Do the Work Ignore the Noise | Anna Blue President, AHLA Foundation ForWard

Here's a compelling description for your podcast episode with Anna Blue:

"In this inspiring episode of the Sustainable Hospitality Podcast, host Amy Wald sits down with Anna Blue, the dynamic president of the AHLA Foundation's Forward initiative. Anna brings over two decades of social impact leadership to her role, and she's on a mission to celebrate and elevate women in hospitality without leaving anyone (men) out of the equation or conversation!

Anna shares her journey from political campaigns to social impact work, and how she's now leveraging her experience to drive meaningful change in the hospitality industry. Listeners will gain insights into:

·       The Foundation's history and Anna's vision for its future

·       The power of the Forward initiative and its rapid growth

·       Why the hospitality industry desperately needs this momentum

·       The importance of including men in the conversation about women's advancement

·       How Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) can kickstart diversity efforts

·       The truth about DEI initiatives and their impact on business success

·       Practical advice for starting conversations about equality in your organization

From debunking myths about imposter syndrome to discussing the changing demographics of the workforce, Anna offers a candid and eye-opening perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing the hospitality industry.

Whether you're a hospitality professional looking to make a difference, or simply interested in the intersection of social impact and business, this episode is a must-listen. Tune in to learn how you can be part of the movement to create a more inclusive and equitable hospitality industry."

Join us in this meaningful conversation! We will see you on the inside.

Key Takeaways:

-       How Anna’s career really laid the groundwork for this work

-       How Forward is building a movement with

-       The setbacks DEI has faced as of late

-       What book Anna recommends reading 

-       What leaders such as IHG are doing 

-       If the hospitality industry is ready for this movement and will answer the call 

-       What Gen Z expects and how soon we will witness see first generation majority minorities 

-       What Gloria Steinem says about men and equity 

Quote: 

"We're seeing it work in some pretty incredible ways. At that first conference, there was 190 people in the room. And five conferences later, we have 900 people in the room. And we had 50% growth just over last year. So we're really seeing the need for this. There is such a huge need for these spaces and this vulnerability and these conversations to exist in our industry."

 Show Notes:

 www.ahlafoundation.org/forward/

https://www.ahlafoundation.org/our-people/


Sign up for the Sustainable Hotelier Insider: everything you need to know about sustainable hospitality industry news,  how to start to enhance your journey, frameworks to follow, and innovative products, technologies, and software!

https://www.greenluxeinc.com/newsletter

#Executiveleadership, #ERG, #CareerPlanning, #AHLA, #ForWard, #Equity, #Female Empowerment, #Inclusivity, #Partnership, #DEI, #Mentorship, #SeatAtTheTable, #TheRightNarrative

Transcript

00:00:04.331 --> 00:00:04.591
Well,

00:00:04.711 --> 00:00:05.993
welcome back everyone to another

00:00:06.113 --> 00:00:07.993
episode of the Sustainable

00:00:08.053 --> 00:00:09.474
Hospitality Podcast.

00:00:09.614 --> 00:00:12.474
And this episode is sponsored by GreenLux.

00:00:12.955 --> 00:00:15.476
Make sure that you go to our website,

00:00:15.737 --> 00:00:18.737
www.greenluxinc.com and

00:00:18.838 --> 00:00:19.917
sign up for our newsletter,

00:00:20.257 --> 00:00:21.359
bringing you all of the

00:00:21.379 --> 00:00:22.298
latest and greatest

00:00:22.359 --> 00:00:23.899
sustainable hospitality news.

00:00:24.679 --> 00:00:26.199
And in this episode,

00:00:26.359 --> 00:00:29.881
we are very excited to welcome Anna Blue.

00:00:30.681 --> 00:00:34.381
She is the president of the AHLA,

00:00:34.402 --> 00:00:35.862
it's always a tongue twister,

00:00:36.262 --> 00:00:37.423
American Hotel and Lodging

00:00:37.463 --> 00:00:39.883
Association's Foundation Forward.

00:00:40.463 --> 00:00:42.164
Forward is a foundation

00:00:42.223 --> 00:00:44.043
initiative to celebrate and

00:00:44.264 --> 00:00:46.405
elevate women in hospitality.

00:00:47.304 --> 00:00:49.185
Anna Blue brings more than

00:00:49.347 --> 00:00:50.768
two decades of social

00:00:50.868 --> 00:00:52.048
impact leadership to her

00:00:52.107 --> 00:00:54.130
role as the president of

00:00:54.210 --> 00:00:55.890
the AHLA Foundation.

00:00:56.411 --> 00:00:58.372
She's a seasoned executor

00:00:58.893 --> 00:00:59.834
and Anna's career has

00:00:59.933 --> 00:01:01.814
centered on advancing deep

00:01:01.994 --> 00:01:05.237
rooted systemic change in urban education,

00:01:05.677 --> 00:01:08.000
gender equity and human safety.

00:01:08.780 --> 00:01:10.501
In her executive leadership roles,

00:01:10.802 --> 00:01:11.503
Anna has built

00:01:11.602 --> 00:01:13.566
transformational impact and

00:01:13.646 --> 00:01:14.466
cause marketing

00:01:14.566 --> 00:01:16.528
partnerships with global brands,

00:01:17.009 --> 00:01:19.191
generated significant revenue growth,

00:01:19.531 --> 00:01:21.414
and mobilized communities

00:01:21.775 --> 00:01:22.775
to drive action.

00:01:23.736 --> 00:01:24.817
In this episode,

00:01:25.158 --> 00:01:26.058
we're going to break down

00:01:26.158 --> 00:01:27.899
how Anna's background has

00:01:28.099 --> 00:01:31.240
really helped to catapult this movement.

00:01:32.081 --> 00:01:32.861
We're going to talk about

00:01:32.882 --> 00:01:35.082
the Forward Mission and how

00:01:35.503 --> 00:01:37.043
they just recently had

00:01:37.103 --> 00:01:39.465
their conference in Chicago,

00:01:39.805 --> 00:01:41.546
called it The Right Narrative.

00:01:41.566 --> 00:01:42.927
And we're going to talk about that.

00:01:43.087 --> 00:01:44.548
I learned a lot from that conference.

00:01:45.168 --> 00:01:47.108
Why the industry desperately

00:01:47.188 --> 00:01:48.569
needs this momentum,

00:01:49.010 --> 00:01:50.430
but are they ready for it?

00:01:51.490 --> 00:01:54.091
and what an ERG is.

00:01:54.111 --> 00:01:56.072
I just learned this again at

00:01:56.111 --> 00:01:57.212
the conference and then

00:01:57.293 --> 00:01:59.173
great topics about DEI,

00:01:59.712 --> 00:02:02.013
what it is and what it isn't.

00:02:02.674 --> 00:02:04.254
But without further ado,

00:02:04.474 --> 00:02:06.094
I want to introduce Anna

00:02:06.295 --> 00:02:07.594
and say thank you so much

00:02:07.655 --> 00:02:08.955
for joining us this morning

00:02:09.056 --> 00:02:10.015
on the podcast.

00:02:10.695 --> 00:02:11.096
Absolutely.

00:02:11.135 --> 00:02:12.437
Well, thank you for having me.

00:02:12.856 --> 00:02:14.157
And that was a great

00:02:14.176 --> 00:02:15.317
reminder that I need to

00:02:15.377 --> 00:02:17.358
very much update and shorten my bio.

00:02:19.223 --> 00:02:20.245
They always sound longer

00:02:20.305 --> 00:02:23.167
when you're listening to your own.

00:02:23.587 --> 00:02:24.889
I don't think it's too long at all.

00:02:25.610 --> 00:02:25.870
Well,

00:02:25.990 --> 00:02:27.852
I know you're coming from DC and you

00:02:27.872 --> 00:02:28.992
have a busy schedule,

00:02:29.052 --> 00:02:31.174
so we're going to get right into it.

00:02:31.193 --> 00:02:32.915
And Anna,

00:02:33.075 --> 00:02:34.437
tell us a little bit about your

00:02:34.497 --> 00:02:35.258
background,

00:02:35.758 --> 00:02:37.860
how that really set you up to

00:02:37.939 --> 00:02:39.080
lead this charge.

00:02:39.521 --> 00:02:40.862
I can't wait to tell the audience,

00:02:40.943 --> 00:02:42.104
especially women,

00:02:42.123 --> 00:02:43.664
even though we are going to mention

00:02:44.466 --> 00:02:45.366
later on the show how

00:02:45.406 --> 00:02:46.787
important it is to have men

00:02:47.007 --> 00:02:47.806
at this table.

00:02:48.187 --> 00:02:49.587
But for all the women out

00:02:49.627 --> 00:02:50.288
there that are in the

00:02:50.348 --> 00:02:51.508
hospitality industry,

00:02:51.549 --> 00:02:53.349
this is such an amazing

00:02:53.509 --> 00:02:54.870
organization to become a part of.

00:02:54.930 --> 00:02:56.591
So I'm going to quit talking

00:02:56.670 --> 00:02:58.671
and tell us tell us about

00:02:58.711 --> 00:02:59.891
your background and how how

00:02:59.931 --> 00:03:02.212
it brought you to to this foundation.

00:03:02.552 --> 00:03:03.473
Yeah, absolutely.

00:03:03.873 --> 00:03:06.094
I do not have a hospitality background.

00:03:06.694 --> 00:03:09.376
My time in hospitality is about what's

00:03:10.276 --> 00:03:13.358
16 months now since maybe 17.

00:03:14.299 --> 00:03:16.219
So my background is in

00:03:17.099 --> 00:03:20.942
initially politics and running campaigns.

00:03:21.002 --> 00:03:22.043
I sort of did everything in

00:03:22.062 --> 00:03:23.402
the political spectrum,

00:03:23.563 --> 00:03:25.084
realized on the 2008

00:03:25.084 --> 00:03:26.245
presidential campaign that

00:03:26.264 --> 00:03:27.145
was not for me.

00:03:28.165 --> 00:03:29.826
DC is a little bit of an

00:03:30.046 --> 00:03:33.568
isolated kind of ivory tower of politics.

00:03:33.688 --> 00:03:35.569
And so I shifted gears and

00:03:35.610 --> 00:03:37.131
went into social impact and

00:03:37.151 --> 00:03:37.830
I've been doing social

00:03:37.850 --> 00:03:39.032
impact work ever since

00:03:39.822 --> 00:03:43.062
And, and regardless of the issues,

00:03:43.143 --> 00:03:43.402
you know,

00:03:43.443 --> 00:03:45.463
this is about building a movement.

00:03:45.544 --> 00:03:46.664
It's about building community.

00:03:46.724 --> 00:03:47.544
It's about getting people

00:03:47.604 --> 00:03:48.884
excited about something

00:03:48.925 --> 00:03:49.705
maybe they didn't know they

00:03:49.725 --> 00:03:50.806
were supposed to care about,

00:03:50.925 --> 00:03:51.787
or they just didn't know

00:03:51.866 --> 00:03:54.367
the history and the cultural context of.

00:03:54.527 --> 00:03:56.967
And, and we see so much, you know,

00:03:57.008 --> 00:03:58.149
social impact has changed

00:03:58.368 --> 00:04:00.389
so much with now, you know,

00:04:00.449 --> 00:04:01.750
you have the digital

00:04:01.810 --> 00:04:03.411
movements and the power of

00:04:03.510 --> 00:04:04.830
using the internet for good

00:04:04.991 --> 00:04:06.951
and for evil in,

00:04:07.171 --> 00:04:08.932
in building these movements and,

00:04:09.329 --> 00:04:11.450
You have very active younger

00:04:11.491 --> 00:04:12.953
generations who have access

00:04:12.973 --> 00:04:14.074
to their own kind of

00:04:14.215 --> 00:04:15.716
internal power and voice

00:04:15.856 --> 00:04:17.358
and ability to move change

00:04:17.478 --> 00:04:18.298
at a younger age.

00:04:18.379 --> 00:04:19.740
And so I've been very

00:04:19.800 --> 00:04:21.382
fortunate to kind of work

00:04:21.403 --> 00:04:22.845
within all of that and be

00:04:22.904 --> 00:04:25.266
part of a number of different movements,

00:04:25.387 --> 00:04:26.348
including a lot of the

00:04:26.369 --> 00:04:27.529
gender equity movements

00:04:27.550 --> 00:04:30.093
that we've seen in the past decade.

00:04:31.459 --> 00:04:33.120
And what I've realized in my

00:04:33.180 --> 00:04:34.461
career is if you want to

00:04:34.562 --> 00:04:37.766
really advance change on

00:04:37.826 --> 00:04:40.788
small levels to the large levels,

00:04:40.848 --> 00:04:42.110
you have to be where there

00:04:42.129 --> 00:04:44.291
are resources and access to

00:04:44.331 --> 00:04:45.173
decision makers.

00:04:45.574 --> 00:04:47.194
And when this opportunity came up,

00:04:47.896 --> 00:04:49.877
it was a recognition of both.

00:04:51.091 --> 00:04:52.894
that being part of HLA,

00:04:53.295 --> 00:04:53.997
working within the

00:04:54.076 --> 00:04:56.160
ecosystem of all of the

00:04:56.901 --> 00:04:58.903
different aspects of the hotel industry,

00:04:59.225 --> 00:05:00.908
but having access to the C-suite,

00:05:01.247 --> 00:05:02.730
to people who can move resources,

00:05:02.771 --> 00:05:03.732
to people who can make

00:05:03.771 --> 00:05:05.394
decisions on policies and

00:05:06.184 --> 00:05:07.745
and processes and all of those things,

00:05:08.065 --> 00:05:10.267
there's just a tremendous opportunity to,

00:05:10.928 --> 00:05:12.350
to do good in this industry

00:05:12.389 --> 00:05:13.391
and in industry that is

00:05:13.471 --> 00:05:14.973
already doing good in so many ways.

00:05:15.052 --> 00:05:15.613
I don't want to make it

00:05:15.634 --> 00:05:16.574
sound like I came in and

00:05:16.595 --> 00:05:19.197
made everything and like, now we're good.

00:05:19.216 --> 00:05:21.680
Um, there's already a lot here,

00:05:21.800 --> 00:05:23.622
but to align that as part

00:05:23.641 --> 00:05:24.682
of the association,

00:05:25.185 --> 00:05:26.084
bringing, you know,

00:05:26.285 --> 00:05:27.446
Marriott's doing incredible

00:05:27.485 --> 00:05:28.485
work over here and Ambridge

00:05:28.526 --> 00:05:29.706
is doing incredible work over here.

