Debbie Laskey's Blog

Welcome to Debbie Laskey's insights and commentary about BRANDING, MARKETING, LEADERSHIP, SOCIAL MEDIA, EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT, and CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES. Debbie has worked in high-tech, the Consumer Marketing Department at Disneyland Paris in France, nonprofits, and insurance. Expertise includes strategic planning, brand development, marketing plans and audits, competitive positioning, websites, communications, public relations, employee engagement, customer experiences, and social media marketing.

Showing posts with label equality. Show all posts

Friday, January 24, 2025

Celebrate International Day of Education with Sucheta Rawal

Following the November Presidential election, I read an opinion piece in Huffington Post entitled, "I Thought America Was the Best Country to be a Woman, Until Now. Does America Need Another Women's Suffrage Movement?" by Sucheta Rawal. The article provided excellent commentary about the state of women in the United States following the election, and I strongly urge you to read it (link at end of this post).

I was so impressed by the article that I reached out to its writer, Sucheta Rawal, and invited her to appear here on my blog in a Q&A. Sucheta's bio follows below, but first, the reason for publishing the Q&A today.

Are you aware of today's significance? The United Nations (UN) General Assembly proclaimed January 24th as International Day of Education in celebration of the role of education for peace and development with the aim to "ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and to promote lifelong learning opportunities for all" by 2030.

According to the UN, "Education offers children a ladder out of poverty and a path to a promising future. But about 244 million children and adolescents around the world are out of school; 617 million children and adolescents cannot read and do basic math; less than 40 percent of girls in sub-Saharan Africa complete lower secondary school, and some four million children and youth refugees are out of school. Their right to education is being violated and it is unacceptable. Without inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong opportunities for all, countries will not succeed in achieving gender equality and breaking the cycle of poverty that is leaving millions of children, youth, and adults behind."

SHARE THIS: Without inclusive and equitable quality education for all, countries will not succeed in achieving gender equality. ~@UN and @UNESCO #InternationalDayofEducation #DebbieLaskeysBlog

Based on today's emphasis on education, I thought it would be a good fit with Sucheta's passion for learning and cultural diversity. And now, a brief introduction...With a mission to promote meaningful and sustainable travel, award-winning South Asian travel writer, columnist, author, and speaker, Sucheta Rawal has contributed to over two dozen publications including CNN, TIME Magazine, NatGeo, Travel+Leisure, CondeNast, Fodor's, and HuffPost. Sucheta is a three-time TEDx speaker and author of five "Beato Goes To" children's books (based on her travels and featuring her cat) that educate kids about the diversity of the world. She has personally traveled to over 121 countries across seven continents and speaks about her experiences from her firsthand perspective. She also founded the non-profit, Go Eat Give, to raise awareness of different cultures through travel, food, and community service.

In Sucheta's own words, "My goal is to find the beauty in the world, through its people, cultures, nature, and enable cross-cultural understanding so we have a more cooperative, just, and peaceful future. Through authentic storytelling in my articles, books, blog, and speeches, I inspire others to try new things, meet diverse people, and open their minds to a world that is bigger than themselves."

QUESTION: Please describe Go Eat Give.

SUCHETA RAWAL: I started the non-profit in 2011. The thought behind it was that people want to travel meaningfully and engage with locals but not for as long as a gap year, instead, for two-to-three weeks. The organization provides aid to grassroots projects and offers customized travel experiences to individuals and groups.

QUESTION: Which is your favorite country, and why?

SUCHETA RAWAL: I don't have favorite countries, but I do have favorites in different categories. For example, for food, I like Italy, Israel, and India. I also like Greenland, Ecuador, and Japan. It's hard to choose!

QUESTION: What are some travel tips to "travel meaningfully?"

SUCHETA RAWAL: Before you leave home on a trip, visit places where people from the country you're going to visit gather, for example, churches, temples, organizations, consular offices, etc. It's much better to visit a foreign country when you know someone who can make hotel, restaurant, or activity recommendations - or even meet you for a meal or take you on a tour.

QUESTION: What most stands out to you from the 2024 Presidential election?

SUCHETA RAWAL: Due to women's voting rights, women are equal to men, however, I wonder, are we not preparing women to be leaders?

QUESTION: How do you envision your next five years?

SUCHETA RAWAL: I will continue working on my travel and book projects because my cause is even more relevant today. It's imperative that everyone understands cultural differences but continues to have conversations. To talk and discuss as a collective soul.

