03.17.21

Diversity Equity Inclusion – The Current Issue 1

Introducing you to a new bi-weekly resource list of how you can make a positive change in your community through education, engagement, activation, and allyship. This month we celebrate Women’s Month reflecting on women’s history and women who motivated us. Equal Pay Day is right around the corner on March 24, 2021. We also celebrate International Transgender Day of Visibility. “The day is dedicated to celebrating the accomplishments of transgender and gender nonconforming people while raising awareness of the work that still needs to be done to achieve trans justice.” (glsen.org)

Currently Listening
Our Women’s Month Music Playlist
Music Motivation March
Listen on Spotify

Baby Steps
“Baby Steps is a podcast about fertility and the many diverse paths that people take to become parents.” Listen on Soundcloud.

Currently Reading
Braiding Sweetgrass
“Drawing on Robin Wall Kimmerer’s life as an indigenous scientist, a mother, and a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings—asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass—offer us gifts and lessons, even if we’ve forgotten how to hear their voices. In a rich braid of reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return.” (milkweed) Purchase at Marcus Bookstore.

The 6 Money Lies Told to (and About) Women
Talking about money with Sallie Krawcheck. Read on Ellevest.com

The Little Book of Allyship
Why Tovah Cook believes that daily micro-actions are the best path to activism and creativity.
Read on Rep.co Take action this month by learning how to share your pronouns and understanding different gender identities within the Black Binder.

Currently Following
Janaya Future Khan
“Known as Future within the BLM movement, khan is a Black, queer, gender-nonconforming activist, staunch Afrofuturist, boxer, and social-justice educator.”
Follow on Instagram.

Currently Taking Action
Introducing Pronouns
An Introduction to using pronouns in your everyday conversations starting now.  How to start including pronouns

Fight to demand Equal Pay Day
“More than 50 years after the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, Latina’s typically earn only 55 cents for every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men and must work nearly 23 months to earn what white men earn in 12 months.

Indeed, given that this is the last “Equal Pay Day” observance of the year, Latinas must typically work longer than … everyone. This disparity hurts not only Latinas, but also the families and communities they support.” (equalpaytoday.org)

“Latina workers earn 55 cents for every dollar earned by white non-Hispanic men, the largest income gap in the nation. They are more likely to suffer wage theft violations than their male Latino counterparts. To make matters worse, 77 percent of them report sexual assault as being a major workplace issue. In light of these findings, LCLAA launched its Trabajadoras campaign, a wide-reaching education and engagement program that highlights the difficulties faced by Latinas inside and outside of the workplace. Through this campaign, LCLAA looks to empower Latinas to speak out and ensure their rights, both at work and at home.” Share and advocate. #equalpayday

How to honor women’s experiences and support community
“WPA empowers women to redefine their lives in the face of injustice and incarceration. Together, we forge pathways toward freedom, safety, and independence.” Donate at wpaonline.org

Stop AAPI Hate
“Our communities stand united against racism. Hate against Asian American Pacific Islander communities has risen during the COVID-19 pandemic. Together, we can stop it.” Take action at https://stopaapihate.org/

Written by Tovah Cook, she/her
Author of “Black Binder, A Notebook for Activists and Accomplices”

This article was produced in association with the IIDA Northern California chapter. It originally appeared here.