WeAreBRIDGE

📣 Big news from BRIDGE! 📣 We're thrilled to announce Sandra Sims-Williams, Chief Business Inclusion, Impact, and Belonging Officer for Nielsen, as our new Board Chair. Sandra is a change agent, trusted advisor, and #Inclusion champion who brings more than 30 years of business leadership experience to the helm of the BRIDGE Board. Sandra's long-standing commitment to our mission and her steady hand in our growth have been invaluable. We are also forever grateful to Jonita Wilson, PHR (She/Her) for her steadfast leadership and service to the industry over the past two years! And that's just the beginning! As our work continues to grow, we're also expanding our Board of Directors by adding six new members - incredible business, marketing, and DEI professionals who bring their unique experience, skills, and savvy to our already outstanding Board. The future of BRIDGE is bright! Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eTudJetw #WeAreStrongerTogether #WeAreBRIDGE #DEI

📣 Join us for the June BRIDGE Community Call: Use Cases for Inclusion. Date: Thursday, June 27, at 12 PM ET In our recent webinar, Omar Rodríguez-Vilá, PhD from Emory University, shared three use cases demonstrating the impact of inclusion. Join us to discuss its effect on brand, engagement, and purchase intent. Don't miss out! RSVP here and be part of this important conversation: https://lnkd.in/eSjwbNBx #weareBRIDGE #WeAreStrongerTogether #InclusionIsGoodForBusiness #DEI

Happy Pride! June 28th marks 55 years since the uprising at New York City’s Stonewall Inn. A true intersectional act of tremendous defiance and courage, prominent roles in the uprising were played by Black and brown self-identified drag queens and transgender people such as Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. The six-day riot, sparked by a police raid, is a defining moment in the LGBTQIA+ civil rights movement. The first anniversary of the historic uprising was marked by the Christopher Street Liberation Day March (named for the location of the Stonewall Inn), which traveled from Greenwich Village to Central Park. Today, that tradition continues: with marches in over 100 countries, Pride remains a protest, an act of personal and political resistance for the LGBTQIA+ community, and June is celebrated worldwide as LGBTQIA+ Pride Month. Not surprisingly, brands are clamoring to take advantage of this demographic's purchasing power. June sees a barrage of content, ads, and rainbow-colored product placements aimed squarely at the LGBTQIA+ community. But how inclusive is corporate marketing when the spotlight is not on Pride? According to GLAAD’s 2023 Advertising Visibility Index, of the 436 ads on national linear television from the top ten largest advertisers, LGBTQIA+ people received 1.42% of screen time and were featured in only 3% of ads. This is even though about 65% of Americans feel that advertisers have a responsibility to give visibility to LGBTQIA+ individuals, couples, and families within their content. For businesses to realize growth, Inclusion must be in an organization's DNA, from product conception to marketing, and not just promoted when the spotlight shines. Our support for the LGBTQIA+ community remains steadfast and strong. And, as we march this month, we recognize and celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community —OUR community — and their struggle, persistence, joy, and strength.  #Pride #PrideMonth #Pride2024 #Inclusion #wearestrongertogether Photos from (1) the Collection of Fred Sargeant and (2) Michael Evans

🤔 What are the use cases for #inclusion in business? Find out at our next BRIDGE Webinar Series – Understanding Inclusion: Find Use Cases, Not Business Cases this Thursday, June 6th, at 12pm ET. Omar Rodríguez-Vilá, PhD, Emory University Goizueta Business School, joins Sheryl Daija, BRIDGE, to explore new research driving use cases for inclusion, including: 1️⃣ Inclusion as a Brand Benefit 2️⃣ Inclusion to Drive Engagement 3️⃣ Inclusion to Improve Purchase Intent Register at the link below! #inclusionisgoodforbusiness #wearebridge

🌟INTRODUCING OUR #BRIDGE24 RISING STARS 🌟 What is a RISING STAR? They are the best and the brightest up-and-coming inclusion makers, the people who are paving the way for a more just, diverse, and equitable industry and world. They are the future. Our Rising Stars were nominated by their peers and hand-picked by BRIDGE Board Members to attend BRIDGE24, our second annual retreat. We made sure their experiences were unforgettable - they were each connected to a Board member, mingled with top industry leaders at our Board lunch, and broadened their networks by sitting with different attendees at each meal. And it was a highlight of the retreat when they gathered on stage for a panel discussion to share their thoughts on what they need from their executive management, from BRIDGE, and from each other to continue learning and growing into future industry leaders who will shape the next generation of inclusive brands and businesses.  It was the experience of a lifetime - for them and us. As one of our Rising Stars said, “If we are the future, if we are the Rising Stars that they tell us we are, that we believe us to be, I think that's the real opportunity, Because we're better together.” Thank you to our Rising Stars. The future is bright indeed! Joanne Saint Louis (She/Her/Hers), JAMS Francis Carrero-Green, VML Marion Mwai, Index Exchange Cleonta Jackson - Tidwell, GoGuardian Peace Adeyemi, MBA, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Hadley Amann, Sonos, Inc. Hannah Shipley, Cisco Tatiana R., Publicis Groupe Deonta' Plase, GALLO

Find out what we learned at BRIDGE24! Sign up for our May Stronger Together Community Call on Thursday, May 30, 2024, at 12 pm ET. We’ll discuss all the insights and innovations from our BRIDGE24 retreat. It’s sure to be an inspiring and empowering conversation! - Uncover the potential impact of Project 2025, a playbook of conservative promises, which is a “180-day plan to dismantle not just parts of our lives but our work in this world.” - Discover how inclusive marketing and media are crucial for brands to achieve their full growth potential. - Learn how to empower and uplift more diverse young people to have a substantive seat at the table, and the infrastructures needed to make that happen. Don’t sleep on this incredible discussion! Secure your spot now to be part of the conversation. https://lnkd.in/e-7aK-xN #wearebridge #wearestrongertogether #inclusion #DEI #BRIDGE24

It takes a village! The enthusiastic support of our extraordinary partners and sponsors made #BRIDGE24 happen—none of it would have been possible without their steadfast commitment to uplifting #DEI. We appreciate you! Thank you for helping to build a better, more inclusive industry.#wearebridge #wearestrongertogether

BRIDGE agrees with E.L.F. BEAUTY that diversity is great for business. BRIDGE CEO and Board Member Sheryl Daija (BRIDGE) and Yin Woon Rani (MilkPEP) are quoted in this must-read Ad Age article: “It’s very difficult to agree on what is morally correct in this country. We are a very divided country right now. So, we are moving the narrative away from philosophy, opinion, and beliefs because it’s not a business case when you do that. We’re moving our mission to be about helping companies operationalize inclusion as a business practice for growth because we fundamentally believe inclusion is the next growth opportunity.” – Sheryl Daija “You have marketers, CEOs and chief revenue officers from a bunch of companies all craving for a more practical way of driving inclusion as a business practice. We’re going to keep the faith, stay the course, do the work and manage the narrative, because what I know as a consumer marketer is that the appetite for diversity in the consumer population is much higher than what you see in the business headlines. – Yin Woon Rani Thanks to Jack Neff for including BRIDGE in this article about E.l.f.'s bold new campaign and how brands are tying their DEI efforts to marketing effectiveness and growth. #wearebridge #inclusionisgoodforbusiness #DEI

Dr. Clarence B. Jones took us on an emotional and inspirational rollercoaster at #BRIDGE24. See Sheryl Daija's recollections below! #inclusion #dei #wearebridge #wearestrongertogether