Sad, Mad, and Motivated.

Unimaginable. That’s how I define the first half of 2020. Just as we were learning to cope with the pain of a devastating pandemic, George Floyd was murdered, and our sadness erupted into unmitigated fury. This series of unthinkable events has created a fuel – one that we can burn in a quest to finally, earnestly, and relentlessly confront our pervasive lack of diversity.

We have the desire. We have the tools. We simply need to add motivation to the menu, and I’m detecting a level of motivation I’ve never witnessed before.

In the past few weeks, I’ve watched the marketing, media and tech industries respond to crises with impassioned words, images, and powerful messages of hope and conviction, pointing us to a kinder, more inclusive tomorrow. These expressions are invaluable. But real change is going to pivot and three additional ingredients.

• Data is critical to understanding where we stand.
• Measurement is essential to help us understand our progress.
• Action is everything when it comes to creating real change.

In 2017, She Runs It partnered with Diversity Best Practices to create #Inclusive100. It was the first initiative to use data, measurement, and action to fully assess and improve the state of inclusion and diversity across marketing, media and tech. It pivots on data-informed actions that are surfaced through the index and the dynamic roundtable conversations that take place four times a year.

It costs nothing to participate. Yet only 35 companies to date have signed on.

The only cure for navigating the unimaginable is to take action. Create a new future. Please visit our website and click on #Inclusive100 to sign up. Our next roundtable conversation is being scheduled for the end of July. We would love to make you part of it.

Lynn Branigan, President + CEO, She Runs It