Invincibelle Profile
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1. Tell us more about yourself and your work.
I consider myself a ruthless optimist. I operate personally with a sense of urgency for just about everything and I naturally lean toward the positive. I think these characteristics come in handy as diversity professional. I also have an innate sense of justice. When I was about 10, I had a very progressive priest who opened up the job of altar boy to girls. I jumped at the chance, recognizing that the responsibility and pageantry were both appealing. After a couple of years, the bishop swooped in, kicked the girls out and disciplined the priest for breaking church rules. In protest, I refused to be confirmed. I was the only child in the 8th grade that wasn’t confirmed- much to the chagrin of my parents and school. I was a feminist at heart but had no idea what that meant.
I am the super-proud mother of two. Marley, 10, was born in Brooklyn and Grady, 6 was born in L.A. They are very sharp, funny and confident kids. I enjoy them as people. We live in Seattle. I love the city but am a native Californian so I miss ocean swimming and sun.
My work evolved from altar girl to diversity consultant by way of a background in anthropology and applied sociology. Both are fields that fed my curiosity about people and my desire for justice. I spent eight years in three cities as a diversity consultant for Catalyst, starting in NYC. It was an amazing opportunity because the clients always changed and what we were solving for – and how we solved for it- varied from company to company. I went on to lead the diversity function at Starbucks through a series of perilous twists and turns. I was there for almost four years before I was laid off almost 7 months ago.
Unemployment has been a wild ride- teaching me more than I needed to know about my attachment to big brands and title, to my experience of motherhood and the importance of my personal network. It’s also provided me an opportunity to return to consulting as I explore the future. I’ve recently completed projects for PwC and Working Mother Media. It’s been very satisfying to create a piece of work from start to finish. I feel like I’m on an adventure professionally and am curious to see where it leads.
2. What are the pain points you are solving in field of ” Diversity” that makes it an important issue NOW than ever before?
It was a hard question for me to answer initially because think about the work so much more as opportunity then as pain. But there are pain points. I experience pain that the conversations around diversity feel stuck. As a field, we haven’t figured out entirely how to move forward without losing our roots. So I’m always trying to create a fresh conversation and to question my own field. I find as diversity practitioners, we don’t much like to challenge ourselves. It’s considered disloyal. I believe that if we don’t address this NOW, we will render ourselves extinct, as a field- the millennials will view our field as part of the past and not the future. I think of diversity people as futurists but we need to start acting accordingly.
In terms of tactical work, I’ve spent a lot of the past couple of years working on efforts around people with disabilities and LGBT issues- everything form technology solutions to policy implications inside organizations. These are pain points because I believe we still normalize and accept blatant discrimination in ways we would vehemently object if the topic were race of gender.
Finally, I think NOW is the time to bring the concept of innovation more centrally into the diversity conversation. We nod to it, but we rarely facilitate the work of innovation. We focus on equity and nod to innovation as a potential outcome. In the speed of today’s world and with the rapid innovation in every field, I believe that if we lead with innovation and eliminate barriers in service to innovation, we will make change in a more compelling and sustainable way.
3. At Invincibelle, we stand for empowering women, what are some things you think are important to empower women in the workforce?
I think empowerment in the workplace is triggered by three things:
1. An organization that is demonstrating an equal chance for women to succeed, fail and rebound. This is something that can be demonstrated numerically but even more so by women who are navigating the organization daily.
2. A fierce sense of personal strength and internal power that cannot be easily derailed by the obstacle course that is the workforce.
Finally, unwavering support outside of work in our relationships that facilitates our success (whatever that is for us). It doesn’t matter how many programs your company has if you get out of the office and if you’re not appreciated or are completely responsible for the second shift.
4. Tell us more about the Generational issues between GEN Y and Baby Boomers today in the workforce
Baby Boomer women want to be seen and respected for the paths they’ve forged. If they are successful in the workforce today, they have been so through fierce determination and fortitude. They know something and they want to share it. They want to pass the torch but often don’t feel Gen Y women want to receive it.
Gen Y women don’t want to be beholden to the legacy of these women, necessarily. They want their experiences and reality to be valued and resist the characterization that they “just don’t get it.” Having said all that, I’ve seen great relationships forged across this generational divide and think we should operate with caution in assuming too much about each other without checking those assumptions in.
5. What are some things to remember when engaging the leadership in setting goals for Diversity in a company?
You have to understand the business of each leader and what makes them tick personally. The “business case” may be the price to admission in these conversations, but it doesn’t move the work. If it did, we would have made bigger leaps sooner. I talk with leaders about understanding goals in terms of workforce, business and personal. The work of each is very different. I also am very deliberate to expand what they think I’m talking about. I am not a compliance officer (though I have deep respect for the intent of that work). Once a leader knows we may be talking about LGBT issues or efforts around people with disabilities- as much as race and gender- they often open up.
You have to be able to sense where they are open and go deep there. Once they have experienced some traction, they are more likely to continue the work.
6. What is the impact of economic recession to the work of Diversity?
I think it’s difficult to answer the question broadly. Personally speaking, my position as the leader of a diversity function was eliminated and the team I was leading was shrunk by about 30% over the course of a year. So the impact was less work, of course. I’m not sure we should over-interpret this, however, because I saw similar cuts across the organization. At the same time, I’ve seen other organizations recommit to their efforts.
From a macro level, I think the recession brings conversations of class to the forefront- mortgages to healthcare to personal consumption are all up for grabs as daily topics. Conversations about gender roles have also increased- everything from the dynamics of professional men as stay-at-home fathers, women as primary breadwinners and the benefit of leadership styles described as “female” being prized during highly ambiguous times. I think this provides a really compelling opportunity to reimagine our personal and professional partnerships. I know also there is increased personal anxiety for people in organizations who are not in the majority that they may be more susceptible to layoffs.
7. What motivates and inspires you to continue working this field?
Despite my frustration with the diversity field at times, I think this is the most intellectually and personally fulfilling field I can imagine. Context changes the conversation on a dime. If we are in China, we are have a very different conversation than if we are in Atlanta. One day, I may be talking with a technical team about universal web design and another day I may be talking with employees about helping a transgender person transition at work. The shifting landscape meets my deep desire for both creativity and equity and continually draws me to this field. Where else could this happen?
