After claiming to care about more than profit, corporate America still hasn’t found its soul

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In 2019, 181 of America’s top CEOs made a bold, collective statement to the world: A company’s purpose had to be more than just making a return for its investors. This powerful group argued that there are other stakeholders in the equation that companies need to be answerable to, including customers, employees, suppliers, and the communities these companies serve. This statement flew in the face of the long-running capitalist mantra of maximizing shareholder value, and many experts argued that it was about time. Being the CEO of a publicly traded company today is a whole different ball game than what it was even two decades ago. Consumer activism is far more prevalent today thanks to access to social media. One study estimates that about 38% of all Americans boycott at least one company at any given point in time, with the number of boycotters growing double digits annually. The Fairtrade movement, which ensures that suppliers such as farmers get paid fairly, has been consistently growing in popularity for the past several decades. The conspicuous impact of the Black Lives Matter movement as well as the divisive presidential term of Donald Trump highlighted that companies could no longer remain indifferent to the political opinions of the communities they served. All these macro trends, coupled with an increased urgency around climate change, meant that the public at large warmly welcomed corporate America’s new statement of purpose.  For the optimists among us, it appeared that corporate America had finally taken the first step to discovering its soul. Yet, nearly two years later, we do not have much to show for it. In fact, just a few months ago, one of the more prominent advocates of the corporation-with-a-soul movement, Danone CEO Emmanuel Faber, was unceremoniously removed from his position. Shareholders ousted Faber because he could not generate a return for them during his tenure as CEO. Ironically, his public firing did not generate any uproar from the other stakeholders he had focused on serving. A sobering reality Corporate accountability can be a tricky thing to get right. Despite their elite statuses and high-compensation levels, most CEOs and top managers operate within the same framework as regular employees. They get hired for top jobs based on their skills, networks, and experience, are incentivized to perform well and can get fired if they don’t. Read More …

Pregnancy care sucks. These companies want to rethink it

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Right as the pandemic was getting underway in New York in April 2020, Joanne Schneider DeMeireles had a miscarriage. She knew something was wrong when she went in for a prenatal appointment and her obstetrician told her that her embryo was only five weeks along. “I was like, that’s not possible,” she says. Her doctor dismissed her concern and told her to come back the following week for another ultrasound. Schneider DeMeireles had previously worked at a fertility clinic and knew when she ovulated, and she had been tracking her pregnancy obsessively. The small size of her embryo—how doctors track the age of the fetus—meant there might be a problem. The following week when she returned to the doctor, there was no heartbeat. It was a miscarriage, one that hadn’t yet expelled. Schneider DeMeireles’s doctor told her she had two options. She could let her body expel naturally, but miscarriages can take days and are painful. Or she could opt for dilation and curettage (D&C), a procedure that removes tissue in the uterus to prevent possible infection. It’s an elective surgery, one she wasn’t able to access under pandemic restrictions. What her doctor didn’t tell her is that she could take a course of pills to help the miscarriage complete. Schneider DeMeireles later found out that her obstetrician used to be religiously affiliated and since they’re the same pills used in an abortion, the doctor didn’t offer them. In the end, Schneider DeMeireles had to go to a different doctor to access the medication. Schneider DeMeireles’s experience is not unique. But now she is one of many women inspired by their experiences with pregnancy, pregnancy loss, and postpartum care who are trying to change how women receive care Read More …

Pregnancy care sucks. These companies want to rethink it

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Right as the pandemic was getting underway in New York in April 2020, Joanne Schneider DeMeireles had a miscarriage. She knew something was wrong when she went in for a prenatal appointment and her obstetrician told her that her embryo was only five weeks along. “I was like, that’s not possible,” she says. Her doctor dismissed her concern and told her to come back the following week for another ultrasound. Schneider DeMeireles had previously worked at a fertility clinic and knew when she ovulated, and she had been tracking her pregnancy obsessively. The small size of her embryo—how doctors track the age of the fetus—meant there might be a problem. The following week when she returned to the doctor, there was no heartbeat. It was a miscarriage, one that hadn’t yet expelled. Read More …

The best 11 ambient noise and music apps to help you stay focused

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While research tends to go back and forth on the advantages of noise versus silence for creativity and productivity, I always find myself more relaxed and focused at work after turning on a light amount of ambient sound, usually with some combination of rain, fan noise, and white noise. That habit has turned me into somewhat of an ambient sound connoisseur. Too many ambient noise apps come with cheap sound effects, annoying commercial breaks, or exorbitant subscription fees Read More …

How startups can create a culture where women can win

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Silicon Valley’s bro culture is infamous. Bloomberg’s Emily Chang wrote an entire book about it aptly named Brotopia , where she called out the toxic culture women face in the tech industry. In software development, “ shift left ” refers to finding and fixing defects early in the product lifecycle. To fix bro culture, we need to shift left and start early in the company lifecycle: Startups must create a culture where women can win. I’ve heard people argue that the real problem is a lack of pipeline, that there aren’t enough girls choosing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. The truth is, the industry is unattractive to women because it’s an unfriendly place, as I’ve learned firsthand working at startups. Over half of women working in tech report experiencing gender inequality at work. Tech giants like Google (no, I never worked there) and Oracle (yes, I once worked there) have come under fire for sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination. Sidelining, mansplaining, patronizing, and pay gaps: A career in tech is still hard for women. Life in a startup is seemingly even harder. “How do you do it?” people often ask me. Like most women, I’ve had to navigate subtle and not-so-subtle biases at different points in my own career. Along the way, I’ve come to realize that terms like “imposter syndrome” unfairly place the burden to adapt squarely on women. Instead, it’s the environment that must change. The onus is on startups to create a culture where women can thrive. Start at the top, and start early Tech startups are overwhelmingly (72%) founded by men, who mostly recruit from within their own network and end up hiring more men who look just like them. The key to changing the company dynamic starts at the top. You need to bring on female leaders early—within the first five hires. Diversity and inclusion shouldn’t be an afterthought that’s addressed after your company has a dedicated HR team. It must be deeply embedded in your company culture from day one. Read More …