00:05:29.747 --> 00:05:31.266
But like, what if we pooled all of that?

00:05:31.348 --> 00:05:32.668
What if we bring everybody

00:05:32.747 --> 00:05:34.988
together to have collective impact?

00:05:35.389 --> 00:05:36.310
And that was what really

00:05:36.350 --> 00:05:38.129
struck me in this opportunity.

00:05:38.370 --> 00:05:39.870
And that's now how I got here.

00:05:41.596 --> 00:05:43.016
There was a mic drop moment in there.

00:05:43.076 --> 00:05:43.576
I'm sorry.

00:05:43.617 --> 00:05:45.418
I'm just going to say it right now,

00:05:45.478 --> 00:05:47.100
but you'll have to wait for that.

00:05:47.860 --> 00:05:48.880
We'll tease that out.

00:05:49.180 --> 00:05:50.641
That is incredible.

00:05:50.762 --> 00:05:51.862
And you're exactly right.

00:05:51.942 --> 00:05:53.685
I mean, it takes collaboration,

00:05:54.165 --> 00:05:55.245
co-creation,

00:05:55.745 --> 00:05:57.047
but I can't think of a better

00:05:57.107 --> 00:05:59.088
person to help drive this change.

00:05:59.848 --> 00:06:00.629
So Anna,

00:06:01.230 --> 00:06:03.411
was the foundation already created

00:06:03.591 --> 00:06:04.612
once you came in?

00:06:04.911 --> 00:06:05.932
So you took it over.

00:06:06.112 --> 00:06:08.134
How long has it been in existence?

00:06:09.281 --> 00:06:11.201
So this is gonna be the mic drop moment.

00:06:11.242 --> 00:06:12.163
The foundation has been

00:06:12.182 --> 00:06:14.324
around for 70 years.

00:06:17.646 --> 00:06:19.067
I remember when I heard that

00:06:19.228 --> 00:06:20.728
actually about like halfway

00:06:20.749 --> 00:06:21.569
through last year.

00:06:22.870 --> 00:06:23.391
So yeah,

00:06:23.411 --> 00:06:25.291
the foundation was incorporated in

00:06:25.312 --> 00:06:28.754
the 1950s and it for 60

00:06:28.754 --> 00:06:30.696
plus years operated purely

00:06:30.795 --> 00:06:31.776
as a scholarship fund.

00:06:32.096 --> 00:06:33.677
So we would raise small

00:06:33.718 --> 00:06:34.478
pockets of money from

00:06:34.517 --> 00:06:35.838
industry and then we would

00:06:35.899 --> 00:06:36.759
provide academic

00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:38.341
scholarships to universities

00:06:39.023 --> 00:06:40.644
serving hospitality students.

00:06:40.704 --> 00:06:41.545
And it kind of was just a

00:06:41.685 --> 00:06:42.745
rinse and repeat thing.

00:06:43.185 --> 00:06:46.367
And then my predecessor saw

00:06:46.427 --> 00:06:48.610
the opportunity to do a

00:06:48.649 --> 00:06:49.790
little bit more programmatically,

00:06:50.170 --> 00:06:51.211
to dig a little deeper,

00:06:51.932 --> 00:06:53.392
launch the apprenticeship program.

00:06:53.432 --> 00:06:55.334
So we work across about 12

00:06:55.334 --> 00:06:57.935
different programs at the

00:06:57.975 --> 00:07:00.197
foundation within workforce development.

00:07:00.877 --> 00:07:02.278
We added No Room for Trafficking,

00:07:02.338 --> 00:07:03.660
which is our anti-trafficking work.

00:07:04.355 --> 00:07:06.137
So the thing that I have

00:07:06.177 --> 00:07:07.737
done coming into all of

00:07:07.798 --> 00:07:09.120
that is sort of look across

00:07:09.160 --> 00:07:11.041
the board that the only thing I will say,

00:07:11.262 --> 00:07:12.322
and I have a huge amount of

00:07:12.382 --> 00:07:14.264
respect for everything that she built,

00:07:15.526 --> 00:07:17.788
is I'm the first person to

00:07:17.829 --> 00:07:19.110
run the foundation in 70

00:07:19.110 --> 00:07:20.331
years that actually has a

00:07:20.350 --> 00:07:21.331
nonprofit background.

00:07:21.351 --> 00:07:21.531
Yeah.

00:07:22.613 --> 00:07:23.915
So I was able to kind of

00:07:23.954 --> 00:07:25.076
move some pieces around.

00:07:25.096 --> 00:07:26.317
It's been a lot of change

00:07:26.396 --> 00:07:27.077
that we've been through.

00:07:27.117 --> 00:07:27.557
And thankfully,

00:07:27.577 --> 00:07:28.579
I have an incredible team

00:07:28.619 --> 00:07:29.819
that has been on board with that.

00:07:30.540 --> 00:07:32.622
But now Forward was not part

00:07:32.661 --> 00:07:33.362
of the foundation.

00:07:33.483 --> 00:07:35.264
Forward was an AHLA event.

00:07:35.403 --> 00:07:36.245
That's all it was.

00:07:36.365 --> 00:07:37.766
It was an event.

00:07:37.946 --> 00:07:38.906
The annual conference,

00:07:38.927 --> 00:07:39.627
as you just mentioned,

00:07:39.648 --> 00:07:40.928
that just happened in Chicago,

00:07:41.009 --> 00:07:43.290
that conference launched in 2018.

00:07:43.290 --> 00:07:44.250
And then the foundation

00:07:44.331 --> 00:07:46.372
completely separately had acquired

00:07:47.279 --> 00:07:48.360
the Castell initiative,

00:07:48.401 --> 00:07:49.420
which is Peggy Berg's

00:07:49.521 --> 00:07:51.422
legacy Castell sort of for

00:07:51.482 --> 00:07:53.322
women's leadership development,

00:07:53.843 --> 00:07:55.244
giving women more opportunities.

00:07:55.343 --> 00:07:57.185
And so when I came in, it was like, what,

00:07:58.144 --> 00:08:00.867
why, why are these living separately?

00:08:01.547 --> 00:08:02.588
So last fall,

00:08:02.747 --> 00:08:03.947
we actually brought all of

00:08:03.987 --> 00:08:05.749
that together under the foundation.

00:08:05.809 --> 00:08:06.829
So the large conference,

00:08:06.870 --> 00:08:08.069
we've launched regional events.

00:08:08.129 --> 00:08:09.190
We have the forward network.

00:08:09.850 --> 00:08:11.432
So we have a number of pieces now.

00:08:11.451 --> 00:08:12.471
I'm actually just going

00:08:12.512 --> 00:08:13.833
through and organizing all of it

00:08:14.687 --> 00:08:15.687
So there's it went from

00:08:15.728 --> 00:08:16.889
being sort of three things

00:08:17.029 --> 00:08:19.072
to eight things that now

00:08:19.112 --> 00:08:20.492
live under the forward umbrella.

00:08:20.512 --> 00:08:22.615
And so that's really what

00:08:22.636 --> 00:08:24.156
I've been able to come in and do.

00:08:24.218 --> 00:08:24.958
And because I have a

00:08:24.997 --> 00:08:26.300
background in almost a

00:08:26.319 --> 00:08:28.182
decade in gender equity work,

00:08:28.721 --> 00:08:29.983
it's been a lot of fun for

00:08:30.004 --> 00:08:30.944
me to sort of pick up the

00:08:30.985 --> 00:08:32.586
pieces and bring in what I know.

00:08:33.193 --> 00:08:34.835
and where my expertise is to

00:08:34.934 --> 00:08:35.936
lead this movement forward.

00:08:35.995 --> 00:08:37.336
And we're seeing it work in

00:08:37.477 --> 00:08:38.678
some pretty incredible ways.

00:08:39.698 --> 00:08:40.059
Wow.

00:08:40.700 --> 00:08:42.601
To know that that's just

00:08:42.642 --> 00:08:44.383
been happening since the

00:08:44.482 --> 00:08:47.024
fall is crazy because

00:08:47.105 --> 00:08:48.486
attending that conference,

00:08:49.744 --> 00:08:52.224
Honestly, you know, I'm a little green.

00:08:52.404 --> 00:08:53.965
I'm working on the supply side.

00:08:53.985 --> 00:08:55.565
I would have thought that

00:08:55.605 --> 00:08:56.924
was something that had been

00:08:56.965 --> 00:08:58.885
happening for years and years.

00:08:59.105 --> 00:09:01.586
So, oh my gosh, kudos to you.

00:09:01.785 --> 00:09:03.106
That shows the need, right?

00:09:03.167 --> 00:09:04.067
Like this conference,

00:09:04.147 --> 00:09:05.807
this was our annual conference.

00:09:05.846 --> 00:09:06.886
And I know you heard this in

00:09:06.927 --> 00:09:07.868
the room a lot.

00:09:08.028 --> 00:09:10.207
And at that first conference,

00:09:10.268 --> 00:09:12.347
there was 190 people in the room.

00:09:12.947 --> 00:09:15.369
And five conferences later, we have

00:09:16.907 --> 00:09:17.866
900 people in the room.

00:09:18.028 --> 00:09:20.628
And we had 50% growth just over last year.

00:09:20.727 --> 00:09:23.428
So we're really seeing the need for this.

00:09:23.489 --> 00:09:24.808
And we launched regional

00:09:24.869 --> 00:09:27.409
events this year and had

00:09:27.409 --> 00:09:28.629
300 people show up in Atlanta,

00:09:28.850 --> 00:09:29.711
some who drove from

00:09:29.730 --> 00:09:30.990
multiple states just for a

00:09:31.030 --> 00:09:33.011
two-hour program around Forward.

00:09:33.052 --> 00:09:34.152
There is such a huge

00:09:34.682 --> 00:09:36.481
need for these spaces and

00:09:36.562 --> 00:09:37.623
this vulnerability and

00:09:37.682 --> 00:09:38.903
these conversations to

00:09:38.962 --> 00:09:40.523
exist in our industry and

00:09:40.562 --> 00:09:41.582
we're really excited to be

00:09:41.623 --> 00:09:42.624
able to work with everybody

00:09:42.683 --> 00:09:44.063
to do that it's it's

00:09:44.323 --> 00:09:45.283
amazing and it's

00:09:45.323 --> 00:09:46.283
groundbreaking and I want

00:09:46.303 --> 00:09:47.624
to come back to that but I

00:09:47.663 --> 00:09:48.544
want to ask you really

00:09:48.585 --> 00:09:50.804
quick that's kind of off

00:09:50.884 --> 00:09:52.865
topic a little bit but it's

00:09:52.884 --> 00:09:53.885
something that's important

00:09:53.985 --> 00:09:55.706
to me to convey to our

00:09:55.846 --> 00:09:57.546
audience if we have people

00:09:57.905 --> 00:09:59.126
whatever industry you're in

00:09:59.147 --> 00:10:00.086
if for some reason you're

00:10:00.126 --> 00:10:00.746
listening to this

00:10:02.226 --> 00:10:02.447
You know,

00:10:02.506 --> 00:10:03.668
I think it's so interesting to

00:10:03.707 --> 00:10:07.130
look at people's careers over time and,

00:10:07.370 --> 00:10:11.094
you know, nonprofit working in, you know,

00:10:11.554 --> 00:10:15.658
social justice and equity work.

00:10:16.639 --> 00:10:19.922
How did you ever foresee

00:10:20.081 --> 00:10:22.183
this all coming together this way?

00:10:22.203 --> 00:10:24.264
Do you look back now and say

00:10:25.046 --> 00:10:26.307
every single one of those

00:10:26.386 --> 00:10:29.350
things was able to get me to this place?

00:10:31.464 --> 00:10:32.085
Yes to both.

00:10:32.125 --> 00:10:33.667
I did not foresee this at all.

00:10:34.628 --> 00:10:35.870
If you had said, yeah,

00:10:35.909 --> 00:10:37.211
you're going to go into the

00:10:37.591 --> 00:10:38.472
hotel industry,

00:10:38.493 --> 00:10:40.316
I would have been very

00:10:40.355 --> 00:10:41.636
confused by that statement.

00:10:42.918 --> 00:10:44.500
I always saw myself as sort

00:10:44.541 --> 00:10:45.982
of this activist person.

00:10:46.871 --> 00:10:48.833
on the ground, you know, leader.

00:10:48.953 --> 00:10:50.075
And what I've certainly

00:10:50.115 --> 00:10:51.076
learned in doing this work

00:10:51.115 --> 00:10:53.097
for so long is like, when I say activist,

00:10:53.258 --> 00:10:54.438
I'm not a protester.

00:10:54.599 --> 00:10:55.639
I don't go out with signs,

00:10:55.801 --> 00:10:56.902
hats off to people who do,

00:10:56.942 --> 00:10:58.163
but there's so many, you know,

00:10:58.263 --> 00:10:59.624
forms of activism and,

00:11:00.325 --> 00:11:01.225
but like building and

00:11:01.265 --> 00:11:02.466
leading movements has

00:11:02.506 --> 00:11:04.148
really been the thing that I love.

00:11:04.187 --> 00:11:04.708
It's been the most

00:11:04.769 --> 00:11:06.110
meaningful part of my career.

00:11:06.190 --> 00:11:07.591
And to do that in so many ways,

00:11:08.251 --> 00:11:10.735
to tie that to this like very buttoned up

00:11:11.567 --> 00:11:13.168
I don't mean politically conservative,

00:11:13.207 --> 00:11:14.509
but like conservative

00:11:14.609 --> 00:11:15.970
organization where you go

00:11:15.990 --> 00:11:16.951
to- Corporate world.

00:11:17.451 --> 00:11:19.011
Yeah, corporate world,

00:11:19.192 --> 00:11:20.812
all of the white guys in blue blazers.

00:11:20.893 --> 00:11:22.094
I talk about that all the time,

00:11:22.114 --> 00:11:22.855
but it's true.

00:11:23.014 --> 00:11:25.076
And they acknowledge it too, right?

00:11:25.115 --> 00:11:26.197
We see it everywhere.

00:11:27.038 --> 00:11:28.818
That's not where I saw myself,

00:11:28.879 --> 00:11:30.159
coming from the rooms of like,

00:11:30.865 --> 00:11:31.125
you know,

00:11:31.706 --> 00:11:33.287
Fortune's Most Powerful Women and

00:11:33.346 --> 00:11:34.327
TED Women and, you know,

00:11:34.388 --> 00:11:35.808
kind of being in those spaces.

