Category Archives: Personal Empowerment

DUBAI, 19th October 2021 (WAM) - A press conference was held earlier today to announce the agenda of the fourth edition of Aqdar World Summit (AWS) which will be held this year under the theme "Positive Global Citizenship Empowerment of Sustainable Investment Opportunities" from 24-30 October 2021 at the Dubai Exhibition Center and the "Fazaa" pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.

Aqdar World Summit, which is one of the initiatives of Khalifa Empowerment Program (Aqdar), is a global platform for leaders, decision-makers, experts, specialists, and leading companies from around the world to gather and discuss local and global issues related to the empowerment of societies in their human, cultural and intellectual dimensions while also providing a bright and prosperous future for individuals and to ensure security, stability, and prosperity in communities across the globe.

The fourth edition of Aqdar World Summit will be held in coordination with leading governments and organizations to empower communities and provide a vision that is derived from the heart of the Arab culture which embodies the spirit of tolerance and peace. The fourth edition of the summit seeks to enhance the role of the UAE's soft power, develop rich and sustainable partnerships between governments and international organizations, spread the principles of the Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan and his inspiring approach to tolerance, peace, and coexistence among people, and provide a work environment that brings sustainable investment opportunities.

During the press conference held at the Expo Media Center at Expo 2020 Dubai, the scientific committee of Aqdar World Summit 2021 revealed the unique activities that will take place during the week-long event. The activities which were crafted carefully will shed light on the various issues that concern the community and will focus on empowering its members. Furthermore, the summit will provide a space for individuals to express themselves, which goes in line with the main objective of this global event- nourishing minds, flourishing nations.

The fourth editions theme was chosen carefully to reflect the organizers' efforts to go in line with Expo 2020 Dubais theme "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future".

This year, Aqdar World Summit will introduce a new concept for conferences and will bring together people of all ages, cultures, backgrounds, and interests, at Aqdar Lab, which is a one-of-a-kind event that combines various activities organized in collaboration with prominent local and regional entities.

The activities featured at Aqdar Lab will include Aqdar Majlis, a dialogue platform that brings together senior leaders, policymakers, academics, researchers, and scientists from around the world to present share, and discusses trends, new developments in global positive citizenship and best practices and explore ways to exchange human knowledge.

The speakers at Aqdar Majlis include Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, World Health Organization Director-General who will speak about the importance of applying the concepts of positive global citizenship through the exchange of knowledge and expertise among people, Hussain Ibrahim Al Hammadi, the UAE Minister of Education, who will discuss digital empowerment and its role in empowering positive global citizenship, and present a review of the experience of the Emirati school in promoting the concepts of positive global citizenship, Chris Gardner, CEO of Happyness, who will discuss happiness and positive global citizenship, Patrick Van Der Loo, Regional President for Africa and the Middle East (AfME) region- Pfizer, who will speak about global positive citizenship in the time of crises, Ambassador Putman-Cramer, Director of DIHAD International Scientific Advisory Board, who will speak about the role of positive citizenship in humanitarian work along with Clare Dalton, the Head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Mission in the UAE, and Mario Stephan, Executive Director for Doctors Without Borders / Mdecins Sans Frontires.

Additionally, Clarence Seedorf, Founder & CEO, Seedorf Group Limited, will discuss promoting positive global citizenship within multiple cultures, while Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, Chairman of Hedayah, a counterterrorism-centered research and training institute that focuses on countering violent extremism, will discuss the structure of modern science and its reflections on the concepts of positive global citizenship.

Furthermore, activities include Aqdar Bootcamp, a dynamic start-up accelerator that aims to empower startups to present their unique and innovative ideas in the field of business and empower youth in the field of investment to promote the countrys economy and develop innovative ideas in the field of investment and Artificial Intelligence in line with the new strategic vision of the country. The activity witnessed the participation of 144 candidates with a total of 73 projects in various fields, where analytical interviews were conducted to study their innovative projects, and 10 projects were shortlisted and provided with licenses and some facilities that enable them to start their new projects.

The activities also include Aqdar Roots, a stage dedicated to children from countries such as Japan, the United States of America, Great Britain, and Russia to share their experiences in UAE schools to promote positive global citizenship and exchange expertise among children who live and study in the UAE and abroad. Additionally, school visits will be organized for students to learn about the various accompanying activities and events.

Furthermore, Aqdar Lab will also include Aqdar Art, which is a program organized in collaboration with EMMA for peace, or the Euro Mediterranean Music Academy.

Aqdar Art is aimed at empowering young artists around the world, where several diverse musical concerts will be organized in the morning and evening periods. Aqdar Art emphasizes the role of music in spreading peace and love among people. additionally, it will include a variety of musical pieces which will be presented by distinguished young Emirati artists who play a variety of musical instruments, including jazz and guitar, who will be supported and empowered locally and internationally.

The summit activities also include a digital platform "Messages to the Future" which is developed in accordance with the national initiative "Send your message to the future," as well as in collaboration with the fifty-year anniversary work team, so that people from within and outside the country can visit Expo to record future video clips.

The activities also include Aqdar Labs "Aqdar Brainstorming Sessions" which is an innovative platform for creative brainstorming among selected segments of society on topics aligned with the UAEs strategic direction within the fifty projects to develop iconic ideas and solutions that help realize the governments vision and make recommendations to the appropriate authorities.

Aqdar World Summit also includes a Global Exhibition, which includes 40 local and international organisations, covering various sectors concerned with empowering society and providing an opportunity for businessmen and pioneering projects to exchange ideas and experiences.

Additionally, activities also include "Aqdar Community Empowerment Roundtable", which is one of the international tools adopted in informal international dialogues, discussions, and sessions, in coordination with local and international bodies and the pavilions of the participating countries, to discuss selected topics. The participating entities include Emirates News Agency (WAM), Federal Youth Authority, UAE Space Agency, Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award, and National Geographic Arabia. The sessions will be attended by representatives of these bodies where they will discuss vital topics that promote positive global citizenship such as modern media and social communication, space sciences, and cinemas and photography.

Furthermore, one of the activities that will take place on the sidelines of the summit is Cultural Cooperation Forums which will include a variety of interactive programs that include: cultural, training, and scientific programs, and will review global experiences and highlight various cultures from different parts of the world such as China, Germany, Israel, India, and many others, in relation to the objectives of this years main theme "Positive Global Citizenship".

And to promote Popular Inheritance of the Emirati personality, "Emirati credibility" is an activity that will be done in collaboration with several national institutions to create a multi-national platform to highlight the Emirati values and qualities that stem from the legacy of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and from the wise leaderships directives to empower the main characteristics of the Emirati citizen.

