June 19, 2021 marks 156 years since slavery was abolished, and the past year has seen a greater societal awareness of how system racism is very much still embedded in the fabric of America. Whether it’s police violence against Black people, increased violence against Asian Americans, suppressing voting rights which disproportionately affects BIPOC communities, disproportionate denials of mortgages to Black …
Ask SGO: Can white people experience microaggressions?
Felicia: One question that’s come up recently for us is, are microaggressions specific to race or issues around race. And this one’s a bit of a complicated answer. So we thought we would take a few minutes, or a few seconds, depending on how long this ends up being, to address that particular question, because it’s a really valid one. So …
Inclusive Virtual and Hybrid Team-Building Exercises
2020 saw many teams having to transition quickly from in-person processes and norms to virtual work. We learned that what worked well face-to-face doesn’t always translate when everyone is connecting via a screen and/or phone line. As we see a slow return back into the office this year, we recognize that the ‘new norm’ for many will be remote-first and …
Ask SGO: How can we create welcoming spaces to learn?
Felicia:One thing I think about a lot, especially in these days where most of us are still working virtually, is how can we create welcoming spaces for our workshops, and trainings, and programming. It is a little bit different than it might have looked like or felt like pre-pandemic, when we were gathering mostly in-person. But I do have a …
5 Videos You Must Watch to Learn About Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Take some time to watch these incredible videos on diversity, equity, and inclusion. If you’d like more, see our previous post on 14 videos to watch. Eliminating Microaggressions: The Next Level of InclusionTime: 8:59Who: Tiffany AlvoidDescription: In this talk, Tiffany lays out how this behavior manifests itself, the role you play, and what you can do to avoid perpetuating its …
Moms in the Workforce: A Way Forward
By: Michelle Keefe, CEO MomUp For over one year, women have been this country’s safety net during the pandemic. Without proper social infrastructure, the US leaned on parents, primarily mothers, to bear the burden of maintaining childcare and schooling to support the nation. Some mothers did this while working jobs simultaneously; others were forced out of work which added additional …
Ask SGO: Help! How do I deal with a problematic favorite?
Felicia: Okay, So you’ve just found out your fave, whether that is artist, filmmaker, celebrity, whoever it is, is super problematic, what do you do? Well, the answer is a little complicated, and I think it’s gonna be really personal for each person, but I’m happy to share a little bit about how I think about this, and we’d love to …
A Letter to the SGO Community
Dear SGO community, Almost a year ago, we wrote a letter to all of you sharing our thoughts on what was at that point in time a swell of protest against social injustices, sparked by the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent support around the Black Lives Matter movement. We wanted to take a moment to reflect on what’s …
Climate Action Must Be Intersectional
When we think of Earth Day, many of us might think about plastic straws or recycling. Some of us might think about saving the rainforest, the whales, the polar bears. Where to begin? It’s overwhelming. And for many of us, the question is how much of ‘saving the planet’ is our personal responsibility? While there’s nothing wrong with wanting to …
Ask SGO: What are “safe spaces” and how do we create them?
So the phrase safe space, we probably have all heard it. I can say for me, safe space was used a lot in academia and on campuses a lot of times when we talk about issues related to identity, diversity, equity and inclusion, one of the first guidelines before a meeting would start or before dialogue would start was, you …