00:11:36.048 --> 00:11:38.431
And now, like, this wasn't an industry,

00:11:38.551 --> 00:11:40.772
but it was a wake-up call, as I mentioned,

00:11:40.812 --> 00:11:42.472
of sort of like how change happens.

00:11:42.634 --> 00:11:43.033
And now...

00:11:44.601 --> 00:11:46.562
And so to your second question, yeah,

00:11:46.702 --> 00:11:46.942
it is.

00:11:47.023 --> 00:11:48.703
I look back at what I was

00:11:48.764 --> 00:11:49.943
able to do before,

00:11:50.063 --> 00:11:51.144
what I was able to move,

00:11:51.264 --> 00:11:52.424
but mostly what I was able,

00:11:53.105 --> 00:11:54.485
what I was not able to move forward,

00:11:54.525 --> 00:11:54.745
right?

00:11:54.865 --> 00:11:57.706
Like all of the things, the barriers,

00:11:57.807 --> 00:11:59.227
the lack of resources,

00:11:59.528 --> 00:12:01.109
the lack of decision makers,

00:12:01.168 --> 00:12:02.269
just all of those things.

00:12:02.328 --> 00:12:03.629
And every looking back at my

00:12:03.710 --> 00:12:04.950
career and every place that

00:12:05.791 --> 00:12:06.910
that social change got

00:12:07.051 --> 00:12:09.231
stuck and now being able to

00:12:09.272 --> 00:12:10.653
bring that into this role, um,

00:12:11.852 --> 00:12:13.681
has been huge and I think is

00:12:13.740 --> 00:12:14.905
what has made me so

00:12:14.946 --> 00:12:16.514
successful in just the past

00:12:16.533 --> 00:12:17.035
year and a half.

00:12:18.397 --> 00:12:20.038
I like to bring those points

00:12:20.178 --> 00:12:21.259
up because I think for a

00:12:21.320 --> 00:12:22.581
lot of us going through our careers,

00:12:22.620 --> 00:12:24.221
they zig and they zag and

00:12:24.241 --> 00:12:26.964
we sometimes lose faith in

00:12:27.043 --> 00:12:28.725
what the future can look like.

00:12:29.245 --> 00:12:30.826
But then when you, you know,

00:12:30.846 --> 00:12:32.087
and I don't want to say arrive,

00:12:32.128 --> 00:12:33.408
but when you land somewhere

00:12:33.450 --> 00:12:35.110
that really resonates with you,

00:12:35.311 --> 00:12:36.471
you're making an impact,

00:12:36.951 --> 00:12:38.833
then you're able to look back and say,

00:12:38.974 --> 00:12:39.494
oh my gosh,

00:12:39.533 --> 00:12:41.096
I'm so glad every single one

00:12:41.115 --> 00:12:42.157
of those steps happened.

00:12:42.197 --> 00:12:42.376
Yeah.

00:12:42.777 --> 00:12:43.977
So it's a reminder to

00:12:44.038 --> 00:12:45.500
wherever you are in your

00:12:45.580 --> 00:12:48.222
career and in your life, have the faith.

00:12:49.104 --> 00:12:52.126
Try to understand what you what those,

00:12:52.486 --> 00:12:52.988
you know,

00:12:53.628 --> 00:12:56.431
lessons you can take into your future.

00:12:56.530 --> 00:12:57.852
But anyway, moving on,

00:12:57.893 --> 00:12:59.193
let's let's keep it on

00:12:59.274 --> 00:13:00.836
track or else we'll be here all day.

00:13:00.895 --> 00:13:01.535
I'm known for that.

00:13:01.556 --> 00:13:02.517
So.

00:13:04.198 --> 00:13:06.240
Let's talk about the mission

00:13:06.259 --> 00:13:10.701
and that it's not just about women.

00:13:11.961 --> 00:13:13.081
We're moving women forward,

00:13:13.101 --> 00:13:14.221
but it's really important

00:13:14.241 --> 00:13:14.981
to have men there.

00:13:15.461 --> 00:13:16.581
And I want to talk about the

00:13:16.643 --> 00:13:17.423
right narrative.

00:13:17.442 --> 00:13:20.484
You know, that was the theme of Chicago's,

00:13:21.663 --> 00:13:22.604
which I think is so,

00:13:22.683 --> 00:13:24.284
it was such a cute play on words.

00:13:24.565 --> 00:13:26.245
Shouldn't use cute, not to downplay it,

00:13:26.284 --> 00:13:27.426
but it was a great play on

00:13:27.485 --> 00:13:29.025
words and it's so important to

00:13:29.346 --> 00:13:30.446
for women to be able to tell

00:13:30.485 --> 00:13:32.086
their stories and step up

00:13:32.126 --> 00:13:33.988
to those front lines and so

00:13:34.028 --> 00:13:35.048
take it away give us give

00:13:35.087 --> 00:13:36.948
us all the good stuff so

00:13:37.948 --> 00:13:40.590
women's any type of equity

00:13:40.610 --> 00:13:41.350
it actually doesn't even

00:13:41.870 --> 00:13:43.110
need to be gender anytime

00:13:43.150 --> 00:13:44.392
you're talking about equity

00:13:44.631 --> 00:13:46.192
equity for any group

00:13:46.272 --> 00:13:47.513
advances every group and

00:13:47.572 --> 00:13:48.572
that's what people don't

00:13:48.793 --> 00:13:51.734
understand and so there is

00:13:52.294 --> 00:13:53.315
for anybody listening to

00:13:53.355 --> 00:13:55.336
this michelle king has a

00:13:55.375 --> 00:13:57.596
book called the fix which is about um

00:13:59.155 --> 00:14:00.395
gender equity in the workplace,

00:14:00.436 --> 00:14:01.917
but it really plays to a

00:14:01.976 --> 00:14:04.498
larger system than that.

00:14:04.878 --> 00:14:06.197
But what this book lays out

00:14:06.238 --> 00:14:07.219
that I think nobody has

00:14:07.259 --> 00:14:08.639
really done is all of the

00:14:08.678 --> 00:14:12.460
ways that a lack of gender

00:14:12.519 --> 00:14:13.561
equity in the workplace

00:14:13.841 --> 00:14:16.101
actually impacts men and

00:14:16.142 --> 00:14:18.682
that men also suffer from

00:14:18.741 --> 00:14:20.283
many of those same systems.

00:14:20.874 --> 00:14:22.634
that were created decades

00:14:22.673 --> 00:14:23.735
and decades and decades ago

00:14:23.774 --> 00:14:25.595
and that just don't work anymore.

00:14:26.315 --> 00:14:27.455
So it's not just women.

00:14:28.075 --> 00:14:29.615
That lack of access and

00:14:29.635 --> 00:14:31.056
opportunity also impacts men.

00:14:31.096 --> 00:14:32.296
And most men don't think that.

00:14:32.336 --> 00:14:33.557
They think it's us versus them.

00:14:33.636 --> 00:14:34.697
And so having those

00:14:34.756 --> 00:14:35.897
conversations and bringing

00:14:35.937 --> 00:14:37.277
that perspective in of like

00:14:37.777 --> 00:14:39.898
when you advance one, you advance all,

00:14:39.957 --> 00:14:40.158
right?

00:14:40.457 --> 00:14:41.918
And how important that is.

00:14:42.357 --> 00:14:43.519
So men absolutely have to be

00:14:43.538 --> 00:14:44.058
a part of this.

00:14:44.198 --> 00:14:45.958
I remember I had one opportunity.

00:14:45.979 --> 00:14:46.999
I shared this at Forward

00:14:47.038 --> 00:14:49.799
last year to sit with Gloria Steinem

00:14:50.610 --> 00:14:53.672
And we each got to ask one question.

00:14:53.831 --> 00:14:55.913
And I said, what is the difference maker,

00:14:56.033 --> 00:14:56.234
right?

00:14:56.274 --> 00:14:57.153
You've been working for

00:14:57.214 --> 00:14:58.554
decades on this issue.

00:14:58.894 --> 00:15:00.576
You've done it in so many different ways.

00:15:01.056 --> 00:15:02.376
What makes a difference to

00:15:02.456 --> 00:15:03.977
truly moving the needle forward?

00:15:04.077 --> 00:15:04.958
And she said, men.

00:15:06.039 --> 00:15:06.360
She said,

00:15:06.399 --> 00:15:09.181
we cannot keep with the echo chamber.

00:15:09.201 --> 00:15:10.782
This has to be everybody.

00:15:11.023 --> 00:15:13.303
And that was so powerful to me.

00:15:13.364 --> 00:15:14.465
And so some of the most

00:15:14.544 --> 00:15:15.884
incredible conversations

00:15:15.926 --> 00:15:18.187
I've had around equity have been with

00:15:18.927 --> 00:15:20.889
with the white heterosexual

00:15:20.948 --> 00:15:23.090
men who are the- Blue Blazers.

00:15:23.730 --> 00:15:24.710
Yeah, the Blue Blazers.

00:15:26.831 --> 00:15:28.532
And that is such a powerful

00:15:28.572 --> 00:15:29.652
piece of it that we always

00:15:29.692 --> 00:15:30.591
wanna make sure that that

00:15:30.652 --> 00:15:32.033
is part of this conversation.

00:15:32.293 --> 00:15:34.653
And that if we are elevating

00:15:35.293 --> 00:15:37.215
and celebrating women in our industry,

00:15:37.315 --> 00:15:38.894
then the collective we who

00:15:38.955 --> 00:15:40.635
are doing that has to be everybody.

00:15:41.355 --> 00:15:41.475
Um,

00:15:41.674 --> 00:15:43.875
we can't all just like carry each other,

00:15:43.975 --> 00:15:45.376
although that's certainly part of it.

00:15:45.496 --> 00:15:47.297
So I love that piece of it,

00:15:47.517 --> 00:15:48.817
that the people coming up

00:15:48.878 --> 00:15:50.337
to me at conferences.

00:15:51.038 --> 00:15:52.259
And talking about forward

00:15:52.359 --> 00:15:54.120
are just as many men as women,

00:15:54.220 --> 00:15:55.740
even though at forward itself,

00:15:55.799 --> 00:15:57.400
there's 900 people.

00:15:57.480 --> 00:15:59.400
Most of them are women, the vast majority,

00:15:59.421 --> 00:16:02.062
like the guys who show up, they love it.

00:16:02.221 --> 00:16:03.423
And actually I had somebody

00:16:03.682 --> 00:16:06.344
HLA board member, um, who's the CEO.

00:16:07.241 --> 00:16:08.543
he was at Forward last year

00:16:08.722 --> 00:16:09.743
and he said that his

00:16:09.863 --> 00:16:12.563
thought leaving the conference was, wow,

00:16:12.644 --> 00:16:14.965
we need a conference like this for men.

00:16:15.566 --> 00:16:17.066
And it's because, and you know this,

00:16:17.105 --> 00:16:19.267
like the magic that happens in that room,

00:16:19.846 --> 00:16:21.087
there is vulnerability.

00:16:21.288 --> 00:16:22.708
We are having conversations

00:16:22.989 --> 00:16:24.789
publicly that other people aren't having.

00:16:24.870 --> 00:16:26.990
Like every conference is a

00:16:27.030 --> 00:16:28.150
rinse and repeat, right?

00:16:28.311 --> 00:16:28.770
And it is,

00:16:29.532 --> 00:16:30.351
we're all having those

00:16:30.371 --> 00:16:31.491
conversations and people

00:16:31.532 --> 00:16:32.692
are just talking and it's like,

00:16:34.082 --> 00:16:35.823
communication staff approved

00:16:35.884 --> 00:16:37.566
bullet points that you're allowed to say.

00:16:37.706 --> 00:16:39.027
And none of that existed forward.

00:16:39.126 --> 00:16:40.508
It is people's real stories

00:16:40.947 --> 00:16:41.889
and they are sharing their

00:16:41.928 --> 00:16:42.990
experience and perspectives.

00:16:43.009 --> 00:16:44.291
They're sharing their failures.

00:16:44.691 --> 00:16:45.971
And so for men to be like,

00:16:46.091 --> 00:16:47.993
I need more of that in my life,

00:16:48.013 --> 00:16:49.653
like we need to be able to do that.

00:16:50.215 --> 00:16:50.414
You know,

00:16:50.434 --> 00:16:51.296
I think forward has an

00:16:51.355 --> 00:16:53.456
opportunity to change how

00:16:53.496 --> 00:16:54.557
we do conferences as an

00:16:54.597 --> 00:16:55.619
industry for everybody.

00:16:55.678 --> 00:16:55.818
Like,

00:16:55.859 --> 00:16:56.940
I just think there's such an

00:16:57.000 --> 00:16:57.820
opportunity there.

00:16:58.080 --> 00:16:58.801
So, yeah.

00:16:59.701 --> 00:17:01.322
I couldn't agree more.

00:17:01.342 --> 00:17:01.482
Yeah.

00:17:02.481 --> 00:17:06.224
So why do you think the industry needs it?

00:17:06.345 --> 00:17:10.008
I mean, I'm setting you up here,

00:17:10.107 --> 00:17:14.191
but as with many industries, right?

00:17:14.290 --> 00:17:17.374
It's not just the hospitality industry,

00:17:17.413 --> 00:17:17.973
but, you know,

00:17:18.013 --> 00:17:21.056
maybe let's pick out a few

00:17:21.096 --> 00:17:23.698
of those crannies.

00:17:24.719 --> 00:17:25.940
And why is the time now?

00:17:25.960 --> 00:17:26.381
You know,

00:17:28.961 --> 00:17:30.703
what makes the industry ready for it?

00:17:31.751 --> 00:17:32.932
That's a great question that

00:17:33.794 --> 00:17:34.954
I'm still kind of trying to

00:17:35.055 --> 00:17:36.616
unpack a little bit because

00:17:36.636 --> 00:17:39.578
this we're sort of at the

00:17:39.638 --> 00:17:41.060
tail end of this wave and

00:17:41.101 --> 00:17:42.142
not that there's ever not a

00:17:42.182 --> 00:17:43.423
good time to have this

00:17:43.462 --> 00:17:45.044
conversation and journey.

00:17:45.104 --> 00:17:46.425
But it is interesting to me

00:17:46.526 --> 00:17:47.727
as I see all of my.