The summit will include the "Emirati and Aqdar" initiative, which will shed the light on prominent Emirati figures in many fields and highlight their achievements and inventions that contributed to societys renaissance.

Another activity is "Aqdar Dialogue Sessions" where elite speakers from a variety of societal, professional, international, and scientific sectors will be participating in a variety of intellectual and scientific conversation sessions to learn about the notion of global good citizenship from a variety of perspectives.

Additionally, "EXPO Through My Eyes" Photography Competition will be launched in conjunction with National Geographic and the Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Photography Award to highlight the role of photography in promoting positive global citizenship concepts and highlighting country pavilions, where prizes will be awarded to the winners for the photos taken by participants, whether they are visitors or residents of the UAE.

The summit activities will also include "Popular Inheritance and Global Positive Citizenship" where sessions will be organized throughout the week in collaboration with the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Center for Heritage Revival and some of the participating nations pavilions at the Expo. These sessions will emphasize common folklore between the UAE and similar countries such as the importance of the camel in the Emirati and Moroccan folklore, the similarities of ship design between the Emirati and Greek folklore, the usage of cattle between the Emirati and New Zealand folklore, the significance of the falcon between the UAE and the Russian folklore, the importance of palm trees between the UAE and the Indonesian folklore, the value of the horse between the Emirati and the Spanish folklore, and the significance of the pearl between the UAE and Bahraini folklore. This activity will attract specialized speakers from the Emirates and these countries for cultural and knowledge exchange.

As part of the UAE governments plan to protect and improve the environment for the next fifty years, "Tree of 50" will be launched in the contribution of Aqdar, where 50,000 Mangrove trees will be planted to help the UAE combat climate changes. This initiative aims to honor the legacy of our father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who paid special attention to agriculture and the preservation of the environment, and sheds light on the importance of preserving and sustaining the environment.

These initiatives are organized in cooperation and partnership between Aqdar and many strategic executives, partners, and implementers. The topics discussed at the summit aim to develop the Artificial Intelligence adopted by the country to foresee the future, and continue to be a pioneer in the field of Artificial Intelligence and aim to nourish minds to flourish nations, and achieve the desired goals in developing personal skills and strengthen the spirit of innovation and the concepts that contribute to development, especially since the UAE is a global leader in various fields, regionally and globally, that aim to achieve the well-being of human beings and societies, keep pace with the various transformations with the best global practices and indicators, and focus on educational outcomes that enhance human capital for a better future, and to be well-equipped to face challenges and achieve national aspirations.

A number of qualitative initiatives will also be announced on the third day of the summit through Aqdar Lab. The launch of these initiatives will be attended by a number of officials who will be announced at a later stage.

During the press conference, Dr. Ibrahim Al Dabal, CEO of Aqdar, said: "Following the wide echo of the previous editions of the Aqdar World Summit, the great impact it had on societies and individuals, and the remarkable success it achieved in transmitting the experience of the United Arab Emirates to the world, especially in its third edition, we have decided to organize the fourth edition of Aqdar World Summit under the theme "Positive Global Citizenship Empowerment of Sustainable Investment Opportunities" in the largest, most important and the first event of its kind in the region, Expo 2020 Dubai, Which is an ideal platform for this event that focuses on strengthening human relations, disseminating experiences and creative ideas, promoting cognitive and digital empowerment, positive methodologies in sustainable investment and positive citizenship, spreading awareness and striving towards happier and more developed societies for all segments of society."

He added: "There is no doubt that Aqdar World Summit is one of the important international forums, which, since its first edition, has succeeded in spreading knowledge and facilitating sharing experiences, and provided an opportunity for all members of society to benefit from the methodologies, information and experiences shared with us by the most important speakers and specialists in many fields. This year, we worked hard to exceed the expectations of the individuals participating in Aqdar World Summit, and we sought to convey the methodology of the wise government of the United Arab Emirates, especially in its continuous endeavor to empower society and specialists in their search for excellence in their fields of specialization, and the interest of our leaders -may God protect them- in education, empowerment and innovation technology and development."

Dr. Abdul Salam Al Madani, Executive Chairman of Aqdar World Summit and Chairman of INDEX Holding, said: "We are very proud of our continuous collaboration with Aqdar to organize the fourth edition of Aqdar World Summit which is anticipated to be an exceptional edition, held at the Worlds Greatest Show, Expo 2020 Dubai. Furthermore, and in an aim to transfer the methodology of the UAEs wise leadership, especially in its continuous endeavor to empower youth, students, and specialists in their search for excellence in their fields of specialization and our leaders emphasis on education, empowerment, and innovation, technology and development, we worked hard to exceed the expectations of the individuals who are participating in Aqdar World Summit and are pleased to announce the agenda of the fourth edition of Aqdar World Summit.''''This year, we shed light on the importance of the joint work of individuals as a single entity united by one vision and a clear goal, and we aspire to work together towards the advancement of our societies and moving forward towards future foresight. The initiatives of Aqdar World Summit this year are in line with the vision of the UAE government and wise leadership, and our efforts are directed towards working in line with the UAEs vision for the next fifty years."

He continued: "The fourth edition of Aqdar World Summit will be held in conjunction with the launch of Expo 2020 Dubai, which will give it the momentum to be an exceptional edition that reflects the honorable image of the Emirati personality that seeks to take the lead in various fields such as education, innovation, leadership, Artificial Intelligence, and science space and development while preserving Emirati values, which are an integral part of our society."

Lieutenant Colonel Abdulrahman Al Mansouri, Deputy CEO of Aqdar, said: "Aqdar World Summit, which has become one of the most anticipated events in the region and the world, comes as an important event that reflects the goals of Aqdar and its vision in empowering societies and achieving sustainability, and seeks to form a global model that aims to enhance local and international efforts by empowering qualified cadres that are capable of coping with the challenges of the present and the future, a goal that has proven its importance during the circumstances that the world has witnessed recently."

Lieutenant Colonel Sultan Al Ketbi, Director-General of Aqdar, said: "The summit activities will include many unique initiatives which go in line with the vision of the UAE government for the next fifty years, with the participation of 182 speakers from more than 17 countries in the world and all segments of the local and international community, and coordination with more than 23 countries and pavilions of the participating countries Expo 2020, in addition to more than 80 sponsors and partners."

Link:

Aqdar World Summit announces agenda of its fourth edition - WAM EN

More from this themeRecent articles

COP26 is upon us. Agreements will be reached, hands shaken and agreements with the potential to drive rapid change across the world signed. Heads of state will return home ready to act on new targets or agreements, or at the very least, to figure out how to make it look like theyre doing so.

