Kathryn Gehred’s Post

Happy Women’s History Month! My Friday reading and March Book of the Month is Raven Jemison More Than Representation. The KC Current President is making history in the present. Her book is a practical manual I recommend to every early career professional I speak with, especially in sports. More Than Representation: The Cheat Codes to Own Your Seat at the Table https://a.co/d/7a8tivy

Experience again, Black Motherhood Through the Lens, an award-winning documentary by filmmaker/producer Dr. Ade Osinubi, focusing on the birthing experiences of four Black women, from conception to postpartum. https://ow.ly/JpmH50Rr361

We had a PSHE lesson, and I asked my class, "Why do we have Black History and Women's History Month? After all, regarding the latter, we are talking about more than 50% of the population - why grant them the month?" Some of the ideas 💡 that came up: ✔ We live in a patriarchy, and white males still hold most of the power ✔Inequality and the pay gap are still predominant ✔We need to fight oppression And then something I liked the most 😍 👩🎓 : Ms Maslać, history is HIStory! We need HERstory. 👩🏫 : Let's make it more inclusive, shall we? 👨🎓 👩🎓 : THEIRstory OURstory 👨🎓: Do these words exist in English? 👩🎓: Well, they should 😎 And this is how your students make your day. 😍 I really ❤️ teaching Y6. Happy Women's History Month, and remember - all voices are equally important. 🌈 Let's not ignore and omit, but let's make a difference instead! How are you going to celebrate Women's History Month? 👇

#WeeklyBookRecommendation 📖: Little Legends: Exceptional Men in Black History & Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black history by Vashti Harrison (recommended by Rachel, SWS 2022 #WaldorfAlum 😊) For all ages. Stop by the SWS library to check out a copy and celebrate the amazing and inspiring black leaders during #blackhistorymonth (all year, really)! Important books for readers of all ages, these beautifully illustrated and engagingly written volume brings to life true stories of black men and women in history. Among these biographies, readers will find aviators and artists, politicians and pop stars, athletes and activists. The exceptional men featured include artist Aaron Douglas, civil rights leader John Lewis, dancer Alvin Ailey, filmmaker Oscar Micheaux, musician Prince, photographer Gordon Parks, tennis champion Arthur Ashe, and writer James Baldwin. Featuring forty trailblazing black women in American history, Little Leaders educates and inspires as it relates true stories of breaking boundaries and achieving beyond expectations. Illuminating text paired with irresistible illustrations bring to life both iconic and lesser-known female figures of Black history such as abolitionist Sojourner Truth, pilot Bessie Coleman, chemist Alice Ball, politician Shirley Chisholm, mathematician Katherine Johnson, poet Maya Angelou, and filmmaker Julie Dash. Among these biographies, readers will find heroes, role models, and everyday women who did extraordinary things - bold women whose actions and beliefs contributed to making the world better for generations of girls and women to come. Whether they were putting pen to paper, soaring through the air or speaking up for the rights of others, the heroes profiled in these pages were all taking a stand against a world that didn't always accept them. The leaders in this book may be little, but they all did something big and amazing, inspiring generations to come. #SacWaldorf #BookRecommendation #LittleLegends #LittleLeaders #VashtiHarrison #leader #boldwomen #readers #americanhistory #breakboundaries #truestories #legend #blackwomen #johnlewis #arthurashe #forallages #blackwoman #rightleader #civilrightsleader

Our DEI Committee hosted our second DEI Trivia event today, this time in recognition of #BlackHistoryMonth & #WomensHistoryMonth!  Congratulations to our Nashua Office for winning this round—although lawyers will be lawyers and challenges have already been issued. Join our ongoing DEI discussion around these themes by thinking about your answers to these questions: 1. Who is the most influential woman in your life? 2. Who or what comes to mind when you think about contributions made by the Black community?

The play, Dissonance, is about two women sharing their raw and real selves with one another. If learning to improve yourself and deepen authentic relationships resonates with you, investigate this play and see how you can bring it to your community. The recording of a powerful conversation today with its creators, hosted by When Black Women Gather is below.