00:17:48.689 --> 00:17:50.150
friends and colleagues from

00:17:50.269 --> 00:17:51.470
the gender equity space

00:17:51.691 --> 00:17:54.791
sort of really struggle because publicly,

00:17:54.852 --> 00:17:56.692
like this isn't the thing anymore.

00:17:56.692 --> 00:17:58.273
10 years ago,

00:17:58.634 --> 00:17:59.994
every single major corporation,

00:18:00.035 --> 00:18:01.555
it doesn't matter what your brand was,

00:18:01.755 --> 00:18:03.036
everybody had like a girls

00:18:03.096 --> 00:18:03.936
and women's strategy.

00:18:03.997 --> 00:18:05.336
That was the thing.

00:18:05.916 --> 00:18:07.317
And now that's not what

00:18:07.357 --> 00:18:08.338
folks are talking about.

00:18:08.439 --> 00:18:09.459
And that's an unfortunate

00:18:09.519 --> 00:18:10.700
part of sort of being

00:18:10.740 --> 00:18:11.839
social impact-based is you

00:18:11.859 --> 00:18:13.040
have to ride these waves of

00:18:13.320 --> 00:18:14.481
like popular issues.

00:18:15.740 --> 00:18:15.900
Um,

00:18:16.119 --> 00:18:17.921
especially when there's intersection in

00:18:18.000 --> 00:18:20.163
all of them, but, but I would say,

00:18:20.222 --> 00:18:21.262
so it's interesting that like,

00:18:21.343 --> 00:18:22.844
this is where the industry is now.

00:18:22.923 --> 00:18:24.384
So we are late to the table.

00:18:24.605 --> 00:18:26.006
Like we're kind of showing

00:18:26.066 --> 00:18:27.405
up at dessert and that's okay.

00:18:27.465 --> 00:18:28.227
Cause we're showing up.

00:18:28.326 --> 00:18:29.007
So cool.

00:18:29.166 --> 00:18:30.327
I'm, I'm all for that.

00:18:30.748 --> 00:18:32.969
So why do we need that?

00:18:33.109 --> 00:18:34.289
Oh, for so many reasons.

00:18:34.390 --> 00:18:35.971
And, you know, I shared this at Forward.

00:18:36.171 --> 00:18:37.372
This has been a huge

00:18:37.632 --> 00:18:38.833
educational kind of

00:18:38.873 --> 00:18:41.013
learning moment for me because

00:18:41.876 --> 00:18:42.436
As I mentioned,

00:18:42.457 --> 00:18:44.159
I've been in all those rooms, right?

00:18:44.239 --> 00:18:46.779
I've been in the echo chamber for so long.

00:18:47.221 --> 00:18:48.260
I've sat with all of the

00:18:48.300 --> 00:18:49.801
people who passionately

00:18:49.862 --> 00:18:51.743
believe these same things.

00:18:51.804 --> 00:18:52.483
And we all brought in

00:18:52.523 --> 00:18:54.244
different perspectives and experiences.

00:18:54.885 --> 00:18:56.926
But we were talking about

00:18:56.967 --> 00:18:58.488
gender equity very much in

00:18:58.528 --> 00:18:59.868
the theoretical because we

00:18:59.909 --> 00:19:01.470
did it for work every single day.

00:19:02.191 --> 00:19:04.372
And so I didn't experience

00:19:04.511 --> 00:19:06.012
it in the same way that I

00:19:06.073 --> 00:19:07.733
was talking about it.

00:19:07.874 --> 00:19:09.335
Like I knew that it existed.

00:19:09.494 --> 00:19:11.696
And now I am in an industry and I myself,

00:19:12.511 --> 00:19:13.732
experience it often.

00:19:15.134 --> 00:19:18.356
I see in reality and in real

00:19:18.416 --> 00:19:20.838
time how far we are.

00:19:21.720 --> 00:19:22.800
And I think because I'm

00:19:22.820 --> 00:19:23.801
bringing in this unique

00:19:23.821 --> 00:19:26.124
perspective and background and such,

00:19:26.825 --> 00:19:28.125
my favorite thing is

00:19:28.326 --> 00:19:29.787
understanding the history of things.

00:19:30.127 --> 00:19:31.248
If we're going to talk about

00:19:31.608 --> 00:19:32.690
imposter syndrome,

00:19:32.710 --> 00:19:33.990
then let's understand what

00:19:34.030 --> 00:19:34.872
we're actually talking

00:19:34.932 --> 00:19:36.973
about and why we're talking about it.

00:19:37.894 --> 00:19:39.555
And what it means when we

00:19:39.615 --> 00:19:41.296
say we have imposter syndrome.

00:19:41.336 --> 00:19:42.176
Let's not just say it.

00:19:42.436 --> 00:19:45.199
So I think I'm now bringing

00:19:45.358 --> 00:19:46.799
in this perspective,

00:19:46.920 --> 00:19:48.000
but it also means that I

00:19:48.101 --> 00:19:49.961
see how far the gaps are

00:19:50.301 --> 00:19:51.943
and I can identify the gaps

00:19:51.983 --> 00:19:53.183
that other people probably

00:19:53.243 --> 00:19:55.066
don't identify in the same way.

00:19:55.826 --> 00:19:56.787
which is why I'm really

00:19:56.846 --> 00:19:58.248
excited to have the

00:19:58.327 --> 00:19:59.469
excitement and the energy

00:19:59.509 --> 00:20:00.470
around forward because if

00:20:00.509 --> 00:20:01.631
we can combine those two

00:20:01.691 --> 00:20:02.612
things let's have real

00:20:02.652 --> 00:20:04.534
conversations about the

00:20:04.574 --> 00:20:05.474
systems that need to be

00:20:05.535 --> 00:20:07.256
fixed let's have those

00:20:07.296 --> 00:20:08.656
conversations with women as

00:20:08.737 --> 00:20:10.558
much as men because in our

00:20:10.659 --> 00:20:12.461
industry women are very

00:20:12.500 --> 00:20:14.281
bought into these systems

00:20:14.321 --> 00:20:15.663
that exist that are holding

00:20:15.722 --> 00:20:16.884
them back without knowing

00:20:16.923 --> 00:20:18.125
it so like let's have this

00:20:18.165 --> 00:20:19.125
conversation with everybody

00:20:19.145 --> 00:20:20.106
because we all actually

00:20:20.146 --> 00:20:23.230
need to to be part of the groundswell

00:20:23.771 --> 00:20:25.673
to change some of these systems.

00:20:25.712 --> 00:20:26.574
So I think there's just a

00:20:26.634 --> 00:20:27.855
tremendous opportunity,

00:20:29.155 --> 00:20:30.297
but I didn't realize how

00:20:30.817 --> 00:20:33.219
big the gaps were before I came in here.

00:20:33.538 --> 00:20:36.580
So it's been a wake up call for me too.

00:20:37.682 --> 00:20:41.324
So for those listening, somebody may say,

00:20:41.344 --> 00:20:45.446
oh, we see all kinds of women executives.

00:20:45.907 --> 00:20:46.288
Yeah.

00:20:46.387 --> 00:20:47.328
There's no gap.

00:20:49.349 --> 00:20:50.431
How do you speak to that?

00:20:53.393 --> 00:20:53.633
I mean,

00:20:53.673 --> 00:20:54.873
I don't know what those people

00:20:54.913 --> 00:20:57.374
would be looking at to not see the gaps,

00:20:57.433 --> 00:20:57.753
right?

00:20:57.814 --> 00:20:58.494
I mean,

00:20:59.894 --> 00:21:01.455
there were so many wonderful things,

00:21:01.476 --> 00:21:02.996
and this is just an example

00:21:03.036 --> 00:21:04.056
because it just happened,

00:21:04.096 --> 00:21:05.017
so it's top of mind.

00:21:05.057 --> 00:21:07.196
But when you look at the big

00:21:07.277 --> 00:21:08.758
CEO panel that everybody

00:21:08.798 --> 00:21:10.978
was excited about at NYU,

00:21:11.338 --> 00:21:12.519
who was on that panel?

00:21:12.759 --> 00:21:14.159
It was a woman moderator

00:21:14.298 --> 00:21:15.440
who's outside industry,

00:21:15.500 --> 00:21:18.661
she's a journalist, and five white guys.

00:21:20.867 --> 00:21:22.890
gaps are everywhere um so

00:21:22.970 --> 00:21:24.029
certainly there are like

00:21:24.049 --> 00:21:24.990
significant gaps in

00:21:25.010 --> 00:21:26.051
leadership and those are

00:21:26.092 --> 00:21:27.593
the easiest to identify

00:21:27.633 --> 00:21:28.773
because you can go on folks

00:21:28.794 --> 00:21:30.335
website and literally just

00:21:30.355 --> 00:21:31.756
count people right like you

00:21:31.776 --> 00:21:34.778
can see um the percentage

00:21:34.817 --> 00:21:36.979
like how many women are

00:21:37.058 --> 00:21:40.442
chros versus ceos right

00:21:40.521 --> 00:21:41.923
because it's our job to

00:21:41.962 --> 00:21:43.063
take care of the people and

00:21:43.083 --> 00:21:45.045
nurture the people not to lead the people

00:21:45.865 --> 00:21:48.268
And so those biases just exist everywhere.

00:21:48.307 --> 00:21:49.188
And so like the C-suite,

00:21:49.228 --> 00:21:50.269
it's easy to see it because

00:21:50.288 --> 00:21:51.871
you can be like, nope, nope, nope, nope.

00:21:51.990 --> 00:21:52.411
Bingo.

00:21:52.570 --> 00:21:53.672
Nope, nope, nope, nope.

00:21:53.711 --> 00:21:54.212
There she is.

00:21:54.772 --> 00:21:58.195
But beyond that, like beyond that,

00:21:58.296 --> 00:21:59.596
it's in our systems and

00:21:59.636 --> 00:22:00.778
it's in our policies and

00:22:00.817 --> 00:22:02.019
it's in how we talk about

00:22:02.038 --> 00:22:02.880
this and it's in.

00:22:03.547 --> 00:22:03.846
you know,

00:22:04.027 --> 00:22:05.587
constantly telling women what

00:22:05.627 --> 00:22:06.948
they need in order to

00:22:07.008 --> 00:22:07.989
succeed when we're not

00:22:08.028 --> 00:22:09.169
telling men what they need

00:22:09.189 --> 00:22:10.069
in order to succeed.

00:22:10.130 --> 00:22:12.611
We're not telling men, go get mentors.

00:22:12.711 --> 00:22:13.730
You need more confidence.

00:22:13.810 --> 00:22:14.872
You have imposter syndrome.

00:22:14.892 --> 00:22:16.011
We're not telling men that

00:22:16.071 --> 00:22:17.173
we're telling women that,

00:22:17.272 --> 00:22:18.532
and women are believing it

00:22:19.053 --> 00:22:20.334
and taking ownership of that.

00:22:20.433 --> 00:22:21.855
And we are then becoming our

00:22:21.934 --> 00:22:23.375
own worst enemy in our heads.

00:22:24.236 --> 00:22:25.875
And sometimes to one another,

00:22:26.236 --> 00:22:27.557
because telling women that

00:22:27.576 --> 00:22:28.936
we're the problem also

00:22:29.038 --> 00:22:31.898
creates this weird competition and

00:22:33.208 --> 00:22:34.328
cattiness among women.

00:22:34.469 --> 00:22:34.910
And so,

00:22:35.089 --> 00:22:36.451
and it's pointed like the system

00:22:36.490 --> 00:22:37.592
was created this way.

00:22:37.711 --> 00:22:38.012
So,

00:22:38.853 --> 00:22:40.575
so the gaps are all of those things

00:22:40.615 --> 00:22:41.536
that we don't see.

00:22:41.596 --> 00:22:43.176
It's all of the microaggressions.

00:22:43.298 --> 00:22:45.539
It's all of the times that, you know,

00:22:45.700 --> 00:22:49.063
I come off stage and women are like, Oh,

00:22:49.143 --> 00:22:51.005
I love that you said this, or like,

00:22:51.045 --> 00:22:52.226
it's so fun to watch you.

00:22:52.605 --> 00:22:54.587
And men say things like, Hey, nice job.

00:22:54.667 --> 00:22:55.388
Good job up there.

00:22:55.429 --> 00:22:56.869
And it's a lot of like head padding,

00:22:56.930 --> 00:22:57.191
right?

00:22:57.250 --> 00:22:57.391
Like,

00:22:58.070 --> 00:22:58.892
All of those, you know,

00:22:58.971 --> 00:23:00.232
being asked who's watching

00:23:00.272 --> 00:23:01.173
my kids when I'm at

00:23:01.213 --> 00:23:02.394
conferences and on stage,

00:23:02.433 --> 00:23:04.955
like nobody's asking men that.

00:23:05.016 --> 00:23:07.877
So it's those things that

00:23:07.938 --> 00:23:09.038
really show the gaps,

00:23:09.680 --> 00:23:11.681
not just the gaps that are

00:23:11.740 --> 00:23:13.001
visible that we see that

00:23:13.162 --> 00:23:14.222
everybody acknowledges.

00:23:14.363 --> 00:23:15.604
Even all those men that you

00:23:15.644 --> 00:23:17.325
can count and point to, they know it.

00:23:17.765 --> 00:23:18.726
They acknowledge it.

00:23:19.227 --> 00:23:20.027
Are they fixing it?

00:23:20.446 --> 00:23:21.208
That's a different story.

00:23:22.252 --> 00:23:23.694
I loved the conference.

00:23:23.714 --> 00:23:24.817
That was the whole soapbox, I'm sorry.

00:23:24.856 --> 00:23:26.278
No, no, that's what I wanted.

00:23:26.298 --> 00:23:28.442
I mean, it was kind of a, you know,

00:23:29.944 --> 00:23:30.885
I was setting you up,

00:23:31.106 --> 00:23:33.190
but I knew you could handle it.

00:23:34.203 --> 00:23:35.384
I loved at the conference,

00:23:35.443 --> 00:23:38.546
and you said you always got the question,

00:23:38.846 --> 00:23:40.306
and maybe you still do,

00:23:41.066 --> 00:23:43.946
how do you juggle it all?

00:23:43.967 --> 00:23:48.429
A career, a mother, a wife, you know?

00:23:48.608 --> 00:23:50.670
And it's like, when you put it that way,

00:23:50.730 --> 00:23:53.290
it's like, it is how you've said.

00:23:53.351 --> 00:23:54.570
We have been conditioned.

00:23:54.590 --> 00:23:56.811
That is our role.