As a result of the agreements that come out of this make or break moment, business leaders will be compelled to adapt these changes into their vision and strategies to meet net zero, decarbonisation or even carbon negative targets.

What will this mean for the education sector and the new skills it will need to lead on? Earlier this year, FE News published an article on the sustainability roadmap for FE and HE institutions in the UK. The UNESCO 2030 roadmap is clear in its call for climate-ready learning environments, empowerment and upskilling of educators and more support for youth mobilisation on climate action.

There is still a huge piece missing when it comes to the picture of the skills needed to facilitate the social changes required to fight climate change. There has been much focus on green jobs , such as the 694,000 of them that are forecast to exist across England by 2030 but the reality is that this is just part of a much, much bigger picture!

Whilst these green jobs will be essential for building a more sustainable economy, the overwhelming majority of us will continue to work in non-green jobs in sectors that will still have to transform to become more sustainable. Green jobs alone will not bring the scale of change we need to meet sustainability targets.

It is not just a case of sustainability skills becoming essential for employability, but more that we have the challenge of changing personal and social behaviour across society to ensure that individuals know how their choices, as citizens and consumers, impact on the climate and future generations.

This means that our challenge goes far beyond developing skills for green jobs. We need to embed mass eco-literacy and sustainability skills across all sectors, job roles and society as a whole. The skills sector is the obvious choice to lead on this.

Where does this leave the teachers, students, apprentices and campus staff who could be taking action now but need the resources and training to do so? What can we do to support them?

A transformative solution for challenging times

An education and training solution which empowers the sector to lead on skills to mitigate and prevent the worst impacts of climate change, to equip all learners with the knowledge they need to support sustainability objectives, and the skills they need to be actively involved in change. That is the challenge we set ourselves at The Skills Network.

The solution needs to be accessible, adaptable and available to education institutes to personalise and align with their own focus, employer partnerships and region. It needs to provide practical strategy, support, end to end delivery resource and teacher training to empower education stakeholders to embed sustainability across their delivery to help them become Sustainability Change Makers.

The critical element here is impact. We do not need more people to know more things, but rather to feel able, empowered and ready to do more. To meet this challenge, and to address the huge sustainability skills gap we currently have, we are launching a suite of transformative solutions.

Understanding and applying environmental sustainability (level 2 RQF)

This unique programme is the first in the suite, and has the flexibility to draw relevance from a wide range of sectors, from those working in marketing admissions and finance on campus, to the learners doing their apprenticeships in hairdressers and catering companies, to people working in non green office jobs, or even working from home.

There are a lot of sustainability courses out there, with phrases like raising awareness or equipping with knowledge but this is not a course in GDPR or health and safety. There is a major lack of training, support and resources available to educators to embed it into the delivery of their own subject.

The Skills Networks resources are different; designed to provide educators with an end to end solution for developing core sustainability skills and providing adaptable, sector-specific examples and many opportunities for practical application.Our level 2 qualification include project work applicable to each individual sector, and we provide the resources to embed this into full time programmes.

In line with this approach, our content explores key sustainability themes in a way that goes beyond basic knowledge transfer, and is instead relational and co constructed.We have embedded case studies and activities throughout our courses, which apply to a wide range of sectors and roles, ranging from office job and service sectors to manual sectors, from large companies to individual sole traders, colleges to communities.

Thats not co-constructed you might say, and normally you would be right. In this new offer, however, we have added an additional project unit to our course offer on Impact at Work. This enables learners to take all of their new skills and knowledge to apply to practical sustainability scenarios in specific job roles and work sectors, which then feeds back into the learning resources as tangible, relatable examples of real impact.

Making real impact

The impact project component is a unique offer. Learners are asked to draw together their learning from the core units and apply it to make real change in their own setting, whether that be college, work, home or community.

From conducting and acting on sustainability audits to analysing sources of emissions and recommending and implementing changes, learners are firmly in the driving seat, and educators and institutions can be alongside in support.

We have created pathways for these learners to share that personal impact with us, so that an ever-increasing diversity of case studies can be fed back into the resources at learners disposal. The more a learner can see someone like themselves, making positive change in a context that feels personally relevant, the less distance there is from a sense of agency. In other words, if they do it, why cant I?

In using this as a cornerstone resource to inspire change, educators can become instant sustainability champions, even if they are new to the subject. By taking our programme to use off the shelf to deliver in-depth sustainability skills or by using our course editing tool to add in additional case studies and activities that are specific to the subject they teach, our resources can be used as a basis to deliver sustainability skills in everything from hairdressing and catering to construction and engineering!

Reflection, reaction, action.

Throughout our intensive, down-to-earth and practical suite of sustainability courses, we have created numerous opportunities to reflect, deepen learning, conduct independent research and to find out more about how each area of sustainability connects to the world around the learner. What do rising global temperatures mean for life in my region? What does the circular economy have to do with an apprentice plumber?

Each unit has opportunities to apply that learning. From small tasks at home, to organisations you can contact, to ideas for projects at work and in college. This approach is designed to build competency-based sustainability knowledge and skills that can be aligned to multiple roles and sectors, making learners more employable and able to use the practical skills developed on the programme to effect positive change at work

At each opportunity we connect the global context of big concepts like the UN SDGs and the big summits on climate change to the actions we see in everyday contexts around us. If we want to connect knowledge and reflection to action, we need to see the thread that runs through all of the narratives, policies and practices around us. Perhaps COP26 might feel a little less distant that way.

To help transform organisational cultures, systems, communities and societies, our offer is designed to find ways to meet people where they are, and shrink the distance between the issues we collectively face and the personal choices we make every single day.

The Leading Solution for Mass Sustainability and Eco Literacy Skills in Non-Green Jobs

As much as we have focused on creating relevance to a range of people, roles, sectors and contexts, nobody knows your setting better than you do.That means flexibility and adaptability will be a critical success factor for a sustainability training that aims at making real change in society.

While our ready to go, off-the-shelf provision will certainly appeal to many, we do offer a course builder tool which allows you to fully adapt, edit, brand and personalise the provision to your institute or subject.

Getting started with sustainability training can be very time consuming, but this way there is no need to start from scratch. You can add in examples from your own institution, your own case studies, extend areas that connect to key lines of strategy, and any number of other tweaks to take personalisation to the next level. Whatever your provision, region, local or national ecosystem, making this work for you is

Learning can be fully online (generally a lower carbon option!) or blended to add, for example, site visits and opportunities for experiential learning.Mass sustainability skills mean the broadest possible access, and online learning supports this.

