Blog

Building upon ARA’s June 2020 “Allyship in Action” Webinar, the organization is producing a five-part series, “Allyship, Advocacy and Taking Action,” in partnership with three visionary organizations: i.c.stars, Chicago Tech Academy and Black Women in Science and Engineering (BWISE). This continuing series is designed to help ARA members learn how to become better allies to marginalizedRead more

Last year on International Women’s Day (IWD), I wrote about the gratitude I have for all of those who have forged for gender equality before us, as well as those who continue to keep fighting the good fight. That gratitude is unchanged as IWD approaches this Sunday. If anything, I’m moreappreciative of each and every personRead more

When employees know their skills are in demand, it’s hard to keep them around by dangling raises and career advancement opportunities. Tech executives should consider an employee-first approach of creating a culture that is equitable, inclusive, and diverse.

On Wednesday, August 27, I was honored to be a part of an OCC Women’s Leadership panel featuring OCC’s Dana Earles, FVP, Treasurer, and Sheila Saegh Henretta, FVP, Deputy General Counsel, along with myself and Julia Bristow Briggs, Principle and Consultant of Smart to the Top. It was the third of a four-part panel seriesRead more

The economy keeps humming along, and with it, the labor market shows momentum month after month. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ January 2019 jobs report, for example, showed that employers added a total of 304,000 jobs, much higher than the originally forecasted 165,000. To keep up with this relentless pace, companies of all shapesRead more

The news of Harvey Weinstein’s sexual misconduct allegations hit the front pages a few months ago, but it’s hardly been a passing memory. Since then, a sweeping wave of allegations have been made against more than 100 other high-profile men across many different industries, fueling the #MeToo and Times’ Up movements. As a result, weRead more

Gender equality deserves continued attention as there is much work to still be done.

This fall, I was blown away by a short, powerful speech at DisruptHR on the challenging topic of diversity and inclusion. Just five minutes long, “Radical Inclusion” was the talk given by Ellen Kapoor whose witty and thoughtful insights hit exactly on challenges we have faced with the #4TechDivesity blog series, including the fact thatRead more

We all have an idea of how we think government works (and everything we think is wrong with it). And then you meet someone like Jimmy Odom and everything you thought you knew changes. A vibrant, visionary, technology-loving entrepreneur, father of three and Chicago insider to the core, Odom served as Senior Advisor of MinorityRead more

In all likelihood, you’ve heard the saying “actions speak louder than words.” My parents raised me on this motto, and it’s a gift that has shaped both the person and the professional I am today. One of the best examples of its life-shaping influence on me is my response to the challenge of increasing genderRead more

The enduring notion in some areas of the recruitment industry that it’s good business to treat contract-based employees as commodities has always been a problem for me. Actually, it’s not really a problem. I think it’s absurd, and it stands in stark contrast to the importance and incalculable value of diversity in employment today. As IRead more

In this follow-up to our first diversity conversation with CIO Edward Wagoner, we explore why diversity efforts are succeeding at JLL as well as some of the lessons he has learned on the job about inclusion and understanding. If you missed Part 1 of this series with Wagoner, a CIO who sees his greatest assetRead more

One of the many reasons I invited CIO Edward Wagoner to participate in our #4TechDiversity series is his stats. The world loves good numbers and, when it comes to diversity numbers, he and his talented IT team have some impressive ones to share. Consider the fact that 40% his JLL IT team members are fromRead more

Our diversity in IT blog series continues with Part Two of our discussion with Ce Cole Dillon, co-founder and COO of Student Loan 411. In our first conversation, Ce shared with us many of the demographic insights she has studied and gathered in her work with the League of Black Women. We learned that asRead more

Some jobs require “nerves of steel.” Jobs that place you on the front lines of life and death—surgeons, fighter pilots, mountain rescue workers, firefighters, police officers, etc.—are not for the faint of heart. In fact, the calm bravery needed for such jobs sometimes made me a bit cynical of the term “managerial courage.” Courage toRead more

I can’t think of a better person to carry our #4TechDiversity blog series into 2016 than the brilliant and groundbreaking tech entrepreneur Shradha Agarwal. Named a Champion of Change by the White House and the 2015 Prominent Woman in Tech by the Illinois Technology Association, Shradha is the co-founder of ContextMedia, a health information servicesRead more

Thank you for returning to #4TechDiversity as we explore diversity issues in the IT workforce. In this latest installment, we are proud to present a thoughtful and personal essay on diversity from Scott Morey, Executive Vice President at S&P 500 Company General Growth Properties, Inc. Scott begins by looking at diversity at the personal level:Read more

Welcome back to #4TechDiversity—a blog series focused on exploring workplace diversity issues, perspectives and opportunities with leading IT executives. Robin Hamerlinck, the Senior Vice President and CIO of audio leader Shure Incorporated, has joined us this month and provided some powerful insights into how she and Shure approach diversity. Learn how diversity goals and commitmentRead more

Welcome to the first installment of #4TechDiversity—McCann Partners’ new blogging series exploring diversity issues in the IT workforce. We will be tapping into the minds of technology and business leaders who are actively and enthusiastically working to build more diverse technology teams and workplaces. This month, we are thrilled to welcome the wise and wittyRead more