Autumn Communications’ Post

In honor of Women’s History Month #IWD2024, Rent The Runway is gifting $1M in subscriptions to women who have recently experienced something awesome in their careers – a promotion, new job, successful launch, etc. The process is easy: self-nominate by commenting on this post and sharing a professional milestone you've recently achieved or nominate a friend and tell her story. One month ago, I had my third baby. I received more positive affirmation and congratulatory sentiment when I shared my son’s birth than I did when I IPO’ed Rent the Runway in 2021. While I appreciate the love of my community, it was a lot easier to give birth than to become the 30th female founder/CEO to take a company public. But, this all makes sense within the context of our culture. We celebrate women more for personal accomplishments than for professional ones. And, as a result, women often feel more comfortable sharing their personal milestones over their professional ones. Sharing an engagement story is the lifeblood of the group chat whereas sharing a big launch at work might feel anything from strange to showing off. As a little girl, there is almost nothing worse than being called a showoff. For girls, bragging is the quickest way to lose friends and become an object of scorn. It’s in the water: be humble, do great things but wait for someone else to recognize them. I was called a showoff as a kid and it stung, but what I remember most is that this insult was almost only used by girls for other girls. Why this matters is that fast forward to the world of work and promoting women’s accomplishments is critical to our continued workplace advancement. Historical performance is a prerequisite – but as you get more senior in an organization, the more you need a community of people singing your praises to get to the next level. Think of this as a personal net promoter score: the more people willing to promote you loudly, the quicker you’ll rise. I believe that if becoming a C-level executive was based on performance alone, closer to 50% of the C-suite would be female. But because it is also based on how we storytell about ourselves and others, women are but a fraction of our leadership.  The more that public celebration of women’s professional accomplishments becomes normalized, the more opportunities we’ll receive. RTR will also be committing $1M in GMV* to Dress for Success Worldwide to ensure that even more women have the attire and confidence they need to excel professionally. How you can nominate a woman (or yourself!) for one free month of RTR’s 10-item plan: - Tag a deserving woman’s name on this post, mention your or her recent accomplishment, and use the hashtag #RTRShowOff - This offer is for new customers only, who are based in the US Valid thru 3/31 or while supplies last, whichever is sooner. US, 18+, new subscribers only. 1 per person. Subscription auto-renews unless canceled/paused. Terms apply: bit.ly/RTRShowOff *Based on MSRP

In honor of Women’s History Month #IWD2024, Rent The Runway is gifting $1M in subscriptions to women who have recently experienced something awesome in their careers – a promotion, new job, successful launch, etc. The process is easy: self-nominate by commenting on this post and sharing a professional milestone you've recently achieved or nominate a friend and tell her story. One month ago, I had my third baby. I received more positive affirmation and congratulatory sentiment when I shared my son’s birth than I did when I IPO’ed Rent the Runway in 2021. While I appreciate the love of my community, it was a lot easier to give birth than to become the 30th female founder/CEO to take a company public. But, this all makes sense within the context of our culture. We celebrate women more for personal accomplishments than for professional ones. And, as a result, women often feel more comfortable sharing their personal milestones over their professional ones. Sharing an engagement story is the lifeblood of the group chat whereas sharing a big launch at work might feel anything from strange to showing off. As a little girl, there is almost nothing worse than being called a showoff. For girls, bragging is the quickest way to lose friends and become an object of scorn. It’s in the water: be humble, do great things but wait for someone else to recognize them. I was called a showoff as a kid and it stung, but what I remember most is that this insult was almost only used by girls for other girls. Why this matters is that fast forward to the world of work and promoting women’s accomplishments is critical to our continued workplace advancement. Historical performance is a prerequisite – but as you get more senior in an organization, the more you need a community of people singing your praises to get to the next level. Think of this as a personal net promoter score: the more people willing to promote you loudly, the quicker you’ll rise. I believe that if becoming a C-level executive was based on performance alone, closer to 50% of the C-suite would be female. But because it is also based on how we storytell about ourselves and others, women are but a fraction of our leadership.  The more that public celebration of women’s professional accomplishments becomes normalized, the more opportunities we’ll receive. RTR will also be committing $1M in GMV* to Dress for Success Worldwide to ensure that even more women have the attire and confidence they need to excel professionally. How you can nominate a woman (or yourself!) for one free month of RTR’s 10-item plan: - Tag a deserving woman’s name on this post, mention your or her recent accomplishment, and use the hashtag #RTRShowOff - This offer is for new customers only, who are based in the US Valid thru 3/31 or while supplies last, whichever is sooner. US, 18+, new subscribers only. 1 per person. Subscription auto-renews unless canceled/paused. Terms apply: bit.ly/RTRShowOff *Based on MSRP