This way, education institutes and businesses can use our core content to support their own branded, institutionalised sustainability strategy, with clear connections to specific student/institute projects and practical application activities.

Moving forward from there, we have a range of progression routes to more specialised courses for teachers and leaders, as well as consultancy support to help embed ESD within your wider sustainability strategy, from core projects to employer partnerships.

Through these layers of quality skills training and support, embedding sustainability in your institution just became much more accessible. If we are to be bold, we must be willing to say that every job is a green job in a truly sustainable world. That means every job must be supported with the skills training to make that a reality..

Empowering action now, not later

An ambitious sustainability strategy is not just an extra, or a nice-to-have in any business or education institution. Sustainability training is not an added value, but inherent. Minimising our impact on people and the planet is not just good for business and innovation, but a responsibility and an obligation.

The tidal wave of demand for sustainability skills is now coming into full view, but it is also our responsibility to equip the mass workforce with these skills, so that real systemic change is possible.

We need not wait for new rafts of regulations and targets to be handed down, especially those which shift with the prevailing political wind. If the last 20 years have proved anything, it is that we cannot always look up for leadership on climate action.

Arming our staff and students with knowledge of what sustainability means and how it connects to each of them, means they will see the way they live, eat, travel and work in a new light. The invigorating realisation that the worst impacts of climate change need not happen if we all step up, can make all the difference.

Leadership, empowerment, future skills and positive action. Whats not to like?

Keep calm and carry on recycling if you like, but we owe it to generations present and pending to learn more, say more, do more. To give this our best shot, and to do it together we need to be inclusive and make sure everyone gets involved.

We invite institutions to reach out and work with us to ensure that when these targets and strategies filter down from COP26, we have a new generation of graduates and learners, educators and leaders, who know just how to drive them forward.

For more information on The Skills Networks sustainability courses and to sign up click here

Excerpt from:

UK training provider The Skills Network steps up to fill the skills gap on sustainability training and resourcing - FE Week

By: Amethyst Martinez

This is not the end of your story. Define your own story. Be the hero of your own story.

These were Sheena Howards, a professor of communication at Rider, three truths of self empowerment which she delivered at a moving speech at the TEDXChestnutStreetStudio that was released on the TED website on Sept. 20.

TEDx is a public speaking program focused on local community speakers, in comparison to its parent program TED that features speakers from all over the world.The mission is to elevate local individuals voices.

Howard spoke about her three truths of self-empowerment, while also speaking about her experiences from adolescence to struggles faced in adulthood.

Doing a TEDx talk was an amazing experience and I am glad I had the support system to get it recorded and delivered to the world, said Howard in an email to The Rider News.

The TEDx was hosted at REC Philly located on Market Street in Philadelphia.

Howard said, REC Philly is a 10,000 square foot creative space where Quest Love just performed so it was a great honor to do a TEDx talk, but to also do it at that location. The entire experience was nerve-wracking and exciting all at once.

Twelve individuals were selected to speak for the event, Howard being one of those chosen.

Howard said, I made the last available spot for the Chestnut Studio TEDx event, so it felt like that spot was made for me. I did my best to maximize my time on stage and deliver the exact message I wanted to deliver to the world. Personal empowerment is akin to personal responsibility of your life and the things that have happened; you are able to take control of your future in very powerful ways.

During her speech, Howard provided real examples of challenges that she has faced throughout her life.

I talked about self-empowerment, which for me, is looking within to find the answers to some of lifes toughest questions and lifes most difficult situations. Being back on campus here at Rider, many of my students are struggling with the transition back to campus and just the stressors of life, so I want people to have an optimistic view of the power they have to control their future, said Howard.

In addition to being a professor, Howard is an award-winning writer, scholar and filmmaker. She was the first Black female to win an Eisner Award for one of her 2013 comic books titled Black Comics: Politics of Race and Representation and has received honors such as two proclamations from the City of Philadelphia for literary, social justice work and creative projects, the KYW Women of Excellence Award in 2019 and more. She is also the Founder of Power Your Research, a program that helps increase media presence for tenured professors.

Nicole Johnson, a graduate student with a major in school counseling and a former student of Howards, said, I mostly give it all to Dr. Howard for teaching me how to communicate with people better than previously.

Johnson said, Shes African American like me, and she exudes that strength as she exudes confidence as an African American individual. Shes given me so much in my life thats affected me personally and academically.

Howard said, I had been asked to do a TEDx talk in the past but I didnt feel my message was refined at that point. I waited to do a TEDx talk when I knew what I wanted to say and who I wanted to impact. I knew that one day the topic for my speech would just come to me its all about trusting your intuition.

Howards 11 minute speech can be viewed on the TED website.

Read more:

Rider professor talks self empowerment in TEDx - The Rider News

RALEIGH The pandemic has led to a sharp increase in the number of people working remotely and an increase in competition for skilled labor. It would seem like a golden opportunity for business leaders to empower their workforce in order to keep good employees and recruit new ones. But the idea has met with widespread resistance. What gives?

Who better to ask thanBrad Kirkman? With Payal Sharma from the University of Nevada Las Vegas and Lauren DInnocenzo of Drexel University, Kirkman co-authored a recent article inSloan Management Reviewtitled Why Leaders Resist Empowering Virtual Teams. Kirkman is the General (Ret.) H. Hugh Shelton Distinguished Professor of Leadership in NCStates Poole College of Management. We recently had the chance to talk with Kirkman about empowering employees, leadership and the bottom line on the bottom line.

The Abstract:Your paper argues that now is the time for business leaders to focus on empowering workers. What do you mean by empowering workers, and why is it important now?

Brad Kirkman:A lot of people assume that empowering employees means simply giving them more power, which translates into more autonomy and decision-making discretion in their jobs. But thats an overly narrow view of empowerment.

Brad Kirkman (NCSU photo)

Empowering employees actually does include increasing employee autonomy, thats true. But it is also three other things: increasing the meaning employees find in their work; making sure employees see the impact of what they do on others; and building up the sense of competence employees have that they can do their jobs well. After all, giving someone more autonomy over a job they find meaningless, that has no impact, and that they dont feel that can do well is not really empowerment! So companies need to make sure they enhance all four dimensions of empowerment.

The reason empowerment is so important right now is based on multiple factors.

For one, the business environment today is characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (the acronym VUCA is often used as shorthand for this). It is virtually impossible for leaders to have all the answers. And it is virtually impossible for leaders to understand the intricacies and nuances of every job their employees do. As a result, it is basically a business imperative that leaders empower their employees so that the dynamic nature of work today can be accomplished effectively.

