1. Read, watch, use: Dear White Parents
A public awareness campaign encouraging more white parents to talk to their children about racism early and often. It provides guides and resources to have early and continuous conversations with children about racism, equipping parents to give children the language to understand so they can grow up to be disruptors, shape and shift culture. It’s time to talk about what kind of world you want to create for your children and their future.
2. Listen: Code Switching
Really good listen about changing language, tone and mannerisms to fit in to the workplace
3. Watch: Short 3 minute video with individuals talking about their expense
These links focus on identity and self-expression through the lens of conformity and language, and specifically code switching in the workplace. The key takeaway; we all code switch. It’s a natural response to trying to fit in with the ruling power dynamic and progress. But if we want to create inclusive workspaces, what do we need to change and how do we recognise and flex that dynamic? How do we create a space that doesn’t impose conformity? Or is conformity to some degree a necessity to a successful business?
4. Use: 50 ways to fight bias - a practical toolkit to help you combat the biases women face at work
An online interactive toolkit that lets you select from 1 of 12 sets of digital cards curated for different audiences and workplace interactions. These include icebreakers and examples designed to raise awareness and highlight the biases women face in the workplace. Here’s an Instagram post that sums up this bias entirely.
5. Read: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
A multi-generational epic on race and slavery; heartbreaking and brilliant. It even comes recommended by Oprah.
6. Read: The problem with rainbow washing
“It happens every June like clockwork: the rainbows come out. Suddenly major metropolitan storefronts are filled with multi-colored displays and clothes emblazoned with "Love Is Love" and other slogans of the LGTBQ+ rights movement. Corporations might genuinely support the LGBTQ+ community with Pride-related promotions, but is there a line between allyship and marketing that shouldn’t be crossed?” And what does being an ally really mean and look like in the context of a brand?
7. Listen: iWeigh with Jameela Jamil (most episodes, but we recommend the one with Jilian Mercardo)
Actor and model Jillian Mercado discusses her experience growing up with muscular dystrophy, going from a child obsessed with fashion to an adult woman working in the fashion industry, that “different” isn’t bad, advice on how to date a disabled person, and the need for more representation of disabilities in media. More generally, the podcast episodes amplify and empower diverse voices by challenging societal norms to celebrate progress, not perfection. (It’s also available on Spotify).
8. Watch: The White Lotus - the best satire of privilege on TV
A cluster of wealthy guests tries to escape their troubles on vacation at a five-star resort. Across all six episodes, a convincing thesis emerges: The curse of the privileged is that they would rather be miserable than lose even a tiny fraction of the things they’ve been given.
9. Read: When did recipe writing get so...Whitewashed?
We wouldn’t be Good Innovation if we didn’t include something about food, so here’s a slack style conversation about white-washing in food writing. It got us thinking about how we use copy, particularly when writing user-facing propositions. What did it get you thinking about?