In honor of Women’s History Month #IWD2024, Rent The Runway is gifting $1M in subscriptions to women who have recently experienced something awesome in their careers – a promotion, new job, successful launch, etc. The process is easy: self-nominate by commenting on this post and sharing a professional milestone you've recently achieved or nominate a friend and tell her story. One month ago, I had my third baby. I received more positive affirmation and congratulatory sentiment when I shared my son’s birth than I did when I IPO’ed Rent the Runway in 2021. While I appreciate the love of my community, it was a lot easier to give birth than to become the 30th female founder/CEO to take a company public. But, this all makes sense within the context of our culture. We celebrate women more for personal accomplishments than for professional ones. And, as a result, women often feel more comfortable sharing their personal milestones over their professional ones. Sharing an engagement story is the lifeblood of the group chat whereas sharing a big launch at work might feel anything from strange to showing off. As a little girl, there is almost nothing worse than being called a showoff. For girls, bragging is the quickest way to lose friends and become an object of scorn. It’s in the water: be humble, do great things but wait for someone else to recognize them. I was called a showoff as a kid and it stung, but what I remember most is that this insult was almost only used by girls for other girls. Why this matters is that fast forward to the world of work and promoting women’s accomplishments is critical to our continued workplace advancement. Historical performance is a prerequisite – but as you get more senior in an organization, the more you need a community of people singing your praises to get to the next level. Think of this as a personal net promoter score: the more people willing to promote you loudly, the quicker you’ll rise. I believe that if becoming a C-level executive was based on performance alone, closer to 50% of the C-suite would be female. But because it is also based on how we storytell about ourselves and others, women are but a fraction of our leadership.  The more that public celebration of women’s professional accomplishments becomes normalized, the more opportunities we’ll receive. RTR will also be committing $1M in GMV* to Dress for Success Worldwide to ensure that even more women have the attire and confidence they need to excel professionally. How you can nominate a woman (or yourself!) for one free month of RTR’s 10-item plan: - Tag a deserving woman’s name on this post, mention your or her recent accomplishment, and use the hashtag #RTRShowOff - This offer is for new customers only, who are based in the US Valid thru 3/31 or while supplies last, whichever is sooner. US, 18+, new subscribers only. 1 per person. Subscription auto-renews unless canceled/paused. Terms apply: bit.ly/RTRShowOff *Based on MSRP

In honor of Women’s History Month #IWD2024, Rent The Runway is gifting $1M in subscriptions to women who have recently experienced something awesome in their careers – a promotion, new job, successful launch, etc. The process is easy: self-nominate by commenting on this post and sharing a professional milestone you've recently achieved or nominate a friend and tell her story. One month ago, I had my third baby. I received more positive affirmation and congratulatory sentiment when I shared my son’s birth than I did when I IPO’ed Rent the Runway in 2021. While I appreciate the love of my community, it was a lot easier to give birth than to become the 30th female founder/CEO to take a company public. But, this all makes sense within the context of our culture. We celebrate women more for personal accomplishments than for professional ones. And, as a result, women often feel more comfortable sharing their personal milestones over their professional ones. Sharing an engagement story is the lifeblood of the group chat whereas sharing a big launch at work might feel anything from strange to showing off. As a little girl, there is almost nothing worse than being called a showoff. For girls, bragging is the quickest way to lose friends and become an object of scorn. It’s in the water: be humble, do great things but wait for someone else to recognize them. I was called a showoff as a kid and it stung, but what I remember most is that this insult was almost only used by girls for other girls. Why this matters is that fast forward to the world of work and promoting women’s accomplishments is critical to our continued workplace advancement. Historical performance is a prerequisite – but as you get more senior in an organization, the more you need a community of people singing your praises to get to the next level. Think of this as a personal net promoter score: the more people willing to promote you loudly, the quicker you’ll rise. I believe that if becoming a C-level executive was based on performance alone, closer to 50% of the C-suite would be female. But because it is also based on how we storytell about ourselves and others, women are but a fraction of our leadership.  The more that public celebration of women’s professional accomplishments becomes normalized, the more opportunities we’ll receive. RTR will also be committing $1M in GMV* to Dress for Success Worldwide to ensure that even more women have the attire and confidence they need to excel professionally. How you can nominate a woman (or yourself!) for one free month of RTR’s 10-item plan: - Tag a deserving woman’s name on this post, mention your or her recent accomplishment, and use the hashtag #RTRShowOff - This offer is for new customers only, who are based in the US Valid thru 3/31 or while supplies last, whichever is sooner. US, 18+, new subscribers only. 1 per person. Subscription auto-renews unless canceled/paused. Terms apply: bit.ly/RTRShowOff *Based on MSRP