Another reason empowerment is important right now is that people are increasingly motivated by things other than money. In fact, a 2018 study found thatnine out of 10 employees they surveyed would take a pay cut to do more meaningful work. In fact, when asked how much they would actually give up, they reported that they would be willing to let go of 23% of their entire future lifetime earnings for greater meaning. That is why empowering employees is so critical today. People are more motivated by meaning in todays world than they are by money.

And these trends have only accelerated with the COVID-19 pandemic. McKinsey found thattwo-thirds of U.S.-based employees reported the pandemic has caused them to reflect on their purpose in life. Almost half said they are reconsidering the kind of work they do. Importantly, the Millennial generation was also three times more likely than other generations to report reconsidering their careers.

In short, people are really searching for meaning and purpose in the jobs they do. By empowering them, employers can tap into these motivational sources and increase employee productivity, satisfaction, and retention.

TA:Is it possible to benefit from empowering workers in every field?

Kirkman:Not really. Research has shown that strategies like empowerment or self-management only really pay off when the work employees are doing is complex. In other words, there has to be enough room for the employees to exercise their empowerment or else they view it as a waste of time. Clearly, empowering someone to do a relatively simple, routine job doesnt really do anything for their motivation. The job is already controlling what they do anyway, so there is no room for empowerment to flourish. In the end, empowerment is a much broader and deeper form of intrinsic motivation compared to these other practices.

TA:Now that working remotely is more common, are managers more supportive of empowering workers?

Kirkman:With the pandemic greatly increasing remote working, you would think so. After all, remote work clearly means that leaders cannot monitor or observe what their employees are doing day-to-day. Almost by default, that would mean leaders would need to empower employees to take on more responsibility and authority when managing their far-flung workforce. Makes sense, right?

Whats more, because remote workers need to take on more autonomy outside the office and because employees are looking for more meaning in their work, now would be the perfect time for leaders to double down on empowerment.

However, our interviews with, and research on, both leaders and employees shows that many leaders are actuallyresistingempowering their remote employees. Its almost like if they cannot constantly monitor their employees in the office, they struggle with letting go and empowering them to get their jobs done in remote settings.

TA:Why are some business leaders opposed to empowering workers?

Kirkman:We have identified at least three reasons why this is the case.

First, research has shown that leaders are motivated to lead in three ways: affective motivation (they like doing it); social-normative motivation (they feel a sense of duty or responsibility to lead); and noncalculative motivation (they see the benefits of leading others and dont fixate on the costs of doing so).

If leaders are not motivated on one or more of these dimensions, they typically wont make the effort to empower others. For example, if leaders dont like to lead, they certainly wont take the time or invest the energy to empower their employees, because empowerment is time-consuming, especially on the front end. Similarly, if they dont feel a sense of duty to lead, they wont buy into empowerment. And, if they are constantly focused on the costs of empowering others, they wont do it.

These issues are exacerbated in remote working environments because typical problems like poor communication with employees can further dampen a leaders affective motivation to lead. Some leaders also feel less accountable and visible to their organizations in remote environments, and so they feel less duty-bound or obligated to empower others. And, the amount of juggling that leaders are having to do today, many working from home or only part of the time in the office, means that they have less time to develop empowering routines and practices.

Second, some leaders believe that empowering others means giving up some of their own power and control. However, I and others have shown that this is just not the case. Some leaders think power is a zero-sum game or a fixed pie. Its not. What is actually true is that when a leader uses an empowering style with their employees, the leader actually becomes more powerful because they can then focus on the things that leaders at their levelshouldbe focused on: big-picture, more strategic, long-term pursuits. Meanwhile, empowered employees are developing their own leadership skills, thereby keeping the companys leadership pipeline full.

But it is often hard to get leaders to see these advantages because they are afraid to put themselves out there and empower others. The pandemic has caused many people to feel a loss of control over their lives generally, and this certainly includes leaders working in remote environments. This has caused some leaders to compensate by clamping down and closely monitoring their employees so at least they feel like theyre controlling something.

Finally, many leaders view managerial practices like empowerment as risky. That is, leaders may view empowerment as more time-consuming because they may have to hand-hold employees when the employees are learning to take on new tasks or leaders might believe that if their employees make a mistake during the empowerment process, that mistake might be held against them. With the pandemic, many leaders have reported increasing feelings of isolation and exhaustion because their work bleeds over into their personal and family time. To avoid even more fatigue, some leaders believe that theyll save time and energy by avoiding having to correct any employee mistakes. Of course, this is only a short-term fix, because the risks of not empowering remote employees is actually greater as the complexity of work demands that leaders empower others for overall company success.

TA:What can be done to shift executives who have dug in on this issue and why would you want to change their minds?

Kirkman:As noted, there are a lot of different reasons why leaders resist empowering their employees, especially those that work remotely. There are several steps organizations can take to combat managerial reluctance to empower.

First, from a motivation perspective, companies should try to help their leaders reframe their motives.

For example, for affective motivation, increasing the richness of the communication leaders have with followers can be motivating. By richness, I mean not using email as the primary mode of communication, because you lose the nonverbal cues, the tone of voice, the facial expressions that are so important when communicating and building relationships. We have found that having a camera-on policy during remote meetings can recreate that sense of being together and increase leaders affective motivation to lead. For social-normative motivation, companies can help leaders with prioritization of tasks, as again they are juggling so many competing responsibilities. This should lead to a greater shared sense of responsibility for a teams accomplishments and performance. And, to make sure leaders dont fixate on the costs of empowering their remote employees, compared to the benefits, companies can use a buddy system so that leaders assign tasks to pairs of employees, which should reduce the perceived costs that come with empowerment.

Companies can also reduce fears of losing power or control by directly intervening to boost leaders sense of control. For example, they can make sure that leaders and their teams have the digital tools and training they need to interact and work together effectively in a remote setting. Increasing the frequency of online meetings within reason! can also help because employees can report on their progress and any issues they are having in a timely fashion. This should help ward off the out of sight, out of mind phenomenon that can increase fears about losing control.

Finally, companies need to make empowerment feel less risky.

For example, companies can insist that leaders take time off to recharge their batteries so that they are in a better head space to empower others. Another strategy that works well is no-meeting Fridays, which are increasingly used by companies to create space for exploratory, non-urgent projects that can feed longer-term development. And companies should also promote bonding time between leaders and employees, not just as a nice-to-have but as a must-have. Remote working does produce more disconnectedness and loneliness for both leaders and their employees. The deeper the relationships between leaders and employees, the less likely leaders will be to view empowering employees as a risky endeavor. That is, trust built through relationships will be the glue that holds an empowerment process together.