00:23:56.852 --> 00:23:57.852
And oh, yes,

00:23:58.011 --> 00:24:00.633
it's unbelievably challenging.

00:24:00.653 --> 00:24:00.813
Yeah.

00:24:02.874 --> 00:24:06.317
What did the CEO of Sage Hospitality,

00:24:06.938 --> 00:24:08.159
he actually was the one

00:24:08.200 --> 00:24:09.721
that had the right answer.

00:24:11.722 --> 00:24:13.203
He said it was because I have a wife,

00:24:13.324 --> 00:24:13.805
I think.

00:24:14.265 --> 00:24:14.546
Well,

00:24:14.566 --> 00:24:17.327
that's what happened at 2023 forward.

00:24:17.387 --> 00:24:17.709
And again,

00:24:17.769 --> 00:24:18.789
like these are eye-opening

00:24:18.829 --> 00:24:19.570
moments for me.

00:24:19.671 --> 00:24:20.230
Last year,

00:24:21.420 --> 00:24:23.020
we had this incredible panel of,

00:24:23.280 --> 00:24:25.240
of men in the industry and, um,

00:24:25.601 --> 00:24:26.781
and Nigel Barker,

00:24:27.662 --> 00:24:29.002
the fashion photographer,

00:24:29.202 --> 00:24:30.303
who is a good friend of mine,

00:24:30.623 --> 00:24:31.442
who's a huge women's

00:24:31.503 --> 00:24:33.384
advocate who is also now in industry.

00:24:33.443 --> 00:24:34.964
So I was like, Ooh, let's do that.

00:24:35.765 --> 00:24:38.185
And, um, and I asked everybody, cause I do,

00:24:38.326 --> 00:24:40.227
anytime I interview men, I say,

00:24:40.247 --> 00:24:42.787
how do you find your work-life balance?

00:24:42.846 --> 00:24:43.008
Right?

00:24:43.028 --> 00:24:43.827
Like, if you're going to ask me,

00:24:43.887 --> 00:24:44.587
I'm going to ask you and

00:24:45.627 --> 00:24:47.148
every one of them credited a woman.

00:24:48.604 --> 00:24:50.184
Every one of them, like unintentionally.

00:24:50.224 --> 00:24:51.546
And one of them called it out.

00:24:51.625 --> 00:24:52.967
Like the last one was like, oh,

00:24:53.027 --> 00:24:54.347
I realized what's happening here.

00:24:54.988 --> 00:24:58.131
And it was my nanny, my wife, my, you know,

00:24:58.171 --> 00:24:58.391
right?

00:24:58.431 --> 00:25:00.152
Like it is a woman that has

00:25:00.251 --> 00:25:01.573
set up the opportunity for

00:25:01.613 --> 00:25:02.913
me to not think about

00:25:02.973 --> 00:25:04.174
what's going on at home.

00:25:04.674 --> 00:25:06.056
And that's why we get asked

00:25:06.076 --> 00:25:07.037
the questions because the

00:25:07.076 --> 00:25:08.317
assumption is we are still

00:25:08.376 --> 00:25:09.557
responsible for what's

00:25:09.577 --> 00:25:11.098
going on at home wholly

00:25:11.480 --> 00:25:13.080
while we're also responsible for work.

00:25:13.401 --> 00:25:14.040
Whereas men,

00:25:14.060 --> 00:25:15.521
it is very much the assumption

00:25:15.541 --> 00:25:17.284
that somebody else is responsible for

00:25:18.044 --> 00:25:19.265
for what's going on at home

00:25:19.404 --> 00:25:21.326
and you are responsible for your career.

00:25:21.426 --> 00:25:23.208
And that's the difference in expectation.

00:25:23.288 --> 00:25:24.449
And that's why women are asked,

00:25:24.489 --> 00:25:25.109
but not men,

00:25:25.130 --> 00:25:26.330
because it would never occur

00:25:26.351 --> 00:25:29.993
to him to somebody to ask a CEO like, hey,

00:25:30.054 --> 00:25:32.276
like a male CEO, you know,

00:25:32.536 --> 00:25:33.696
who's home watching your kids?

00:25:33.717 --> 00:25:35.077
Because the assumption is his wife.

00:25:36.078 --> 00:25:37.800
But people don't assume my husband is,

00:25:37.961 --> 00:25:40.242
which is bananas because he's their dad.

00:25:42.464 --> 00:25:43.806
Should be watching them.

00:25:45.834 --> 00:25:48.255
good on you you you're

00:25:48.335 --> 00:25:50.057
living it and breathing it

00:25:52.018 --> 00:25:55.380
so you know what the growth

00:25:55.420 --> 00:25:56.500
we kind of touched on the

00:25:56.579 --> 00:25:58.781
growth that um you've seen

00:25:58.862 --> 00:26:01.163
coming on board yeah you

00:26:01.182 --> 00:26:02.844
know since seeing what what

00:26:02.864 --> 00:26:03.944
do you what do you look to

00:26:03.964 --> 00:26:07.247
the future and say this is

00:26:07.386 --> 00:26:08.547
this is what I want to see

00:26:11.023 --> 00:26:12.805
I want to see this make a

00:26:12.865 --> 00:26:13.845
difference in industry.

00:26:14.005 --> 00:26:17.246
I am so uninterested in

00:26:17.465 --> 00:26:19.646
performative actions.

00:26:20.327 --> 00:26:21.667
We're going to do this.

00:26:23.469 --> 00:26:25.088
And I don't usually say this publicly,

00:26:25.128 --> 00:26:26.210
but I'm going to say it on here.

00:26:27.809 --> 00:26:29.851
It drives me crazy that so

00:26:29.911 --> 00:26:31.192
many companies women's

00:26:31.251 --> 00:26:32.632
initiatives are run by

00:26:32.672 --> 00:26:33.712
their marketing department.

00:26:34.893 --> 00:26:37.013
Your CMO should not be

00:26:37.054 --> 00:26:38.034
driving your women in

00:26:38.134 --> 00:26:39.555
ownership initiative.

00:26:40.660 --> 00:26:42.401
but it's it is that like

00:26:42.461 --> 00:26:43.602
they can create a brand out

00:26:43.622 --> 00:26:44.561
of it and they can create a

00:26:44.602 --> 00:26:45.923
great video and and that

00:26:45.942 --> 00:26:46.722
doesn't mean there's not

00:26:46.762 --> 00:26:48.344
work being done but is that

00:26:48.403 --> 00:26:49.884
really the right person to

00:26:49.924 --> 00:26:51.925
get the work done or is

00:26:51.965 --> 00:26:52.926
this something you just

00:26:52.987 --> 00:26:54.346
want to be an external

00:26:54.666 --> 00:26:55.688
let's give it a name and a

00:26:55.748 --> 00:26:57.328
logo and celebrate it and

00:26:57.409 --> 00:26:59.230
so it's those things there

00:26:59.769 --> 00:27:01.151
like I want this work to

00:27:01.250 --> 00:27:02.550
matter to this industry

00:27:02.612 --> 00:27:03.412
because that's the only way

00:27:03.451 --> 00:27:04.251
that it's going to change

00:27:04.352 --> 00:27:07.134
and I see that like I see that it is um

00:27:08.327 --> 00:27:09.368
And I will just keep banging

00:27:09.388 --> 00:27:11.651
down all the doors till it happens.

00:27:12.070 --> 00:27:13.112
I'm very persistent.

00:27:14.452 --> 00:27:15.314
So that's, I mean,

00:27:15.334 --> 00:27:16.535
that's my hope is that we

00:27:16.575 --> 00:27:18.457
can look back at 10 years

00:27:18.477 --> 00:27:20.057
of Forward and say, wow,

00:27:20.878 --> 00:27:22.319
we have been able to do this.

00:27:22.359 --> 00:27:23.781
And we have lots of ideas

00:27:23.862 --> 00:27:25.542
about programmatic expansion,

00:27:26.564 --> 00:27:27.625
event expansion,

00:27:27.805 --> 00:27:29.866
creating more opportunities

00:27:29.926 --> 00:27:31.127
and ways for people to come

00:27:31.208 --> 00:27:33.170
together to have these conversations.

00:27:34.105 --> 00:27:35.486
And so I think Forward

00:27:35.546 --> 00:27:37.067
itself is going to explode

00:27:37.146 --> 00:27:38.548
from a present standpoint,

00:27:38.988 --> 00:27:40.789
but that has to be for something.

00:27:40.869 --> 00:27:41.569
So in the end,

00:27:41.650 --> 00:27:43.471
we have to be able to say 10

00:27:43.471 --> 00:27:44.152
years of Forward,

00:27:44.192 --> 00:27:45.512
here is everything that we've done.

00:27:45.633 --> 00:27:46.653
We still have a long way to

00:27:46.693 --> 00:27:48.035
go and that's cool, but like,

00:27:48.855 --> 00:27:50.115
here is everything that we've done.

00:27:50.215 --> 00:27:52.478
Here is what has changed in

00:27:52.518 --> 00:27:54.159
this industry in small ways

00:27:54.219 --> 00:27:55.619
and hopefully some big ways too.

00:27:55.819 --> 00:27:57.381
And that's what I'm most excited about.

00:27:58.375 --> 00:27:59.237
And I think what's so

00:27:59.317 --> 00:28:00.538
exciting about that too is

00:28:00.578 --> 00:28:01.640
we'll be able to, you know,

00:28:01.680 --> 00:28:03.722
we can measure that in metrics of course,

00:28:04.163 --> 00:28:05.025
but I think there's other

00:28:05.065 --> 00:28:06.145
ways we'll be able to

00:28:06.205 --> 00:28:07.147
measure it where you can't

00:28:07.188 --> 00:28:08.829
necessarily other things.

00:28:09.911 --> 00:28:10.151
You know,

00:28:10.471 --> 00:28:12.535
I am just such a believer in a

00:28:12.734 --> 00:28:14.257
woman running a hotel has

00:28:14.277 --> 00:28:15.337
such a different lens.

00:28:17.781 --> 00:28:19.182
And I'm sure a lot of people

00:28:19.762 --> 00:28:21.104
think about this or agree with this,

00:28:21.163 --> 00:28:22.084
but it just, you know,

00:28:22.124 --> 00:28:22.924
you flip the script.

00:28:22.944 --> 00:28:24.306
You think if there is a

00:28:24.365 --> 00:28:25.685
woman leading the charge,

00:28:26.047 --> 00:28:27.106
what different things are

00:28:27.146 --> 00:28:28.887
thought about are made a

00:28:28.907 --> 00:28:31.650
priority from the front of the house,

00:28:31.690 --> 00:28:32.750
back of the house, all of it.

00:28:34.111 --> 00:28:34.951
so there's a couple of

00:28:34.991 --> 00:28:36.952
things one that I learned

00:28:37.472 --> 00:28:39.355
many things I learned at uh

00:28:39.974 --> 00:28:42.517
but one of them was what is

00:28:42.717 --> 00:28:45.759
an erg yeah employee

00:28:45.838 --> 00:28:48.200
resource group yeah so

00:28:48.240 --> 00:28:49.201
let's talk about that a

00:28:49.240 --> 00:28:50.082
little bit I think this is

00:28:50.221 --> 00:28:53.084
such a practical tool that

00:28:53.104 --> 00:28:55.285
if an organization is like

00:28:55.644 --> 00:28:57.406
wow I'm behind I gotta get

00:28:57.547 --> 00:28:59.288
on I gotta get on this this

00:28:59.347 --> 00:29:00.648
is a great way to get

00:29:00.749 --> 00:29:01.990
started so would you mind

00:29:02.049 --> 00:29:03.730
telling us about that

00:29:04.250 --> 00:29:06.853
Yeah, ERGs, they're great.

00:29:07.512 --> 00:29:09.595
So often they're by some

00:29:09.654 --> 00:29:12.195
type of identity or demographic.

00:29:12.277 --> 00:29:17.019
So they might be the Latino,

00:29:17.119 --> 00:29:18.980
Hispanic sort of ERG.

00:29:19.320 --> 00:29:21.803
There might be one for Black employees,

00:29:22.022 --> 00:29:23.763
for women, which then, of course,

00:29:24.223 --> 00:29:26.746
women are also Latino and

00:29:26.826 --> 00:29:29.147
LGBTQ and Black and all of those.

00:29:29.188 --> 00:29:29.807
So there's a lot of

00:29:29.847 --> 00:29:31.009
intersectionality there.

00:29:31.128 --> 00:29:32.750
that tends to happen in the

00:29:32.789 --> 00:29:33.730
women's organization.

00:29:33.810 --> 00:29:34.811
Sometimes they're even by

00:29:34.932 --> 00:29:36.773
interest as well.

00:29:36.834 --> 00:29:38.654
I've seen that play out in companies,

00:29:38.734 --> 00:29:40.276
but it's it's creating a

00:29:40.336 --> 00:29:42.738
space as what I would hope

00:29:42.798 --> 00:29:43.798
is a safe space for

00:29:43.858 --> 00:29:45.059
employees to come together

00:29:45.180 --> 00:29:46.240
to talk about their sense

00:29:46.260 --> 00:29:47.642
of inclusivity and belonging,

00:29:47.721 --> 00:29:49.063
to talk about how to maybe

00:29:49.183 --> 00:29:50.644
create experiences and

00:29:50.664 --> 00:29:53.207
opportunities and moments to share

00:29:53.788 --> 00:29:56.190
culture or histories or

00:29:56.230 --> 00:29:57.971
context or information with

00:29:58.010 --> 00:29:59.751
the rest of of the

00:29:59.811 --> 00:30:01.993
employees who aren't part of that group.

00:30:02.933 --> 00:30:04.075
So they have they can

00:30:04.539 --> 00:30:05.960
they can really be wonderful.

00:30:06.039 --> 00:30:08.340
And having a moment to sort

00:30:08.381 --> 00:30:10.881
of come together just fully as yourself,

00:30:11.060 --> 00:30:12.101
as a part of something

00:30:12.340 --> 00:30:14.501
within the workplace where many people,

00:30:15.182 --> 00:30:17.882
for many reasons, are, you know,

00:30:18.563 --> 00:30:20.823
masking or they're kind of

00:30:20.883 --> 00:30:22.103
putting on their code

00:30:22.123 --> 00:30:23.403
switching or whatever it is

00:30:23.442 --> 00:30:23.983
that they're doing.

