Lauren Cooks Levitan’s Post

Fifty years ago for my honors thesis as an undergraduate senior at UC Berkeley I reviewed the contributions of three women to the field of economics: Joan Robinson, Mary Marshall and Rose Friedman. That two of these women were the spouses of reknown male economists smacked to me more a function of scarcity of women than my own tokenism. It wasn't until I read about Anna Schwartz receiving short shrift from Milton Friedman that it struck me that greater visibility of women served the purpose of greater integrity versus men voicing women's ideas as their own was not only unjust, but impairing the intellectual community of economics by diluting and distorting ideas originated by women. It is gratifying in recent years that the wife of my senior thesis advisor George Akerlof is herself vocal on the merit of economics being more inclusive of women: that is, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. What are the reasons we need more women on boards? 1. More innovative and effective solutions. 2. Greater accountability and transperancy in corporate governance. 3. According to statistical evidence, improved financial performance. 4. Better identify and address long-term strategic risk. 5. Enhance company reputation and brand image.

Brene Brown will be at this years Google Conference, if you are seeking more positive lights or radiators. There's going to be people that you're not going to be able to change. It requires hard mental resillience. I'm not a fan of motivating with the negatives. When has that ever worked? I look for the people that have a positive mindshift change. In the 80's, Marc Andreeson of Netscape, mandated that the whole company read a book, called "Who moved my Cheese". Its about profound truths about dealing with change in work and life. It revolves around 4 characters who live in a maze and look for cheese to nourish them and make them happy. Its a business book, and about organizations adapting to change. If offers this as one of many quotes "The sooner you let go of old cheese, the sooner you can find new cheese", emphasizing the importance of adapting to change. I want to be a light for people. Fast Company just had a webinar with over 600 people on it. They now speak to removing barriers for people. Just WOW! They now speak to: Transferrable skillsets AI skills People Skills Empathy People laid off and on unemployment Skill based hiring rather than education Removing barriers Action: Look for all the "Lights", "Partners", "Radiators" and "Problem Solvers" that will help you. Those are your Transformational Leaders.

It might seem like an unlikely pairing... E.L.F. BEAUTY and their "Change the Board Game" initiative to raise awareness around board diversity. Bottom line... board diversity is not only the right thing to do, it also drives profitability. E.l.f. Beauty chairman and CEO, Tarang Amin, said in a statement that he believes the company’s unique board of directors has helped it report 20 consecutive quarters of net-sales growth, and 1,500% stock growth in the past five years. Their goal? Get other companies to follow suit and double the rate of women and diverse candidates being added to U.S. corporate boards by 2027. With Billie Jean King literally serving up stats, this clever campaign is no doubt reaching a varied audience – folks who may have never thought about the diversity on boards. And that’s the point. From a marketing perspective, E.l.f. is knocking it out of the park. A quick check of their socials and their latest board post on Instagram has close to 1,000 comments and almost all are excitedly encouraging. Can E.l.f. mobilize other companies? Hard to say. Are consumers proud of E.l.f. taking the lead on this initiative? It appears so. This might just be the right mix of marketing and social impact that can make a difference. What do you think of E.l.f.’s campaign? https://lnkd.in/e-9wBgHN #Marketing #Ads #SocialImpact

Rise by lifting others ✨ Joining forces with like-minded female founders propels your success journey and creates a rising tide that lifts all boats. Collaboration and support within a community of female founders don't just benefit you individually; they uplift everyone collectively. By sharing knowledge, resources, and opportunities, you create an environment of mutual growth.