TA:As someone with relevant expertise, what do you think the short-term and long-term ramifications would be if a given company takes steps to empower its workers?

Kirkman:The bottom line is that empowerment improves the bottom line. All of the evidence we have on empowerment and empowering leadership demonstrates positive effects for leaders and employees, the teams in which they work, and their organizations as a whole. Thats something everyone should be excited about.

Short-term, there are costs to empowering others, as leaders need to set up effective empowering systems and structures. Its not as easy as just saying, Okay, you all are empowered, good luck. But the short-term costs come with dramatic long-term benefits. Empowering others is the right thing to do, both from an increased meaningfulness standpoint and from a profitability standpoint.

A great example of a company that has been using empowered leadership effectively for a number of years is W.L. Gore Associates, which makes Gore-Tex and several other products. Gore has over 11,000-employees (called associates), but it has a strict rule that there be no more than 150 people in each office. When a new project or situation arises in the company, rather than having a formal leader assigned to it, a person with the most knowledge on the issue is empowered and assumes leadership. The company does employ a team of higher-level leaders who are responsible for the companys overall well-being (who they refer to as mentors), but they still have no formal authority when it comes to projects. Empowering leadership at Gore relies heavily on direct lines of communication, which can lead to much faster responses during times of great change or crisis.

(C) NCSU

Continued here:

Worker empowerment improves the bottom line but many bosses wont do it heres why - WRAL Tech Wire

Thoughts of a Colored Man officially opens on Broadway tonight, October 13, at the John Golden Theatre.

As the sun rises on a single day in the pulsing heart of Brooklyn, seven Black men are about to discover the extraordinary - together. By Keenan Scott II, one of today's boldest new voices, Thoughts of a Colored Man blends spoken word, slam poetry, rhythm, and humor into a daringly universal new play. Welcome to the vibrant inner life of being Black, proud, and thriving in the 21st century.

The Thoughts of a Colored Man ensemble cast features Dylln Burnside (FX's "Pose,"), Bryan Terrell Clark (Hamilton), Da'Vinchi (Starz's upcoming "Black Mafia Family"), Grammy Award nominee Luke James (Showtime's "The Chi"), Tony Award nominee Forrest McClendon (The Scottsboro Boys), Grammy Award nominee Tristan Mack Wilds (HBO's "The Wire"), and Esau Pritchett ("Prodigal Son").

Meet the cast below!

A multi-hyphenate performer, creator, and recording artist, Burnside has appeared in notable stage, television, and film projects. He currently stars as Ricky in Ryan Murphy's and FX's ground-breaking and Emmy-nominated series, "Pose." He first captivated audiences with his Broadway debut, starring as Anthony in 2014's Holler if Ya Hear Me, a hip-hop musical inspired by the music and lyrics of Tupac Shakur. He also appeared in NBC's "Peter Pan Live!" and the HBO series "High Maintenance," all while completing his final year at the prestigious CAP21 conservatory for music theatre and The New School where he earned a bachelor's degree in Media Studies and Writing. Last year, Burnside hosted the series "Prideland" for PBS. The series explored LGBTQ+ identity in the South and was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award. The Pensacola, FL native began performing professionally at the age of 12 as a member of the hip-hop/R&B boy band 3D, which afforded him the opportunity to tour the country performing original music. Burnside released his debut solo single last year and is currently working on new music. In addition to his performance work, he is passionate about producing quality arts content that promotes social change and works with students at schools across the country about the importance of arts education as a means of personal empowerment and self-expression.

On Broadway, Clark appeared as George Washington in the smash hit Hamilton. He made his Broadway debut playing the iconic role of Marvin Gaye in Motown: The Musical and is featured on the Grammy Award-nominated Original Broadway Cast Album. Additional theater credits include Fences at The Pasadena Playhouse opposite Laurence Fishburne and Angela Bassett and the Mark Taper Forum's production of Immediate Family directed by Phylicia Rashad. Clark will be seen in Shonda Rhymes' "Inventing Anna" on Netflix and the upcoming Disney+ film, Sneakerella. Most recently, Clark was seen on the TNT drama "Snowpiercer" and NBC's "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist." Numerous television appearances include Ava DuVernay's 2020 Peabody Award-winning Netflix miniseries "When They See Us," "Cherish The Day" and "Queen Sugar" on OWN, CBS' "NCIS: New Orleans," "Blue Bloods," "Person of Interest," "Unforgettable," "CSI: NY," and "The Unit." He has also had roles on NBC's "The Mysteries of Laura," Fox's "Empire," USA Network's "Royal Pains" as well as BET's "The New Edition Story" and "Tyler Perry's House of Payne." In addition, Clark appeared in the Warner Bros. film, Collateral Beauty. As a singer, songwriter, and producer, he was co-writer on Mary J. Blige's "Irreversible" on the album My Life II and has performed with such artists as Maxwell, Brandy, Ne-Yo, Anita Baker, Michael Bubl, and many others. Clark is the co-founder of inDEFINED, an initiative launched in 2017 that inspires and teaches young people to use their voices to erase constrictive labels in our society. He graduated from the Yale School of Drama and Temple University. He is a native of Baltimore, Maryland.

Born in Saginaw, Michigan, Esau Pritchett received a B.A. in Performing Arts Theatre from Oakland University. A resident of New York City since 1998, he has appeared in numerous Regional Theatre productions across the country and guest starring roles on TV shows over the past couple of decades. Recently recurred as Mr. David for two seasons on Fox's primetime drama "Prodigal Son". He currently has a recurring role on the STARZ Network drama "Power: Book II Raising Kanaan".

Da'Vinchi is a first-generation Haitian-American born and raised in Brooklyn. He is an actor whose unique personality, charismatic good looks, and raw talent have created a considerable amount of buzz in Hollywood in just three short years. In that time period, he first booked Marvel's "Jessica Jones," then joined the cast of "Grown-ish," a Freeform spin-off of the hit series "Black-ish." He then went on to appear on FOX's "Lethal Weapon," Amazon's "The Boys," and could most recently be seen in a heavily recurring role on the CW's hit series "All American," now in its third season. Following his television success, Da'Vinchi caught the attention of acclaimed director Gavin O'Connor, who cast him in the Warner Bros. feature The Way Back starring Ben Affleck. Da'Vinchi's star continues to rise in 2021, booking a lead role in the highly anticipated Starz series, "Black Mafia Family," from Executive Producer Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson. Da'Vinchi plays the notorious Terry Flenory who, alongside his brother Meech, ran one of the most successful and notorious drug operations in the country in 1980s Detroit. After a whirlwind few years, Da'Vinchi couldn't be more excited to continue his journey and finally take to the Broadway stage!

