Reach 

Ben Sisario, who covers the music industry for the New York Times, recaps a study from USC's Stacy L. Smith on the presence of women in music. First published in 2018, Smith's update of her study reveals that women continue to lag behind men in representation as performers, writers, and producers. When Smith first published her findings three years ago, several studios pledged to take action, but little has changed since. Dr. Smith recommends more concrete steps like those taken by Alicia Keys, who co-founded She Is The Music to create an employment database and establish mentorship opportunities for women. 

 

SBJ Spotlight 

Abraham Madkour, Publisher of the Sports Business Journal, hosts this conversation with Kim Davis, Senior Executive VP of the NHL, and China Jude, Senior Associate AD at Wyoming. Davis sees a shift in the sports world from training in diversity, equity, and inclusion to education and conversations about these topics. Jude notes that athletics departments and institutions across the country are in different stages of advancement - some are ready for change, while others are just becoming familiar with DEI. She also maps out how we go from conversation to policy making. Davis delves into how we should be thinking about candidate pipelines to drive a more diverse applicant pool. Finally, SBJ contributor Shira Springer talks about the need for a critical mass of women in leadership positions. 

 

Diversity of Thought: Does It Need Rethinking? 

In this episode of the Littler Podcast on Diversity and Inclusion, host Cindy-Ann Thomas interviews Dr. Adia Harvey Wingfield, Professor of Sociology at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Wingfield first defines diversity of thought as the idea that organizations can achieve goals of diversity when they bring together people with a variety of different perspectives, ways of thinking and viewpoints, and that this can lead to organizational change and growth you wouldn't otherwise achieve. But Dr. Wingfield notes that diversity of thought initiatives often don't achieve racial and gender diversity goals. Organizations don't end up with racial and gender diversity by accident. By focusing on race and gender, among other demographic characteristics, organizations often find diversity of thought comes naturally.

 

Claiming Women's Space In Leadership 

UN Women, the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, published this series of recommendations in celebration of International Women's Day. Women are underrepresented in leadership positions across a number of industries, including business and entrepreneurship, sports, science, politics, media, and agriculture. UN Women stresses the importance of equal pay, buying from women-owned businesses, and amplifying the voices of those women who are currently leading in these spaces.

 

UT-Austin Report Links "The Eyes of Texas" to Minstrel Shows But Not Robert E. Lee, Says Song is Not "Overtly Racist"

Kate McGee and Neelam Bohra of the Texas Tribune write on the release of the UT-Austin committee report on "The Eyes of Texas." The full 58 page report can be found here. The committee found that the song, which is sung at a variety of UT events but most notably at the end of football games and other athletic contests, had no racist intents. While originally performed at minstrel shows by white actors in blackface, the committee could not find evidence that the lyrics were inspired by Robert E. Lee. The committee recommends, however, that students not be required to stand for or sing the song at future games and events.

Inventing 'Hispanic'

In this episode of the podcast The Experiment, hosts Julia Longoria and producer Gabrielle Berbey speak with UC-Berkeley sociologist Dr. Christina Mora about the origins of the term Hispanic. Mora says two theories exist - one that suggests the census category of Hispanic was forced upon people of Latin origin by the U.S. government; the other is that Hispanic people are all naturally connected by their experiences in this country. Mora goes back to the 1960s, when Cubans from Florida, Puerto Ricans from the Northeast, and Mexicans from the Southwest negotiated with the census bureau for a new category that would band them together. Mora and Longoria also talk about the limitations of this demographic designation, and the emergence of subcategories that better define the experiences of Hispanic people.

Women's History Month: King Beats Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes

The Tennis Channel celebrates Women's History Month with this story on legendary player Billie Jean King. King talks about her efforts to create a players' union with the men in the early 1970s to bargain for prize money and appearances. When they said no, King worked with Gladys Heldman, owner of World Tennis Magazine, to start a women's professional tour. The Virginia Slims Tour became the precursor to the Women's Tennis Association Tour of today.