Erin Dowell and Marlette Jackson: Woke Washing Your Workplace

Today, companies want you to believe that they are not just selling a car, shampoo, or a pair of jeans, but rather they are fighting for gender and racial equality in an attempt to connect with millennials who are willing to spend more money on socially conscious products. Brands have started using progressive values as a marketing ploy and are appropriating social activism as a form of advertising. Companies want consumers to believe that this is not simply about commercial gain rather, openly advocating for social issues is a communication of what the company stands for. But what happens when people who work for these companies have a very different lived experience of the brand. Are companies that espouse values of inclusion, diversity, and equality walking the talk? Or is this just more woke washing? On today’s episode, inclusion experts and consultants Erin Dowell and Marlette Jackson will share the signs your company and even you might be engaging in woke washing and what the costs of this are. Also, we will address what you and your organization can do to get real about equality.