QUESTION: In 2022, I wrote a post featuring my list of 15 people I would invite to an amazing dinner party. If you could dine with some leaders from history or the modern era, who would you choose, and why?

(Read my post here:

https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2022/06/my-amazing-dinner-party-of-15.html)

SUCHETA RAWAL: I would invite Vice President Kamala Harris due to her many inspiring firsts and because she was someone who represented "me." As I noted in my Huffington Post piece, "I was elated to see a woman of color who was so well-accomplished and forward thinking. It actually made me interested in watching live news again." Others would include Oprah Winfrey due to her success; Indira Gandhi because she was Prime Minister of India twice in a conservative country; and Mother Teresa for her very giving and generous legacy.

On a related note, I read Sucheta's first book for kids, "Beato Goes to Greenland." Since I share Sucheta's passion for travel, experiencing new cultures, education, and cats, I thoroughly enjoyed the story - and look forward to sharing with two little girls I know. According to the book's description, "The house cat from Atlanta embarks on his quest to see the world. His first stop is Greenland, where his new friend saves him from sleigh dogs."

My gratitude to Sucheta for sharing her leadership and diversity insights and for being a valued member of my blog community.

Saturday, December 10, 2022

Do You Use Your Voice to Lift Up Women Leaders?

Do you know today’s significance? On this date in 1869, the legislature of the territory of Wyoming passed America’s first woman suffrage law, granting women the right to vote and hold office. In 1890, Wyoming became the 44th state admitted to the Union and became the first state to allow women the right to vote.

To celebrate today’s significance, I’ve invited Susan Colantuono to return to my Blog for a conversation about women leaders, supportive men in the workplace, leadership, and RBG.

But first, a brief introduction…Susan Colantuono is an expert on women's advancement, author, and speaker. She is best known for her TED Talk on the Career Advice You Probably Didn't Get (which has over 4 million views) and her books, “No Ceiling, No Walls” and “Make the Most of Mentoring.” She is the founder and former CEO of Leading Women, a global consulting firm focused on women's advancement. Now, as a co-host of A Career that Soars!, she continues to provide leadership and career development to women around the globe.

QUESTION: You appeared on my blog in a Q&A in August 2021. During our inspiring convo, you said, “Surrounding oneself with smart and capable colleagues is one hallmark of great leaders.” How can new leaders overcome their big egos and embrace this important leadership tip?

SUSAN COLANTUONO: People who are new to leadership positions (not all of whom would fulfill my definition of leadership!) navigate three major transitions.

First from individual contributor to first-line manager. This is the first hurdle when it comes to tapping smart and capable colleagues, because, in most cases, they make this leap because of their excellent professional performance. It’s easy here to not know how to delegate and rely on others because there’s been no experience. And if they don’t learn, they will fail.

By the time a person transitions into the “muddle in the middle,” which can be all positions from manager to senior manager, and involve managing individuals or teams or teams of teams, they have a basic understanding that they will not succeed without engaging the greatness in others.

And at the executive level, when one manages functions and business units, it is impossible to be the only one in the room who knows everything. So, to me, the answer to your question is success on the way up requires the learning of this lesson…and if someone hasn’t learned it due to a huge ego, they will ultimately fail.

TWEET THIS: Surrounding oneself with smart and capable colleagues is one hallmark of great leaders. ~@SusanColantuono #LeadershipTip #EmployeeExperience #DebbieLaskeysBlog

TWEET THIS: At the executive level…it is impossible to be the only one in the room who knows everything. ~@SusanColantuono #Leadership #DebbieLaskeysBlog

QUESTION: In a recent post on the website www.19thnews.org entitled, “Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff leans in to being a voice for gender equality,” he said, “I found where I can really make a difference is just trying to use my voice to lift women in leadership up.” What are the qualities women should look for in men who can be good mentors and help them to earn promotions and C-Suite roles?

(Read the post here: https://19thnews.org/2022/08/doug-emhoff-second-gentleman-women-gender-equity/)

SUSAN COLANTUONO: I was so happy to read the profile on Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff. The media has pretty much ignored him (as they have the consequential portfolio that VP Kamala Harris is handling). I'd say the two most important things to look for in good mentors (and perhaps sponsors) are:

A skill set that matches the woman's development needs especially as it relates to providing mentoring on business, strategic, and financial acumen.
A willingness to advance women (past evidence or current interest).

QUESTION: You wrote a memorable book in 2010 entitled, “No Ceiling, No Walls: What women haven't been told about leadership from career-start to the corporate boardroom.” What are five key take-aways you hope readers will have?