Luke James has become one of the most watched multi-hyphenate talents in the entertainment industry today. This year, James can be seen in the critically acclaimed Showtime drama series "The Chi," and he recently recurred opposite Cynthia Erivo in "Genius: Aretha," exploring Aretha Franklin's musical genius and incomparable career. Additional television credits include: the hit FOX/Lee Daniels series "Star," HBO's "Insecure," USA's "Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G.," and his role as R&B singer Johnny Gill on BET's "The Bobby Brown Story." On the film front, James appeared in the smash hit Universal Pictures comedy Little opposite Issa Rae, Regina Hall, and Marsai Martin. In music, James released his album, to feel love/d in January 2020 which garnered a 2021 Grammy nomination for Best R&B Album marking the third Grammy nomination of Luke's career. Born and raised in New Orleans, Luke was immersed in the rich musical heritage of the city at an early age, even taking up the saxophone for a number of years. He got his start professionally singing background for Tyrese and went on to write for top artists including Justin Bieber, Chris Brown, and Snoh Aalegra, to name a few. As James expanded his solo career, he went on to perform alongside the late Prince and open for Beyonc's Mrs. Carter Show World Tour. In 2012, he received his first Grammy nomination for Best R&B Performance for his hit song "I Want You" from his first mixtape #Luke and received his second Grammy nomination in 2015 for Best R&B Song for "Options ft. Rick Ross," from his self-titled debut album Luke James. Luke currently splits his time between Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, where he is hard at work on his multitude of projects.

Broadway/London: The Scottsboro Boys (Tony Award nomination). Off-Broadway: City Center Encores!, New Federal, Vineyard, La MaMa. Thoughts of a Colored Man at Arena Stage, Syracuse Stage, and Center Stage. Other regional: Guthrie Theatre, A Contemporary Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Westport Playhouse, Two River, Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre, North Carolina Shakespeare Festival. Awards: Lunt-Fontanne Fellow, two Barrymore Awards (five nominations). Numerous visiting professorships. Faculty: National Theater Institute at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center. @forrestmcclend1 http://www.forrestmcclendon.com

Tristan "Mack" Wilds is an actor, Grammy Award-nominated singer/songwriter, and producer from New York. The multi-faceted entertainer became widely popular from his breakout roles as Michael Lee on the critically acclaimed HBO series, "The Wire," and starring as Dixon Wilson on the hit remake "90210" on the CW. Wilds has since appeared on notable television series such as Fox's "Shots Fired" and VH1's "The Breaks" and feature films such as George Lucas' Red Tails and The Secret Life of Bees alongside heavy hitters Queen Latifah and Dakota Fanning. Not to mention, Wilds also appeared as the lead in Adele's "Hello" music video, which has garnered almost over 3 billion views, quickly becoming one of the fastest music videos to reach a billion views. In more recent news, Wilds will star in the Kevin Durant executive produced series, "Swagger," one of the first original series on Apple+, which is executive produced and directed by Reggie Bythewood.

A proud native of Florence, Alabama, Garrett Turner is an actor, singer, poet, and playwright. As a Jesus-loving free Black man, he believes in the power of both joy and righteous indignation as tools for liberation. He has acted in television shows such as Law & Order: SVU and Madam Secretary. Some of his theater credits include originating a role in the world premiere of Thoughts of a Colored Man at Syracuse Stage and Baltimore Center Stage, playing Bayano in Bayano at the National Black Theatre, Jay Jackson in The Royale at Theatrical Outfit, Vertus in the post-Broadway regional premiere of Holler If Ya Hear Me at True Colors Theatre, Anthony in Half Time at Paper Mill Playhouse, Chad Deity in The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity at Asolo Repertory Theatre, the White Knight in Lookingglass Alice at Baltimore Center Stage, Delray in Memphis at Mason Street Warehouse, Benny in In The Heights at Aurora Theatre, and Mr. Franklin/Mr. Venus in Passing Strange at Playhouse on Park. Turner was a 2020 Arts & Social Justice Fellow at Emory University and has also taught at Hunter College in Manhattan. He is currently writing a musical, entitled Eleanor: A Church Story, about a young Black girl from Tennessee who stages a mini revolution in her own church when they ban her from preaching because she's a girl. Turner is an Emory University grad and Marshall Scholar. He holds two Masters degrees, one from Queen Mary University of London and one from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. @garrettmturner Psalm 115:1

Bjorn is a NYC based actor born and raised in Chicago, IL. Off-Broadway Theater: Public Theater - MLIMA'S TALE. Off-Off-Broadway: Ensemble Studio Theater: Travisville. Other Regional Theater: Studio Theater (DC) - Pipeline, Cleveland Playhouse - Pipeline & Fairfield People's Light Theater - MUDROW, Actors Theater of Louisville - Do You Feel Anger, Guthrie Theater: Julius Caesar/Comedy of Errors Pittsburgh Public Theater - Clybourne Park. Film/TV: Alpha House (Amazon), Sleepy Hollow (FOX), Blacklist (NBC), Demolition (Film) MFA: Mason Gross School of the Arts/Rutgers University, http://www.bjornduapty.com

Continued here:

THOUGHTS OF A COLORED MAN Officially Opens on Broadway Tonight; Meet the Cast! - Broadway World

Dr. Temptaous McKoy wants Elizabeth City State University students to embrace their experience as HBCU students and begin to see the infinite possibilities that being Vikings can afford them. Thats the basis of her lecture to be held Oct. 19 in room 138 at Johnson Hall, The Liz Taught Me: Using My Viking Experience to Shift the Future of Higher Education.

Dr. McKoy is a 2013 graduate of ECSU and a professor of English and the director of graduate studies at Bowie State University. Her experience as a Black woman, a Black scholar, an HBCU graduate and now faculty member, have shown her that there are infinite possibilities in her world, and all of it begins at ground zero, her HBCU alma mater.

I want them (students) to come away with knowing that there are different ways to make knowledge as HBCU students, said Dr. McKoy of her lecture.

Growing up in the Fayetteville, North Carolina area, Dr. McKoy says she was very familiar with the HBCU culture of Fayetteville State University. When it was time to choose a university, she knew that no matter where she would gain her education, it would be an HBCU.

I have my whole life to be a minority so why not have four years to not be a minority, said Dr. McKoy of her decision to attend an HBCU.