00:30:24.003 --> 00:30:25.463
So to be able to strip that away during,

00:30:26.163 --> 00:30:27.403
at some point during a work

00:30:27.423 --> 00:30:28.864
day or a work week is a

00:30:28.923 --> 00:30:30.944
huge gift to be able to give to employees,

00:30:30.984 --> 00:30:32.005
like show up as you are.

00:30:33.191 --> 00:30:34.913
for this and help us advance

00:30:35.452 --> 00:30:37.314
this information forward to

00:30:37.374 --> 00:30:37.974
everybody else.

00:30:37.994 --> 00:30:39.736
So we certainly see it.

00:30:41.057 --> 00:30:43.739
I was invited by IHG's Lean In Circle.

00:30:43.919 --> 00:30:45.700
So they have an ERG around

00:30:45.740 --> 00:30:47.000
sort of the lean in method,

00:30:47.321 --> 00:30:48.461
which was created to build

00:30:48.501 --> 00:30:49.343
this type of community.

00:30:49.383 --> 00:30:50.263
So it fits right in.

00:30:50.304 --> 00:30:52.625
And now Outrigger also has a

00:30:52.664 --> 00:30:55.666
lean in chapters as well.

00:30:55.708 --> 00:30:56.208
And so they're

00:30:56.798 --> 00:30:58.299
asking me to get involved in that.

00:30:58.359 --> 00:30:59.520
So we're seeing it play out

00:30:59.540 --> 00:31:00.582
in a lot of different ways

00:31:00.682 --> 00:31:01.423
and different companies

00:31:01.462 --> 00:31:02.284
have different approaches.

00:31:02.364 --> 00:31:03.105
I've worked with many

00:31:03.144 --> 00:31:04.145
different companies outside

00:31:04.185 --> 00:31:05.666
of the industry with their ERGs.

00:31:06.428 --> 00:31:07.689
What I always like to see

00:31:07.848 --> 00:31:08.890
with ERGs is like,

00:31:08.930 --> 00:31:10.271
that's a great place to start,

00:31:10.751 --> 00:31:12.814
but how are they, that can't be it.

00:31:13.055 --> 00:31:13.214
Like,

00:31:13.275 --> 00:31:14.455
we're just going to give you this

00:31:14.536 --> 00:31:17.159
thing and now you are,

00:31:17.739 --> 00:31:18.480
now you belong here.

00:31:18.579 --> 00:31:19.040
And it's like, woo!

00:31:19.692 --> 00:31:19.873
No,

00:31:21.213 --> 00:31:22.714
I shouldn't actually have to be

00:31:22.775 --> 00:31:23.755
separate to belong.

00:31:23.894 --> 00:31:25.076
So that doesn't make sense.

00:31:25.115 --> 00:31:26.537
So what I love to see,

00:31:26.576 --> 00:31:27.557
and we do see this

00:31:27.596 --> 00:31:29.778
certainly with a lot of the companies,

00:31:30.219 --> 00:31:33.700
but how is that then integrated?

00:31:33.720 --> 00:31:35.761
How are you opening up that

00:31:35.821 --> 00:31:37.342
content to other folks to

00:31:37.382 --> 00:31:39.503
learn and use that as an opportunity?

00:31:40.644 --> 00:31:42.265
So ERGs when they're run

00:31:42.325 --> 00:31:44.165
well are an incredibly

00:31:44.205 --> 00:31:45.747
powerful tool for a lot of reasons.

00:31:46.727 --> 00:31:47.567
And I'm glad that you

00:31:47.606 --> 00:31:49.847
mentioned that that's not, you know,

00:31:50.189 --> 00:31:51.949
there has to be more to it than that.

00:31:52.109 --> 00:31:53.410
I just thought that that is

00:31:53.450 --> 00:31:55.391
a really great way because

00:31:55.431 --> 00:31:56.471
I think probably

00:31:57.172 --> 00:31:59.452
organizations that are

00:31:59.492 --> 00:32:01.854
behind are thinking, oh, my gosh,

00:32:01.894 --> 00:32:02.994
where do I even start?

00:32:03.035 --> 00:32:04.134
So I thought that that's a

00:32:04.174 --> 00:32:05.935
good starting place, at least.

00:32:07.876 --> 00:32:10.438
So let's move into DEI-V.

00:32:10.857 --> 00:32:12.058
Yeah, all the way.

00:32:15.603 --> 00:32:17.804
Talk about the, again, I, you know,

00:32:17.845 --> 00:32:19.645
I continue to reference forward,

00:32:19.726 --> 00:32:21.346
but there were a lot of

00:32:21.386 --> 00:32:23.147
conversations about really

00:32:23.188 --> 00:32:24.808
great conversations about

00:32:25.128 --> 00:32:30.633
DEIB and also about what it is, of course,

00:32:30.732 --> 00:32:32.233
but what it isn't.

00:32:32.928 --> 00:32:34.068
I think it's so important

00:32:34.088 --> 00:32:34.969
for this conversation

00:32:35.028 --> 00:32:38.990
because we've gone through, as you said,

00:32:39.010 --> 00:32:42.031
a lot of change over the past decade.

00:32:42.372 --> 00:32:47.193
And now there's some bad publicity.

00:32:47.795 --> 00:32:49.434
It's really been politicized.

00:32:49.595 --> 00:32:52.576
And so let's talk about how

00:32:52.717 --> 00:32:53.797
you feel like an

00:32:53.856 --> 00:32:55.057
organization can really

00:32:55.137 --> 00:32:57.618
support that initiative and

00:32:57.858 --> 00:32:59.180
support it the right way.

00:32:59.200 --> 00:32:59.799
Yeah.

00:32:59.819 --> 00:32:59.920
Yeah.

00:33:00.902 --> 00:33:03.523
Yeah, the DEI, you know, diversity, equity,

00:33:03.584 --> 00:33:04.204
inclusion,

00:33:04.305 --> 00:33:05.445
and then you have people have

00:33:05.986 --> 00:33:07.027
access and belonging.

00:33:07.047 --> 00:33:08.807
There's lots of letters that

00:33:09.449 --> 00:33:10.449
are involved in it.

00:33:12.330 --> 00:33:13.211
It is an interesting

00:33:13.251 --> 00:33:14.853
conversation right now because, I mean,

00:33:14.873 --> 00:33:17.034
DEI has been around for a while now,

00:33:17.355 --> 00:33:18.154
not forever.

00:33:18.476 --> 00:33:19.455
It wasn't something that was

00:33:19.476 --> 00:33:20.416
really talked about when I

00:33:20.457 --> 00:33:21.357
first came into the

00:33:21.397 --> 00:33:24.000
workforce 20-something years ago,

00:33:24.099 --> 00:33:25.540
but it is.

00:33:25.580 --> 00:33:27.942
It's like a staple part of what we do,

00:33:28.083 --> 00:33:28.843
thinking about the

00:33:28.903 --> 00:33:30.664
experience that our employees are having.

00:33:31.249 --> 00:33:32.910
certainly not everybody does it.

00:33:32.970 --> 00:33:33.650
And there is a lot of

00:33:33.690 --> 00:33:35.151
controversy right now,

00:33:35.391 --> 00:33:36.490
like everything else,

00:33:36.631 --> 00:33:37.771
it's just caught up in

00:33:37.852 --> 00:33:39.593
ridiculous politics.

00:33:39.673 --> 00:33:40.573
Like that's all it is.

00:33:40.593 --> 00:33:43.253
And people are getting mad

00:33:43.314 --> 00:33:44.535
about words and people are

00:33:44.555 --> 00:33:45.694
filing lawsuits and there's

00:33:45.714 --> 00:33:46.955
a lot of sense of entitlement.

00:33:47.016 --> 00:33:48.336
And most of that is based on

00:33:48.375 --> 00:33:49.517
just a lack of knowledge

00:33:49.537 --> 00:33:52.417
and understanding of what it is.

00:33:52.438 --> 00:33:54.999
And, and this assumption that it's like,

00:33:55.548 --> 00:33:58.030
to help unqualified women

00:33:58.290 --> 00:34:00.011
and people of color get

00:34:00.392 --> 00:34:02.373
promoted over qualified white people.

00:34:02.452 --> 00:34:03.933
Like that's really what it is,

00:34:04.154 --> 00:34:05.515
is like the misinformation.

00:34:05.555 --> 00:34:06.256
That's not what it is.

00:34:06.296 --> 00:34:07.596
That's the misinformation.

00:34:08.356 --> 00:34:09.277
And that's what people have

00:34:09.297 --> 00:34:10.778
been using for a really long time.

00:34:10.818 --> 00:34:11.639
People use that same

00:34:11.699 --> 00:34:13.300
argument to fight affirmative action.

00:34:13.320 --> 00:34:14.280
I mean,

00:34:14.541 --> 00:34:16.202
we've been using this for a long time.

00:34:16.222 --> 00:34:18.304
And it's easy to use that to

00:34:18.364 --> 00:34:19.423
not have to do it.

00:34:19.764 --> 00:34:20.005
Right.

00:34:20.385 --> 00:34:20.804
Exactly.

00:34:20.824 --> 00:34:21.505
And yeah,

00:34:22.983 --> 00:34:24.268
And what it's failing to

00:34:25.030 --> 00:34:26.215
really address is that

00:34:27.025 --> 00:34:30.987
the idea of DEI, everybody has diversity,

00:34:31.347 --> 00:34:32.387
every single person.

00:34:32.447 --> 00:34:34.807
Diversity is not just gender,

00:34:35.507 --> 00:34:37.329
sexual orientation and preference,

00:34:37.969 --> 00:34:39.208
and a little bit of identity,

00:34:39.248 --> 00:34:40.009
which people don't really

00:34:40.028 --> 00:34:42.909
want to talk about, and race.

00:34:43.550 --> 00:34:44.730
And that's what we chalk it up to,

00:34:44.750 --> 00:34:46.150
because those are the hot button issues.

00:34:46.251 --> 00:34:48.990
But we do this whole

00:34:49.030 --> 00:34:50.271
dimensions of diversity thing.

00:34:50.291 --> 00:34:51.572
And it's this massive wheel

00:34:51.612 --> 00:34:52.851
that Korn Ferry produced.

00:34:52.992 --> 00:34:54.432
And it's really incredible.

00:34:55.679 --> 00:34:56.661
Like there is a diversity.

00:34:56.701 --> 00:34:57.661
If you're an extrovert and

00:34:57.702 --> 00:34:59.485
I'm an introvert, we are different.

00:34:59.625 --> 00:35:00.885
Like that is diversity.

00:35:00.965 --> 00:35:02.628
Like that is actually the fundamental,

00:35:02.728 --> 00:35:04.791
if you are, if part of your workday

00:35:05.682 --> 00:35:07.824
you are thinking about caregiving,

00:35:08.125 --> 00:35:11.648
whether it's a pet, a kid, a parent,

00:35:11.949 --> 00:35:12.688
whatever it is,

00:35:12.768 --> 00:35:13.809
if you are thinking about

00:35:13.989 --> 00:35:16.913
caregiving and somebody else isn't,

00:35:17.193 --> 00:35:18.293
that's diversity, right?

00:35:18.333 --> 00:35:20.496
Like where we are with our neurodiversity,

00:35:20.836 --> 00:35:22.878
how we think about things, our religion,

00:35:22.958 --> 00:35:24.039
our cultural diversity,

00:35:24.079 --> 00:35:25.179
there are so many different

00:35:25.199 --> 00:35:26.221
things that play into it.

00:35:26.501 --> 00:35:29.123
So DEI truly benefits everybody.

00:35:30.525 --> 00:35:31.945
But people don't see it that

00:35:31.985 --> 00:35:33.067
way because it's just been

00:35:33.186 --> 00:35:34.487
used as this political weapon.

00:35:34.568 --> 00:35:36.989
So what I like to encourage

00:35:37.030 --> 00:35:39.070
folks to do is like do the work,

00:35:39.331 --> 00:35:40.152
ignore the noise.

00:35:40.552 --> 00:35:40.791
Right.

00:35:41.331 --> 00:35:42.793
And we were even like I got

00:35:42.833 --> 00:35:43.474
caught up in the noise.

00:35:43.534 --> 00:35:44.835
We were having conversations

00:35:44.954 --> 00:35:46.795
internally as a foundation like, oh,

00:35:46.815 --> 00:35:48.456
do we just stop saying diversity,

00:35:48.496 --> 00:35:49.458
equity and inclusion if

00:35:49.498 --> 00:35:50.639
that's a hot button issue?

00:35:50.699 --> 00:35:53.260
Do we instead say access and opportunity?

00:35:53.280 --> 00:35:53.380
Right.

00:35:54.260 --> 00:35:55.782
And then I heard a speech by

00:35:55.842 --> 00:35:57.704
Stacey Abrams and she was

00:35:57.744 --> 00:35:59.726
talking about this and she said,

00:35:59.766 --> 00:36:00.626
while we're all in

00:36:00.686 --> 00:36:01.867
conference rooms figuring

00:36:02.047 --> 00:36:03.449
out what to call it,

00:36:04.070 --> 00:36:04.971
other people are in

00:36:05.010 --> 00:36:05.992
conference rooms figuring

00:36:06.072 --> 00:36:06.893
out how to stop it.

00:36:07.853 --> 00:36:08.414
And to me,

00:36:08.494 --> 00:36:10.096
that was the most important thing.

00:36:10.748 --> 00:36:12.047
Because, yeah,

00:36:12.168 --> 00:36:13.748
we're going to just call it the words.

00:36:13.909 --> 00:36:14.708
If that's what it is,

00:36:14.768 --> 00:36:15.748
that's what the work is.

00:36:16.009 --> 00:36:17.449
If it is about inclusion,

00:36:17.528 --> 00:36:18.449
if it's about equity,

00:36:18.489 --> 00:36:19.349
we're going to call it that

00:36:20.630 --> 00:36:21.590
so that we don't take our

00:36:21.650 --> 00:36:23.289
eye off the ball and focus

00:36:23.349 --> 00:36:24.351
on the wrong thing.

00:36:24.451 --> 00:36:27.010
And like language is not the right thing.

00:36:27.150 --> 00:36:28.431
The work is the right thing.

00:36:28.570 --> 00:36:28.831
So.

00:36:31.072 --> 00:36:31.652
So, yeah, I mean,

00:36:31.672 --> 00:36:33.692
I think that's what there's

00:36:33.731 --> 00:36:34.311
just a lot of

00:36:34.371 --> 00:36:35.713
misinformation and it and it

00:36:35.853 --> 00:36:36.472
benefits everyone.