Who are the creators of knowledge? When do they achieve that authority? What if the experts are presented as people who who don't always consider as experts - will we listen to them or read their words? Click below to consider the intellectual history of Black women, and to learn more about what it means to be "beyond respectability."

“As Black women, we are so often nullified and objectified in plain sight. Our voices quietened by invisible hands. Our views passed over, evidently unheard, lacking in value. When we dare to call it out we are passed over as being too sensitive, reading into the situation far too deeply. Still We Rise” excerpt by Charmaine Simpson ❤️ every word and this image #OnRepeat #Inspiredbyyou from your post below. “We do not go unseen because of our perceived lack of #value. I think because of our uncanny #resilience, #strength, and capacity for extreme #tolerance and #forgiveness, despite the unfathomable collective #trauma and #pain we've endured for generations, we are seen as intimidating and often triggering to the insecurities of others. What is invisible is our tenderness, vulnerabilities, sensitivities, & #femininity. I can't believe how many people seem shocked to know that we have feelings!” Excerpt by LaRhonda Hardy, MBA in thread on original post below #OnRepeat “Before 2021, only 93 Black female founders had raised $1 million or more in #venturecapital, and prior to 2018 just 34 had done so, according to the most recent findings by ProjectDiane, a biennial report on the state of Black and Latinx women founders by the organization digitalundivided. What's more, companies led by Black women typically receive less than 1% of all venture capital funding, according to #data from Crunchbase. Excerpt from Business Insider. “Venture capital firms invested less than 0.35% of available #money in companies founded by Black women….In 2018, Arian Simone created the Fearless Fund, #work she describes as ‘civil rights 3.0…If you are concerned with #justice, if you are a true believer, then you also have to be concerned with the economic standing of people of color in this country,’ she says.” Excerpt from TIME article by Janell Ross #fearlessfreedom “Stay up-to-date on the amount of venture dollars going to underrepresented #founders” by Dominic-Madori Davis in TechCrunch. source for these quotes + #data above in this previous post: https://lnkd.in/e5xjT2tm #FollowHER #investing #talent #jobs #hiring #strategy #innovation #culture #workplace #economy #leadership #business #entreprenuership #inclusion #equity #diversity #belonging #cultureofmoney

This is captivating art. While I will not claim to speak to the state of mind or, indeed, the intended message of the artist, what I see as an art layperson is a confluence or a collision. Of mystery. Of experiences. Of perception. Of hope. Of despair. Of courage. Of fear. Of unity. Of conflict. The liminality between collision and divergence. To me it is a complex message portrayed. Not a straightforward one. The art is not a straightforward piece, neither is the message. So is the story, or stories it attempts to tell in a single piece. I think of my mother. Was her voice ignored? Yes. Was it ignored by invisible actors? Not always. Some actors were known and didn’t hide. Was her voice heard? Yes. But not always. The experience is frustrating. Heard, but not sufficiently so. Empowered, but not sufficiently so. But the few times this voice is heard, it is powerful in its impact. Imagine where the world would be were this voice heard more consistently and more equally? Like this piece, it is the contradiction of experiences that is straining and frustrating. The confluence and divergence. Not being so straightforward means the navigation is complex and the climb steep.

A picture is worth a thousand words! In today’s culture of DEI and change, there are many who want to only speak on some groups created, some policy changes, some progress made. Meanwhile, ask those who are impacted by the changes, and how things are progressing. For a system hundreds of years old, this thing called change will take time! Sooo, no, we have not arrived! Without a doubt, DEI is an essential non-violent option to bring about respect of each other and our differences, wholeness/authenticity, equity, inclusion, and belonging! The hard conversations are an embedded part of the DEIBA process that’s gotten us this far. Don’t stop now! It’s not rocket science, it’s simple, if people in positions to push change embrace it! Otherwise, it’s status quo, because change is only to a degree of someone’s comfort, and it is not ours! Invisible or not! We are here! Continue the efforts of DEIBA!👑