In honor of Women’s History Month #IWD2024, Rent The Runway is gifting $1M in subscriptions to women who have recently experienced something awesome in their careers – a promotion, new job, successful launch, etc. The process is easy: self-nominate by commenting on this post and sharing a professional milestone you've recently achieved or nominate a friend and tell her story. One month ago, I had my third baby. I received more positive affirmation and congratulatory sentiment when I shared my son’s birth than I did when I IPO’ed Rent the Runway in 2021. While I appreciate the love of my community, it was a lot easier to give birth than to become the 30th female founder/CEO to take a company public. But, this all makes sense within the context of our culture. We celebrate women more for personal accomplishments than for professional ones. And, as a result, women often feel more comfortable sharing their personal milestones over their professional ones. Sharing an engagement story is the lifeblood of the group chat whereas sharing a big launch at work might feel anything from strange to showing off. As a little girl, there is almost nothing worse than being called a showoff. For girls, bragging is the quickest way to lose friends and become an object of scorn. It’s in the water: be humble, do great things but wait for someone else to recognize them. I was called a showoff as a kid and it stung, but what I remember most is that this insult was almost only used by girls for other girls. Why this matters is that fast forward to the world of work and promoting women’s accomplishments is critical to our continued workplace advancement. Historical performance is a prerequisite – but as you get more senior in an organization, the more you need a community of people singing your praises to get to the next level. Think of this as a personal net promoter score: the more people willing to promote you loudly, the quicker you’ll rise. I believe that if becoming a C-level executive was based on performance alone, closer to 50% of the C-suite would be female. But because it is also based on how we storytell about ourselves and others, women are but a fraction of our leadership.  The more that public celebration of women’s professional accomplishments becomes normalized, the more opportunities we’ll receive. RTR will also be committing $1M in GMV* to Dress for Success Worldwide to ensure that even more women have the attire and confidence they need to excel professionally. How you can nominate a woman (or yourself!) for one free month of RTR’s 10-item plan: - Tag a deserving woman’s name on this post, mention your or her recent accomplishment, and use the hashtag #RTRShowOff - This offer is for new customers only, who are based in the US Valid thru 3/31 or while supplies last, whichever is sooner. US, 18+, new subscribers only. 1 per person. Subscription auto-renews unless canceled/paused. Terms apply: bit.ly/RTRShowOff *Based on MSRP

