May 21 - 27, 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 May 21-27, 2021.

 

To Make Real Progress on D&I, Move Past Vanity Metrics 

Cindi Howson, the Chief Data Strategy Officer at ThoughtSpot, writes this piece for the Harvard Business Review. Diverse teams better represent the customers they serve, make decisions with fewer blind spots, and bring more varied and innovative thinking to problem-solving. Here are Howson's recommendations on how organizations can make substantive progress on diversity and inclusion: 1) identify data gaps; 2) track leading indicators on inclusion; 3) arm your experts with a single source of truth; and 4) confront the brutal facts and share them transparently. Don’t let your data lie or hide the real issues.

 

How Can Congress Fix the Racial Wealth Gap It Helped Create? 

Economics professor Teresa Ghilarducci authors this article for Forbes on the public policy barriers and remedies to closing the racial wealth gap. Ghilarducci points out that for the vast majority of lower and middle income retirement-age Americans, home equity, personal retirement savings, and Social Security are the largest components of wealth. While social security accounts for just 13% of the wealth gap between white and non-white workers of retirement age, housing and retirement savings make up the rest. Ghilarducci argues for baby bonds and universal pensions as two policies designed to build wealth in communities of color.

 

These Sisters With Sickle Cell Had Devastating - and Preventable - Strokes 

Gina Kolata of the New York Times tells the story of Kyra and Kami Jones, teenage sisters from San Antonio who have suffered multiple strokes as a result of sickle cell disease. Neither girl had received a simple screening test earlier in their lives that could have helped prevent the strokes. A third as many Americans have cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease that is of comparable seriousness to sickle cell but that primarily affects white children, yet it gets seven to 11 times the research funding per patient. Insurance, medical expertise, and logistical challenges negatively impact families seeking treatment.

 

The Sum of Our Parts 

The NPR podcast Code Switch looks into the phrase "people of color" and how it can demonstrate non-whiteness as a catchall while also discounting ethnicity. The hosts interview several people who would fit within the grouping, and some like the phrase because it provides a larger group identity, while others don't believe it's specific enough. "People of color" is a phrase born of political struggle, when groups of non-white people came together for social justice. The podcast also investigates the recent popularity of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) and looks at a study of cross-ethnic support for social causes based on people's identification with the phrase.

 

In the Shadow of George Floyd Square, the Minnesota Lynx Remain Steadfast in the Fight for Racial Justice 

Katie Barnes writes this article for ESPN on the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx and their players' activity around social justice over the last several years. The Lynx began calling attention to the killings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile in a Minneapolis suburb in 2016 and have continued to use their platforms to call for change. Barnes writes, "the Lynx -- as Black women, biracial women and white women -- have experienced the world differently but believe those differences can help lead to real and lasting change." Lynx coach and general manager Cheryl Reeve says, "there's just so many things in life you can learn if you actually step outside of yourself."

 

Racially Diverse CFOs Are in High Demand, But Challenges Persist 

The Wall Street Journal interviews several executives of publicly traded companies about efforts to increase diversity in c-suite positions. While CFO positions of top companies are typically occupied by white males, the percentage of racially diverse persons in these roles has increased from 3.5% in 2010 to 9.8% in 2020. A prominent recruiter says each of his executive searches "starts with a conversation about women and minorities." Pascal DesRoches, CFO of AT&T and brother of Rice Provost Reggie DesRoches, says that progress is being made, but it also will take time. "We are on a journey here."

Race in America

This week's edition of U.K.-based The Economist features George Floyd on the cover and focuses on race in America. The editorial board writes this piece on the state of the U.S. one year after Floyd was murdered. The board suggests embracing race-neutral policies that benefit poor Americans, such as child tax credits and relaxed zoning laws, while also acknowledging a need to consider race in hiring and college admissions practices. The article is free but requires an email registration.