Jennifer Garner shifted from acting to entrepreneurship in 2018 when she co-founded organic food company Once Upon a Farm, where she is also the chief brand officer. In this article, Garner discusses the benefits of being a beginner, being open to new opportunities and how she manages tough days.
Former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi has become an advocate for rooting out sexism in business, supporting female leaders and flexible work arrangements that allow for caregiving. Nooyi hopes that "a critical mass" of women can help each other through workplace difficulties "because when you're the only woman in the room, it's very hard to try to change behavior on your own."
The online women's apparel retailer Lulu's Fashion Lounge Holdings, founded by mother and daughter Debra Cannon and Colleen Winter, filed for an initial public offering to raise $100 million, a figure that could change before the deal comes to the market. The offering could give the company a $1 billion valuation.
Lego plans to create products and craft marketing messages void of gender bias, based on findings from a brand-commissioned study from Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media that pointed to a "need for society to rebuild perceptions, actions and words to support the creative empowerment of all children," said a company release. Lego launched its first effort focusing on inclusion with its "Ready for Girls" campaign, which celebrates female creativity and highlights achievements of girls and young women.
Bloomingdale's small-format Bloomie's store that opened in Virginia this summer features rotating curated collections of luxury goods, tailored to local tastes and designed with millennials and Gen Zers in mind. The store is the first Bloomie's location and the retailer expects to learn from shoppers as it makes plans for the concept, Bloomingdale's executive Denise Magid said.
Target's Building Blocks for Better Products program will help almost 30 businesses run by women and people of color that also have a sustainability focus, the company says. "Ultimately, when we actually empower entrepreneurs, who are in many cases living and working in Black communities, that's when we're really going to start to see a big difference across this country," says entrepreneur Aurora James, founder of Brother Vellies.
It's important that companies listen if they hope to retain talented women and develop them as future leaders, writes Beth Castle, the managing editor of InHerSight. Castle recommends starting Slack channels dedicated to groups such as working parents or singles living alone during the pandemic, holding town hall talks that go beyond business news and encouraging managers to talk to employees about their lives.
Workplaces shouldn't just look to recover from the pandemic but gain an edge on talent acquisition, especially with women disproportionately affected by COVID-19, write W. Brad Johnson and David Smith. This means rethinking attitudes about flexible work, avoiding split cultures of remote and on-site, and hiring managers "who can articulate the business case and the moral imperative for full gender balance and equity in the company, and promote those who exude authenticity, inclusiveness, humility, and empathy," they write.