In honor of Women’s History Month #IWD2024, Rent The Runway is gifting $1M in subscriptions to women who have recently experienced something awesome in their careers – a promotion, new job, successful launch, etc. The process is easy: self-nominate by commenting on this post and sharing a professional milestone you've recently achieved or nominate a friend and tell her story. One month ago, I had my third baby. I received more positive affirmation and congratulatory sentiment when I shared my son’s birth than I did when I IPO’ed Rent the Runway in 2021. While I appreciate the love of my community, it was a lot easier to give birth than to become the 30th female founder/CEO to take a company public. But, this all makes sense within the context of our culture. We celebrate women more for personal accomplishments than for professional ones. And, as a result, women often feel more comfortable sharing their personal milestones over their professional ones. Sharing an engagement story is the lifeblood of the group chat whereas sharing a big launch at work might feel anything from strange to showing off. As a little girl, there is almost nothing worse than being called a showoff. For girls, bragging is the quickest way to lose friends and become an object of scorn. It’s in the water: be humble, do great things but wait for someone else to recognize them. I was called a showoff as a kid and it stung, but what I remember most is that this insult was almost only used by girls for other girls. Why this matters is that fast forward to the world of work and promoting women’s accomplishments is critical to our continued workplace advancement. Historical performance is a prerequisite – but as you get more senior in an organization, the more you need a community of people singing your praises to get to the next level. Think of this as a personal net promoter score: the more people willing to promote you loudly, the quicker you’ll rise. I believe that if becoming a C-level executive was based on performance alone, closer to 50% of the C-suite would be female. But because it is also based on how we storytell about ourselves and others, women are but a fraction of our leadership.  The more that public celebration of women’s professional accomplishments becomes normalized, the more opportunities we’ll receive. RTR will also be committing $1M in GMV* to Dress for Success Worldwide to ensure that even more women have the attire and confidence they need to excel professionally. How you can nominate a woman (or yourself!) for one free month of RTR’s 10-item plan: - Tag a deserving woman’s name on this post, mention your or her recent accomplishment, and use the hashtag #RTRShowOff - This offer is for new customers only, who are based in the US Valid thru 3/31 or while supplies last, whichever is sooner. US, 18+, new subscribers only. 1 per person. Subscription auto-renews unless canceled/paused. Terms apply: bit.ly/RTRShowOff *Based on MSRP

Rent The Runway's Jennifer Hyman announced yesterday that the clothing rental platform is giving away $1 million in one-month subscriptions to women who announce a promotion or career accomplishment on LinkedIn. Here's why this really matters. I've admired Hyman since I first wrote about her company for Bloomberg Businessweek in 2012 (https://lnkd.in/gHYVtuMD). She is acutely aware of the many biases women in business face. In 2017, we talked about performance bias: She told me when venture capitalists put her in touch with other founders, it was always coupled with “meet so and so, he is a visionary,” “meet so and so, he is a genius” or “meet so and so, he is going to change the world,” she recalled. When the investors introduced Hyman, however, their approach was a little different. “Not one time did they introduce me in the same way to the male founders,” she said. “I think about what would have happened if I had gotten a little more support early on from my own investors who could have told their buddy on the golf course, ‘Rent the Runway is doing something smart.’" Encouraging women to share a promotion or career accomplishment tackles two other common biases women face. First, it challenges likability bias: We expect men to be assertive, so when they promote themselves, it feels natural. We expect women to be kind and communal, so when they discuss their accomplishments, we like them less. Second, it chips away at attribution bias: Because we see women as less competent than men, we tend to give them less credit for accomplishments and blame them more for mistakes. I can't wait to see my feed filled with the campaign's hashtag — #RTRShowOff. As she wrote on LinkedIn, "The more that public celebration of women’s professional accomplishments becomes normalized, the more opportunities we’ll receive."

Rent The Runway's Jennifer Hyman announced yesterday that the clothing rental platform is giving away $1 million in one-month subscriptions to women who announce a promotion or career accomplishment on LinkedIn. Here's why this really matters. I've admired Hyman since I first wrote about her company for Bloomberg Businessweek in 2012 (https://lnkd.in/gHYVtuMD). She is acutely aware of the many biases women in business face. In 2017, we talked about performance bias: She told me when venture capitalists put her in touch with other founders, it was always coupled with “meet so and so, he is a visionary,” “meet so and so, he is a genius” or “meet so and so, he is going to change the world,” she recalled. When the investors introduced Hyman, however, their approach was a little different. “Not one time did they introduce me in the same way to the male founders,” she said. “I think about what would have happened if I had gotten a little more support early on from my own investors who could have told their buddy on the golf course, ‘Rent the Runway is doing something smart.’" Encouraging women to share a promotion or career accomplishment tackles two other common biases women face. First, it challenges likability bias: We expect men to be assertive, so when they promote themselves, it feels natural. We expect women to be kind and communal, so when they discuss their accomplishments, we like them less. Second, it chips away at attribution bias: Because we see women as less competent than men, we tend to give them less credit for accomplishments and blame them more for mistakes. I can't wait to see my feed filled with the campaign's hashtag — #RTRShowOff. As she wrote on LinkedIn, "The more that public celebration of women’s professional accomplishments becomes normalized, the more opportunities we’ll receive."