SUSAN COLANTUONO: Debbie, thank you for describing No Ceiling, No Walls as memorable. I am constantly touched by women who’ve told me it transformed their careers. The top five takeaways I hope readers have are:

Leadership manifests at every level from career-start to the C-Suite.
Career advancement rests on the foundation of proven and perceived leadership, which means “using the greatness in you to achieve and sustain extraordinary outcomes by engaging the greatness in others.”
There is a missing 33% of the career success equation for women. This translates to the fact that most of us have to get better at developing and/or demonstrating our business, strategic, and financial acumen.
The key to demonstrating business, strategic, and financial acumen is learning to use The Language of Power.
Using the metaphor of a diamond ring, many women don’t need to polish the diamond, we often need to strengthen its setting. In other words, because women are perceived as great at interpersonal and team skills, it’s a better use of our time to strengthen our business, strategic, and financial acumen rather than polish our interpersonal and team skills.

QUESTION: There is a new role in some C-Suites: Chief Happiness Officer. What do you make of this, and can it, or should it, become standard in all organizations?

(Read the post here: https://www.fastcompany.com/40582655/employers-your-idea-about-employee-happiness-is-all-wrong)

SUSAN COLANTUONO: Fast Company has a pretty good article about the trend to hire Chief Happiness Officers. Here’s what I think, and I mirror some of the points in the article. Employee engagement rests on four key factors: meaningful work, a good manager, respectful colleagues, and equitable pay and benefits.

If the responsibility of the Chief Happiness Officer includes action in these four areas, I think the position has merit. If the company envisions the responsibility as including event planning, foosball tables, and corporate swag, it’s a waste of money.

QUESTION: Lastly, what’s your favorite RBG (former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg) quote, and why?

SUSAN COLANTUONO: I so admire Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and one of my favorite t-shirts reads: "VOTE, we’re Ruthless (pun intended). "There are SO many great quotes from her that I’m going to choose two:

“When I'm sometimes asked when will there be enough [women on the Supreme Court] and I say, 'When there are nine,' people are shocked. But there'd been nine men, and nobody's ever raised a question about that.”

“The decision whether or not to bear a child is central to a woman’s life, to her well-being and dignity. It is a decision she must make for herself. When the government controls that decision for her, she is being treated as less than a full adult human responsible for her own choices.”

My profound thanks to Susan for returning to my blog and sharing her inspiring thoughts.

Image Credit: WDCUTAH.org (Women's Democratic Club of Utah).

Connect with Susan at these links:
Susan's website: https://a-career-that-soars.mn.co/landing
Twitter: @SusanColantuono

Read my first Q&A featuring Susan at this link:
https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2021/08/as-we-celebrate-1920-work-remains-to.html

To read more about today’s historical significance, check out this link:
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/wyoming-grants-women-the-vote

Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Brands Must Promote Equality 365 Days a Year - Not Just During June

What did your brand do during the month of June that might have been different than other months? Did you change your logo colors? Did you add a new tagline to your logo? Did you send email blasts promoting equality?

No matter how you altered your marketing campaigns during Pride Month to promote equality, diversity, and inclusion, the better solution is to actively promote these important organizational characteristics and brand attributes each and every day of the year - not just during the month of June.

To quote Unbounce (@Unbounce on Twitter), "Representation in marketing matters. The images you choose can either perpetuate or break down stereotypes."

Two brands recently launched an LGBTQ+ Guidebook to support brands as they make more inclusive visual choices. Here is a link to the Guidebook: https://www.gettyimages.ca/lgbtqguide.

According to The Visibility Project launched by GLAAD and Proctor & Gamble, "Brands can no longer afford to isolate themselves from important cultural conversations around inclusion, equality, and equity. In response to COVID-19’s global pandemic and to the U.S.’s racial injustices and reckoning, consumers expect – and respect – brands that make social statements supporting true inclusion and equality. Consumers require more than just words or writing a check. True investment in Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion requires strategic planning, design, and action."

Read the findings from the Advertiser and Agency Perspectives on LGBTQ Inclusion Study here:
https://www.glaad.org/sites/default/files/P%26G_GLAAD_AdvertisingResearch2021.pdf.

So, what did your brand do during June? Perhaps, the marketing changes that your brand did during June were a start. But, don't stop now that June has ended.

"Diversity, inclusion, and representation are simply good for business and good for the world.” ~Sarah Kate Ellis, President & CEO, GLAAD (@sarahkateellis of @glaad)

Image Credits: Oreo, Museum of Modern Art, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, and T-Mobile.