00:36:38.282 --> 00:36:39.889
Everybody at benefits the culture.

00:36:39.909 --> 00:36:41.195
I mean, there are.

00:36:42.514 --> 00:36:45.096
countless studies everybody

00:36:45.135 --> 00:36:46.775
has looked into this both

00:36:46.856 --> 00:36:48.016
to try to support it and

00:36:48.076 --> 00:36:49.297
also to try to prove that

00:36:49.336 --> 00:36:51.056
it doesn't work every study

00:36:51.097 --> 00:36:52.237
comes back the same like

00:36:52.717 --> 00:36:55.057
inclusivity equity access

00:36:55.117 --> 00:36:56.778
opportunity diversity all

00:36:56.798 --> 00:36:57.918
of those are better for the

00:36:57.958 --> 00:36:58.818
business and the bottom

00:36:58.838 --> 00:37:00.498
line period like it is

00:37:00.619 --> 00:37:03.340
undisputed so it's even so

00:37:03.380 --> 00:37:04.440
it's silly that we even

00:37:04.500 --> 00:37:06.460
have this conversation but

00:37:06.521 --> 00:37:07.400
it's the political noise

00:37:07.460 --> 00:37:08.521
like that's what's forcing

00:37:08.581 --> 00:37:10.081
us to have this conversation like if

00:37:10.902 --> 00:37:12.543
If wearing red on Tuesday

00:37:12.842 --> 00:37:13.862
made companies more

00:37:13.922 --> 00:37:15.222
successful unequivocally

00:37:15.262 --> 00:37:16.324
and there was proven data

00:37:16.364 --> 00:37:17.403
that wearing red on Tuesday

00:37:17.423 --> 00:37:19.724
is like we would all wear red on Tuesday.

00:37:19.804 --> 00:37:21.664
It would be part of a company policy.

00:37:22.045 --> 00:37:23.626
That just is what it is.

00:37:24.166 --> 00:37:25.686
But because it's got all

00:37:25.726 --> 00:37:27.786
this other stuff and politics involved,

00:37:27.927 --> 00:37:30.068
like that's why we're here.

00:37:31.300 --> 00:37:34.181
And you know, population is changing.

00:37:34.420 --> 00:37:37.880
Everyone, statistics are changing.

00:37:38.601 --> 00:37:39.802
You're going to wake up one

00:37:39.882 --> 00:37:41.342
day and it's going to be like,

00:37:41.461 --> 00:37:42.121
wait a minute.

00:37:43.202 --> 00:37:43.862
What, what?

00:37:44.882 --> 00:37:47.603
I am really, really unprepared for this.

00:37:47.963 --> 00:37:48.943
So, um,

00:37:49.384 --> 00:37:51.184
it's going to happen whether you

00:37:51.204 --> 00:37:52.023
like it or not.

00:37:52.423 --> 00:37:54.985
We are not a country of, um,

00:37:55.445 --> 00:37:57.465
like Europeans anymore.

00:37:57.485 --> 00:37:58.365
Yeah.

00:37:58.425 --> 00:37:59.925
And it's changing now.

00:38:00.065 --> 00:38:00.286
I mean,

00:38:01.322 --> 00:38:02.784
In 2026,

00:38:02.784 --> 00:38:05.007
Gen Z will become the first

00:38:05.889 --> 00:38:10.016
generation that is a majority non-white.

00:38:11.152 --> 00:38:12.753
2026.

00:38:11.172 --> 00:38:12.753
That's tomorrow.

00:38:13.414 --> 00:38:16.056
So it's not like it's 30

00:38:16.056 --> 00:38:19.038
years from now this is going to happen,

00:38:19.097 --> 00:38:20.719
which means Gen Alpha is

00:38:20.778 --> 00:38:21.559
right behind them.

00:38:22.960 --> 00:38:24.722
And we'll hit that much sooner.

00:38:24.961 --> 00:38:26.762
So by 2026,

00:38:26.762 --> 00:38:27.802
that generation will be the

00:38:27.842 --> 00:38:29.403
first generation in America

00:38:29.443 --> 00:38:31.184
that is a majority non-white.

00:38:31.885 --> 00:38:33.166
So yeah, it's a reckoning.

00:38:33.226 --> 00:38:34.286
This is the future.

00:38:34.427 --> 00:38:36.329
We're not going to stop it at this point.

00:38:36.349 --> 00:38:36.528
That's

00:38:38.690 --> 00:38:39.791
which means the workplace is

00:38:39.811 --> 00:38:41.032
going to show up that way

00:38:41.532 --> 00:38:42.432
every place is going to

00:38:42.472 --> 00:38:44.474
show up that way and how

00:38:44.494 --> 00:38:45.434
long are we going to fight

00:38:45.474 --> 00:38:46.916
it probably too long but

00:38:47.516 --> 00:38:49.338
here we are here we are but

00:38:49.358 --> 00:38:49.898
we're having the

00:38:49.938 --> 00:38:52.219
conversation you're pushing

00:38:52.260 --> 00:38:53.581
this into conversations

00:38:54.161 --> 00:38:55.561
into one of you know

00:38:56.586 --> 00:38:57.487
we wouldn't work in the

00:38:57.547 --> 00:38:58.708
hospitality industry if we

00:38:58.728 --> 00:38:59.829
didn't believe in it.

00:39:00.570 --> 00:39:02.130
But I think it is the most

00:39:02.251 --> 00:39:03.972
influential industry on the

00:39:04.032 --> 00:39:05.534
planet and it has the

00:39:05.594 --> 00:39:07.815
ability to do so much good.

00:39:08.315 --> 00:39:11.237
So I think we are right on

00:39:11.338 --> 00:39:12.860
time in the sense that

00:39:13.340 --> 00:39:14.340
they're ready for it.

00:39:15.601 --> 00:39:17.202
And there's enough momentum.

00:39:18.324 --> 00:39:20.505
So I know we talked about a

00:39:20.545 --> 00:39:22.047
little bit about an ERG and

00:39:22.086 --> 00:39:24.188
how that could help someone get started,

00:39:24.248 --> 00:39:24.429
but

00:39:25.583 --> 00:39:26.702
What is your advice?

00:39:27.204 --> 00:39:31.965
What do those board meetings look like?

00:39:32.606 --> 00:39:34.306
What do those executive

00:39:34.365 --> 00:39:35.407
committees look like?

00:39:36.626 --> 00:39:38.387
How can these conversations

00:39:38.467 --> 00:39:40.809
start to take place and

00:39:40.889 --> 00:39:43.070
then actually action happen?

00:39:43.952 --> 00:39:44.273
Yeah.

00:39:44.592 --> 00:39:47.514
Thankfully, I think for the most part,

00:39:47.695 --> 00:39:49.295
at least the conversation

00:39:49.375 --> 00:39:51.295
or the willingness to be

00:39:51.476 --> 00:39:54.018
open to the dialogue, like we're there,

00:39:55.498 --> 00:39:56.719
which is really important.

00:39:57.099 --> 00:39:58.539
And again, if we're going to,

00:39:58.800 --> 00:39:59.920
and this is true with anything,

00:39:59.960 --> 00:40:01.181
if you believe in something

00:40:01.240 --> 00:40:02.101
and you are trying to

00:40:02.161 --> 00:40:03.561
convince somebody of anything,

00:40:03.621 --> 00:40:05.041
like it has to come from an

00:40:05.603 --> 00:40:06.782
educated perspective.

00:40:06.842 --> 00:40:08.143
Like this isn't just,

00:40:08.983 --> 00:40:11.085
us being like, this has to change.

00:40:11.164 --> 00:40:11.824
It's like, why?

00:40:11.965 --> 00:40:13.005
How did we get here?

00:40:13.864 --> 00:40:15.704
Because then we're also all responsible.

00:40:15.784 --> 00:40:17.626
We're not just saying it's us versus them.

00:40:17.666 --> 00:40:19.985
There's no us versus them in any of this.

00:40:20.126 --> 00:40:20.746
This is like,

00:40:21.005 --> 00:40:22.266
we are responsible for the

00:40:22.327 --> 00:40:23.786
systems that we work in and

00:40:23.887 --> 00:40:25.746
we collectively need to change them.

00:40:25.786 --> 00:40:27.248
And people are open to that

00:40:27.347 --> 00:40:29.427
conversation and that way forward.

00:40:31.088 --> 00:40:31.969
And that's why I always like

00:40:31.989 --> 00:40:32.668
to school people.

00:40:32.708 --> 00:40:34.009
Like if we're going to talk about this,

00:40:34.048 --> 00:40:35.449
like I said about imposter syndrome,

00:40:35.469 --> 00:40:36.050
like if you're going to

00:40:36.090 --> 00:40:37.489
tell me you have imposter syndrome,

00:40:37.610 --> 00:40:38.030
or if you

00:40:38.907 --> 00:40:39.849
white guy in a blue blazer

00:40:39.889 --> 00:40:41.050
are going to tell your

00:40:41.429 --> 00:40:42.371
women on your team they

00:40:42.411 --> 00:40:43.512
have imposter syndrome like

00:40:43.552 --> 00:40:44.672
we need to understand what

00:40:44.693 --> 00:40:45.833
it is and how we got here

00:40:45.893 --> 00:40:46.815
and what you're actually

00:40:46.914 --> 00:40:48.916
saying um and I think

00:40:48.936 --> 00:40:50.137
that's a really important

00:40:50.737 --> 00:40:52.400
moment and opportunity for

00:40:52.500 --> 00:40:54.121
us to just keep the

00:40:54.161 --> 00:40:55.402
dialogue going you know as

00:40:55.442 --> 00:40:56.583
you mentioned the theme of

00:40:56.603 --> 00:40:57.503
the conference was right

00:40:57.543 --> 00:40:59.606
the narrative and it's right R-I-G-H-T

00:41:00.465 --> 00:41:01.847
Like we have to change how

00:41:01.867 --> 00:41:02.788
we're talking about this.

00:41:02.827 --> 00:41:03.829
We have to change whose

00:41:03.889 --> 00:41:05.871
voices are part of the conversation.

00:41:06.271 --> 00:41:07.831
And it's not to swap them out.

00:41:08.193 --> 00:41:09.974
It's to actually open it up

00:41:10.114 --> 00:41:11.375
and make sure that we're

00:41:11.394 --> 00:41:12.775
having a broader dialogue

00:41:12.815 --> 00:41:16.119
and add more right to the to the table.

00:41:16.139 --> 00:41:18.340
A balanced narrative is is

00:41:18.400 --> 00:41:19.621
really what we're looking for.

00:41:19.722 --> 00:41:22.503
And so and then and yeah,

00:41:22.543 --> 00:41:23.985
then that's the moving to action.

00:41:24.065 --> 00:41:26.666
And here's where we do run

00:41:26.728 --> 00:41:29.009
into a little bit of a thicker wall.

00:41:31.516 --> 00:41:32.777
Because what we're asking

00:41:32.856 --> 00:41:34.697
for does challenge current

00:41:34.737 --> 00:41:37.358
systems of power structures, right?

00:41:37.858 --> 00:41:40.579
That's what we are challenging.

00:41:40.739 --> 00:41:46.320
Once you have a woman CEO who kicks ass,

00:41:46.860 --> 00:41:48.101
that opens the door for

00:41:48.280 --> 00:41:50.722
other women CEOs to kick ass.

00:41:52.327 --> 00:41:53.608
And that challenges the

00:41:53.648 --> 00:41:55.769
current power structure that we know it.

00:41:55.809 --> 00:41:56.791
And nobody wants to have

00:41:56.831 --> 00:41:57.990
that conversation because

00:41:58.010 --> 00:42:00.413
that's when it's not just like, oh,

00:42:00.472 --> 00:42:02.315
we should make sure they

00:42:02.394 --> 00:42:03.815
have access and opportunity,

00:42:03.936 --> 00:42:05.476
but actually like this

00:42:05.637 --> 00:42:07.318
boardroom will look different.

00:42:08.099 --> 00:42:09.400
And that's where it starts

00:42:09.440 --> 00:42:10.240
to get a little bit.

00:42:10.784 --> 00:42:13.606
hard for people and why we

00:42:13.666 --> 00:42:14.967
see a lot of this progress

00:42:15.266 --> 00:42:17.128
sort of stall at a certain level.

00:42:18.148 --> 00:42:19.769
But if you create enough of

00:42:19.809 --> 00:42:21.130
a groundswell and enough of

00:42:21.170 --> 00:42:22.371
a momentum and enough

00:42:22.411 --> 00:42:23.831
dialogue and education and

00:42:23.891 --> 00:42:25.112
all of those things around them,

00:42:25.132 --> 00:42:26.353
it doesn't have to be a fight,

00:42:26.893 --> 00:42:28.215
but it is it does take time.

00:42:29.335 --> 00:42:31.215
So we have to action where we can,

00:42:31.436 --> 00:42:32.237
knowing that there are

00:42:32.336 --> 00:42:33.496
ultimate bigger goals.

00:42:35.759 --> 00:42:36.778
But if there is a better

00:42:36.858 --> 00:42:37.960
path to get there,

00:42:39.541 --> 00:42:41.065
it's like the presidency, right?

00:42:41.105 --> 00:42:42.447
Like the second you see it

00:42:42.487 --> 00:42:44.510
being an opportunity,

00:42:44.952 --> 00:42:46.474
once there is a path to get there,

00:42:46.534 --> 00:42:48.217
then more people can get on that path.

00:42:49.099 --> 00:42:50.181
But not all companies have

00:42:50.240 --> 00:42:51.322
that path right now.

00:42:51.362 --> 00:42:52.545
When we're still seeing

00:42:53.052 --> 00:42:55.373
the announcements of in 2024,

00:42:55.373 --> 00:42:59.838
that this is the first female brand CEO,

00:43:00.018 --> 00:43:00.318
right?

00:43:00.378 --> 00:43:01.960
Last year, Juliero Smith,

00:43:02.380 --> 00:43:04.282
like those are still announcements.

00:43:04.922 --> 00:43:06.483
And so there are still lots

00:43:06.543 --> 00:43:09.847
of paths to carve before we

00:43:09.867 --> 00:43:11.829
get to full systemic change

00:43:11.869 --> 00:43:12.510
at that level.

00:43:14.030 --> 00:43:15.952
But the groundswell is where we are now,

00:43:16.233 --> 00:43:17.094
and that's where we're

00:43:17.114 --> 00:43:19.376
seeing the opportunity.