It's International Women's Day! This year's theme is #InspireInclusion and it asks us all to imagine a more equitable world, free of the longstanding and unnecessarily restricting biases, stereotypes, and discrimination that disproportionately impact women and affect us all. Let’s look at some statistics: 📔 Analysis from Bloomberg: Women only hold 8.2% of CEO roles at large companies. 📕 Data from Women in the Workplace, a comprehensive research report conducted by McKinsey and Lean In: Women represent roughly one in four C-suite leaders, and women of color just one in 16. 📗 And when we aim to examine LGBTQ+ women in leadership roles, the data, again citing Women in the Workplace and their analysis of intersectional experiences: ➡ 1 in 5 LGBTQ+ women have been mistaken for someone more junior ➡ 1 in 3 LGBTQ+ women say others get credit for their ideas ➡ 2 in 5 LGBTQ+ women say their judgement is questioned ➡ 1 in 3 LGBTQ+ women say a senior coworker has advocated on their behalf for a raise 🤷♂️ The facts above are a stark reminder that all women have an uphill climb to achieving equity in the workplace, and that these challenges and barriers are even more acute for women who are in marginalized and overlooked communities such as Queer women, transgender women, and women of color. This is an unnecessary cost for women, for business, and far beyond. For more information on what each of us can do to make change, I recommend taking a look at this month's Out & Equal newsletter. 🔗 https://conta.cc/437EoHc I'll leave you with this... Nine years ago, while leading marketing at Catalyst Inc., we aimed to disrupt our collective conscious and unconscious defaults that for too long categorized women in ways that were "never quite right for leadership." NINE YEARS and the message resonates, to me, as much today as it did then. And maybe that alone is reason enough for some who may read/watch this post to commit to making change. Happy #internationalwomensday #iwd2024 #inclusiveleadership #businessofbelonging https://lnkd.in/e_tM2WQG

The sixth edition of #DiversitySearchlight, our digital newsletter that shines a light on #diversity, #equity and #inclusion programmes and initiatives across the global screen industry. If you haven't seen it already please do click the link to read more. This edition features an interview with Kish Hirani, Chair of BiG BAME in Games, as well as our Global Digest of DEI-related initiatives in the creative industries. See here for the issue and to subscribe > https://lnkd.in/eeciyDuh

In this latest article from the Athletes & Entertainers segment, we discuss the economic impact that Beyonce, Taylor Swift, and the Barbie movie have had on the entertainment industry this summer.

"Spaces like ForWard NEED to exist. Women and men, alike, need to be in rooms like this talking about how to get more women in the rooms where decisions are made." We couldn't agree more, Andrea K. M. Foster ✨ Check out this article from hertelier's #ForWardConf series! https://lnkd.in/ek_C23Sj P.S. You don't have to wait until next year's #ForWardConf to join the movement, consider joining the ForWard Network: https://lnkd.in/e8WPnmkC

💃 🔦 FEMALE FOUNDERS SPOTLIGHT 🔦 💃 In the first of our Female Founders blog series, we put the spotlight on YV community member and founder of Misli More, Ana Čalić. 🌟 Ana spoke to us about what inspired her to set up her own business, and how she overcomes challenges whilst maintaining that all-important work-life balance. 💪 ⬇ Read the full article below! ⬇

It’s the idea that achievements are praised, but the women behind them are often not celebrated. The lack of nominations for the two key females behind “Barbie” has sparked outrage. In my mind it has little to do with Ken, and more to do with how achievements by women are still considered in society. It’s unfortunate that so many of us can relate to this, and that’s what’s likely hitting a nerve. It’s not that women don’t rise in ranks, it’s not that we don’t take part in creating and achieving amazing things. It’s not even that those achievements aren’t celebrated, it’s that often, we as women, are not credited. There’s two ways to go about it. You can either stay sort of humble and silent - which often means you may become sidelined or forgotten. Or you can express your achievements proudly which often results in backlash of not being humble. Most opt to stay silent. In this “Barbie” debacle how do you express frustration when at the same time of course there should be immense gratitude towards significant nominations. The general feeling is that you can do anything, and as a woman it’s never really considered “your” achievement. I couldn’t count how many times I’ve been told how lucky I was, or how “energetic” I seem, or that “I should explain more what I did at Next Games so people would know”. My inner reaction tends to be the same: I was the CFO at Next Games, in my job I took the company public, restructured it, sold it to Netflix - If you know what a CFO’s responsibilities are why would the assumption be that someone else did my job? If they did - or claim to have done - do introduce them to me. (Adding my colleagues Saara CMO & Teemu CEO ofc. formed the core team here) So I can sympathize with the outrage, it’s not about the movie or the amazing nominations. It’s about the fact that hopefully one day, not just the achievements but the women behind them will be recognized.