00:43:20.559 --> 00:43:23.063
So if you were an associate

00:43:23.202 --> 00:43:27.909
at a hotel and you wanted

00:43:27.949 --> 00:43:30.771
to start this conversation,

00:43:32.012 --> 00:43:33.855
what kind of advice would

00:43:33.896 --> 00:43:35.056
you give someone?

00:43:35.157 --> 00:43:35.958
Where to start?

00:43:36.739 --> 00:43:37.860
Who to start it with?

00:43:37.980 --> 00:43:38.840
What to say?

00:43:39.911 --> 00:43:42.074
Yeah, I would start with your peers.

00:43:42.393 --> 00:43:44.396
I would start having

00:43:44.456 --> 00:43:47.117
conversations to find

00:43:47.197 --> 00:43:50.501
commonality and experience to, one,

00:43:50.581 --> 00:43:52.302
just become a safe space for one another.

00:43:52.362 --> 00:43:53.702
If you don't have an ERG,

00:43:54.384 --> 00:43:56.125
start a version of that, right?

00:43:56.726 --> 00:43:58.347
This is where women are brilliant.

00:43:58.487 --> 00:44:00.869
Our ability to create community, I mean,

00:44:00.889 --> 00:44:01.750
you think about sewing

00:44:01.809 --> 00:44:03.130
circles and Tupperware parties,

00:44:03.170 --> 00:44:04.532
we've been doing this forever.

00:44:04.652 --> 00:44:07.275
Our ability to create community is real.

00:44:08.094 --> 00:44:10.536
And so like start that with

00:44:10.556 --> 00:44:11.516
your peers and share

00:44:11.577 --> 00:44:14.378
experiences and start then

00:44:14.418 --> 00:44:16.239
looking into like what is

00:44:16.378 --> 00:44:18.420
creating those experiences, right?

00:44:18.460 --> 00:44:20.021
It's not just, oh,

00:44:20.141 --> 00:44:21.740
this manager is this way.

00:44:21.840 --> 00:44:22.282
Typically,

00:44:22.342 --> 00:44:24.382
like this is part of a bigger system.

00:44:25.123 --> 00:44:26.864
So like start to identify

00:44:26.903 --> 00:44:27.844
those and start with your

00:44:27.884 --> 00:44:30.405
peers because the more again,

00:44:30.445 --> 00:44:31.706
like it's the groundswell, right?

00:44:31.766 --> 00:44:33.666
When one person goes to one person,

00:44:34.646 --> 00:44:36.228
one thing might happen, maybe.

00:44:37.351 --> 00:44:39.972
when collectively you go to a person,

00:44:40.112 --> 00:44:41.514
it's a different conversation.

00:44:41.813 --> 00:44:42.373
And so,

00:44:42.873 --> 00:44:44.215
and collectively you can go to more

00:44:44.255 --> 00:44:44.954
than one person.

00:44:45.434 --> 00:44:47.476
So it's really just about, I would say,

00:44:47.536 --> 00:44:49.157
always start with building community.

00:44:49.657 --> 00:44:51.737
And it's not like, this is my fight,

00:44:51.797 --> 00:44:52.858
I'm gonna get you on board.

00:44:52.958 --> 00:44:53.318
It's like,

00:44:53.478 --> 00:44:54.759
what are we actually dealing with?

00:44:54.858 --> 00:44:56.119
What are we experiencing?

00:44:56.280 --> 00:44:57.340
Where does this come from?

00:44:57.360 --> 00:45:00.322
And then solutions oriented,

00:45:00.402 --> 00:45:02.623
do not go to anyone and just complain.

00:45:03.282 --> 00:45:05.063
right like we have to be

00:45:05.083 --> 00:45:06.844
partners in this and and I

00:45:06.945 --> 00:45:07.684
i feel this way about

00:45:07.804 --> 00:45:08.606
anything that you want to

00:45:08.646 --> 00:45:09.525
see change in the workplace

00:45:09.545 --> 00:45:10.726
like we have to be partners

00:45:11.306 --> 00:45:12.867
you if if people on my team

00:45:12.907 --> 00:45:14.268
come and tell me 20 things

00:45:14.309 --> 00:45:16.028
that are wrong and have no

00:45:17.070 --> 00:45:18.871
idea or solution on how to

00:45:18.931 --> 00:45:20.632
make them better how to fix them

00:45:21.914 --> 00:45:24.054
I'm going to respond less, right?

00:45:24.094 --> 00:45:25.235
If you're putting it all on

00:45:25.275 --> 00:45:26.956
me to fix your experience,

00:45:27.436 --> 00:45:29.777
as opposed to coming and saying,

00:45:29.958 --> 00:45:30.778
here are the challenges

00:45:30.818 --> 00:45:31.318
that we're having.

00:45:31.338 --> 00:45:32.639
Here's what we're experiencing.

00:45:32.679 --> 00:45:34.061
We want to work together on

00:45:34.221 --> 00:45:35.280
these solutions.

00:45:35.320 --> 00:45:36.442
And here's what we've started.

00:45:36.822 --> 00:45:38.242
Here's what we're presenting to you.

00:45:38.342 --> 00:45:39.322
And then it's a dialogue.

00:45:39.402 --> 00:45:40.684
Like then it's a partnership.

00:45:40.764 --> 00:45:41.664
It's not a demand.

00:45:41.684 --> 00:45:42.804
It's a partnership.

00:45:43.025 --> 00:45:44.425
And I would say those are

00:45:44.445 --> 00:45:46.367
some good steps to get started.

00:45:46.907 --> 00:45:47.288
Great.

00:45:48.027 --> 00:45:49.289
Really great advice and

00:45:49.349 --> 00:45:50.809
reminders of just...

00:45:51.737 --> 00:45:52.458
Like you said,

00:45:52.898 --> 00:45:54.259
anything you're trying to

00:45:54.338 --> 00:45:55.820
make better or fix,

00:45:57.581 --> 00:45:58.340
you have to really

00:45:58.402 --> 00:46:01.043
strategically go at it and

00:46:01.463 --> 00:46:02.724
be educated about it and

00:46:02.764 --> 00:46:04.164
have support and

00:46:04.724 --> 00:46:06.126
commonalities with your peers.

00:46:06.965 --> 00:46:10.168
So Anna, how can people get involved?

00:46:11.340 --> 00:46:13.079
is this something that, you know,

00:46:13.320 --> 00:46:15.081
I know I got involved individually,

00:46:15.121 --> 00:46:15.940
but what does this look

00:46:15.960 --> 00:46:17.800
like for someone who works

00:46:17.880 --> 00:46:19.121
in an organization that

00:46:19.161 --> 00:46:20.342
they want to get involved

00:46:20.461 --> 00:46:21.782
and maybe their company

00:46:21.862 --> 00:46:23.061
isn't sponsoring yet?

00:46:23.242 --> 00:46:24.862
Can they go to their HR?

00:46:25.503 --> 00:46:26.782
Tell us about all the great

00:46:26.842 --> 00:46:28.362
resources that are available.

00:46:28.784 --> 00:46:30.304
There are a lot of ways to get involved.

00:46:30.324 --> 00:46:32.364
So on an individual basis,

00:46:32.664 --> 00:46:34.144
we now have regional events

00:46:34.204 --> 00:46:35.264
that we've launched this year.

00:46:35.364 --> 00:46:35.605
So if

00:46:36.045 --> 00:46:37.485
If you are in any of the

00:46:37.525 --> 00:46:38.766
cities that we are coming

00:46:38.806 --> 00:46:40.347
to do forward programming,

00:46:40.487 --> 00:46:41.327
those have been free

00:46:41.387 --> 00:46:43.347
programs we've done for this spring.

00:46:44.447 --> 00:46:45.748
We'll probably do three or

00:46:45.789 --> 00:46:46.849
four in the fall.

00:46:46.909 --> 00:46:50.411
We have Chicago and Orange County,

00:46:50.431 --> 00:46:51.990
California kind of nailed down,

00:46:52.030 --> 00:46:52.751
but I think we're going to

00:46:52.851 --> 00:46:54.472
add Boston and potentially

00:46:54.512 --> 00:46:55.612
another city to that.

00:46:56.092 --> 00:46:57.914
So we do try to come to

00:46:57.954 --> 00:46:59.554
places where we can gather and again,

00:46:59.614 --> 00:47:00.675
build community and have

00:47:00.695 --> 00:47:02.016
these important conversations.

00:47:02.056 --> 00:47:03.476
We also want it to be accessible.

00:47:04.577 --> 00:47:06.538
There is the Forward Network,

00:47:06.778 --> 00:47:08.018
which kind of has just been

00:47:08.059 --> 00:47:09.920
this dormant email database

00:47:09.960 --> 00:47:11.601
that we are now really activating.

00:47:11.721 --> 00:47:13.382
So we have almost 3000

00:47:13.382 --> 00:47:15.222
people in the Forward Network.

00:47:15.722 --> 00:47:16.744
um it's a way for us to

00:47:16.804 --> 00:47:17.885
share information it's a

00:47:17.925 --> 00:47:18.545
way for us to share

00:47:18.585 --> 00:47:20.505
resources and align so

00:47:20.525 --> 00:47:21.106
there's a monthly

00:47:21.146 --> 00:47:22.427
newsletter that will come

00:47:22.606 --> 00:47:24.228
out um we also just formed

00:47:24.268 --> 00:47:25.869
working groups within the

00:47:25.909 --> 00:47:27.289
forward network so if you

00:47:27.309 --> 00:47:28.451
want to talk about like

00:47:28.471 --> 00:47:29.351
like we want this to be

00:47:29.431 --> 00:47:30.472
everybody's thing I'm not

00:47:30.512 --> 00:47:31.273
sitting in my office

00:47:31.313 --> 00:47:32.253
telling everybody what to

00:47:32.293 --> 00:47:34.974
do to do this this is all

00:47:34.994 --> 00:47:36.596
of our work uh we just want

00:47:36.635 --> 00:47:37.717
to be the mechanism for how

00:47:37.757 --> 00:47:38.557
that happens so

00:47:39.657 --> 00:47:40.599
We've got working groups

00:47:40.639 --> 00:47:41.800
made up of network members

00:47:41.820 --> 00:47:42.780
who are figuring out the

00:47:42.800 --> 00:47:45.003
best way to build community

00:47:45.143 --> 00:47:46.684
and gather what types of

00:47:46.744 --> 00:47:48.126
resources we want to push out.

00:47:48.246 --> 00:47:49.626
How do we grow the network?

00:47:49.666 --> 00:47:52.108
We're tackling this as a community,

00:47:52.670 --> 00:47:53.791
which is really wonderful.

00:47:55.572 --> 00:47:56.333
We also have

00:47:57.213 --> 00:47:58.753
Through companies,

00:47:58.873 --> 00:48:00.934
we have our Build and Elevate programs.

00:48:01.715 --> 00:48:03.416
We're in that cohort right now.

00:48:03.496 --> 00:48:05.858
There will be another one that launches.

00:48:05.878 --> 00:48:07.039
The application will be in

00:48:07.400 --> 00:48:09.061
the fall for Build and Elevate,

00:48:09.101 --> 00:48:09.920
which is like really

00:48:09.981 --> 00:48:11.141
intensive 10-month

00:48:11.242 --> 00:48:13.204
leadership development.

00:48:13.384 --> 00:48:14.503
We've got some other things

00:48:14.563 --> 00:48:15.485
in the pipeline.

00:48:15.545 --> 00:48:16.766
We have a mentorship program.

00:48:16.786 --> 00:48:17.907
We have a mentorship platform.

00:48:17.927 --> 00:48:19.228
So there's a lot of ways to

00:48:19.248 --> 00:48:22.108
get involved with us with Forward.

00:48:22.170 --> 00:48:24.070
And anybody is always...

00:48:25.268 --> 00:48:26.853
welcome to reach out to the

00:48:26.893 --> 00:48:28.577
foundation or reach out to me directly.

00:48:28.637 --> 00:48:29.860
I will always answer and I

00:48:29.900 --> 00:48:31.164
will always provide what I can.

00:48:32.335 --> 00:48:32.514
Well,

00:48:32.534 --> 00:48:34.056
we will put all of those links in the

00:48:34.097 --> 00:48:35.177
show notes so everyone

00:48:35.217 --> 00:48:37.539
knows where to find you, where to find,

00:48:37.739 --> 00:48:38.420
we won't just put your

00:48:38.500 --> 00:48:39.360
email address out there,

00:48:39.380 --> 00:48:41.081
but where to find all those

00:48:41.141 --> 00:48:43.103
great resources within Forward.

00:48:43.804 --> 00:48:46.146
And I just thank you for

00:48:46.186 --> 00:48:48.128
leading this charge and

00:48:48.188 --> 00:48:49.509
being such a powerhouse.

00:48:50.349 --> 00:48:52.072
And if everyone,

00:48:52.152 --> 00:48:53.112
I'm going to tell them now,

00:48:53.132 --> 00:48:54.954
she has a gala to go to tonight.

00:48:54.994 --> 00:48:55.835
So we must let her go.

00:48:56.195 --> 00:48:58.556
We must let her go get dressed.

00:48:59.356 --> 00:49:00.318
But thank you again for

00:49:00.358 --> 00:49:01.697
spending your morning with us.

00:49:02.579 --> 00:49:03.599
We are grateful.

00:49:03.699 --> 00:49:04.599
We can't wait to get your

00:49:04.639 --> 00:49:05.440
message out there.

00:49:05.920 --> 00:49:07.081
And for all of you listening,

00:49:07.242 --> 00:49:09.202
we are so grateful for you tuning in.

00:49:09.643 --> 00:49:10.324
If you would,

00:49:10.543 --> 00:49:12.525
please like and subscribe and

00:49:12.565 --> 00:49:14.286
leave us a review so that

00:49:14.365 --> 00:49:16.367
we can continue to bring

00:49:16.407 --> 00:49:18.268
you all these great conversations.

00:49:19.570 --> 00:49:20.713
And let us know what kind of

00:49:20.793 --> 00:49:22.135
topics and people that you

00:49:22.155 --> 00:49:24.119
would like to see on the show.

00:49:24.199 --> 00:49:25.621
We love to hear feedback.

00:49:25.722 --> 00:49:27.164
So until next time,

00:49:27.344 --> 00:49:29.969
have a great day and stay sustainable.

00:49:30.070 --> 00:49:30.891
We'll see you next time.