Fayetteville State might have been the easy choice for her, but Dr. McKoy would tour other campuses, including ECSU. It was on a campus tour at ECSU that lightening struck in the form of the late Greg Sampson, the former WRVS radio station production and program director.

Sampson, she recalled, pulled her out of the tour group and told her she had a radio voice. He immediately put her on air that day and it was then that Dr. McKoy knew she wanted to be a Viking.

During her freshman year, she would be an on-air personality. She was also a history major, but Dr. McKoy says she was bored and so turned to English with a concentration in mass communications and would be an integral part of campus radio and television services.

She would immerse herself in the HBCU culture, embrace what she and so many have described as a family environment on campus, and eventually emerge not only an ECSU graduate, but also a graduate student on her way to a career in academia. Dr. McKoy would earn her doctorate in rhetoric, writing, and professional communication from East Carolina University, and her multiple-award-winning dissertation would set in motion not only a career, but also a perspective that embraces the HBCU culture she loves today.

In her dissertation, the basis of which makes up her Oct. 19 lecture, Dr. McKoy explores the uniqueness of the HBCU culture, how it provides a foundation for making space for the Black experience, and its importance in the lives of individuals who collectively seek to experience it.

In her dissertation, Trap Karaoke and HBCUs: How They Serve as Black Spaces for Technical and Professional Communication, Dr. McKoy explores non-traditional forms of communication by not only including a video production to serve as an entire chapter, but also employing African American vernacular in lieu of standard, traditional writing. This technique allowed Dr. McKoy to not only explore the empowerment afforded by the cultural significance of language usage, but also challenge those not familiar with African American vernacular to begin to gain an understanding of the cultural relevance inherent in this non-traditional writing form.

Trap Karaoke is a user-generated concert experience that places the people at the center of the concert. By using this as a framework for her dissertation, Dr. McKoy is examining personal empowerment through shared cultural experience.

Her aim, then, is to show ECSU students that their shared experience on campus, as a member of this particular HBCU family, will serve as a catalyst for the rest of their lives. She will encourage students to use non-traditional methods to examine their shared experience and learn how it serves to build a foundation for their futures as not only individuals, but also, and perhaps most significantly, members of a larger, HBCU family.

They should know that non-traditional knowledge-making practices allows them to be able to draw on their experience, she said. And it is that experience, as HBCU students, she contends, that will make all of the difference in their lives.

Dr. McKoy will speak in Johnson Hall on Tuesday, Oct. 19, at 3:30 p.m. The lecture is open to the entire campus community. A Zoom link is also available if people are unable to attend in person: ECSU.ZOOM.US/J/8764698685

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What 'The Liz Taught Me': Dr. Temptaous McKoy Returns to ECSU to Share Her Knowledge and Experience - Elizabeth City State University

Do you work to live or live to work? Whatever your answer now would it have been the same two years ago?

The impact of the pandemic has provided an inflection point for many. With the widespread shift from office to home working, the line between peoples personal and professional lives has become more blurred than ever. And this has made many reconsider their employment.

The outcome is a much more belief-driven employee, who is motivated not just by salaries and benefits, but also social impact and personal values.

This is the key finding of a specialEdelman Trust Barometer reportthat considers the effect of the pandemic on employee motivation across seven global markets: Brazil, China, Germany, India, Japan, UK and the U.S.

Although anxiety aboutjob lossesremains high at 78%, one in five workers surveyed had either left their previous jobs or were planning to do so in the next six months.

For some, this simply meant taking up a new role while others aimed to set up their own businesses or to retire.

Those moving on are driven by their beliefs and values more than considerations such as pay, benefits or career advancement.

Six in 10 respondents seek a better fit between their own and corporate values, beliefs and behaviours, ranging from being valued more to wanting to work for a more socially engaged or inclusive company.

For half of those moving jobs, lifestyle choices are a key motivator, including a better work-life balance, avoiding burn-out and not wishing to return to office-based working.

Less than a third named better compensation or career advancement as motives for quitting, making those the least likely of the reasons to leave.

Selecting a new employer or staying with an existing one is similar to a consumerbuying and remaining loyal to a brand, based on trust and alignment in values.

This includes employees refusing to work for companies with a different stance on social issues or in industries they consider immoral, and moving to firms with values more akin to their own.

This trend is consistent across the seven markets surveyed by Edelman, and particularly strong in India and China and among young and middle-aged workers.

Jobseekers increasingly want to see their prospective employers pursue a greater purpose. And seeing a company pay only lip service to social commitments and other proclaimed valuescan be a dealbreaker.

Alongside beliefs and values, there is also a strong emphasis on personal empowerment, such as the ability to provide input into the business. This reflects a decisive power shift towards employees, with 60% saying that employees in their organization have more power to effect change now than before the pandemic.

More than three-quarters stated that they would take action to get the organization to make changes. For most this is through internal employee activism, but 40% are prepared to take their cause outside the company, by going on strike, taking to social media or as whistleblowers.

Making the most of belief-driven employees

While employers need to be ready to deal with this new balance of power, it pays to keep belief-driven workers onside. The Edelman report finds them to be very loyal, remaining with the organization for many years, and they also recommend it to potential new hires.

What is more, a 2021 study from the University of Malta founda highly significant relationshipbetween employees own and their companies motivations including socially responsible practices which is indirectly affecting the employees job performance.

Happy, fulfilled employees make forproductive organizations.

Initiatives such as the World Economic ForumsPreparing for the Future of Workinitiative aim to help employers make the most of these trends in the wake of COVID-19 by encouraging reskilling and upskilling, smart redeployment of human capital and socially responsible action.

By bringing employers and employees closer together, the gap between living to work and working to live may be more easily resolved in future.

Republished with permission of the World Economic Forum. Read theoriginal article.

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The 'belief-driven' employee is the future of work - Big Think

There are more witches than Presbyterians in America: Study

A Pew Research Center study shows that there are more witches than Presbyterians in America. Elizabeth Keatinge explains.

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Many think of witchesas the classic Halloweenstereotype: green skin, pointy hat, flies on a broom and their best friend is a black cat.

While their best friend maybe a cat, many people may not know that "witches" are healers, energy workers and practitioners of the metaphysical.

Check out these fivemetaphysical and mysticalstores around the Jersey Shore to help embark upon your journey into the unknown.

Cauldron & The Cupboard in Point Pleasant is owned by Angela White and her sister, Cinzia Moran. White was inspired to open the store when she got a vision, while consulting Tarot cards, that sheand her sister would open a shop focused on the craft they grew up with.

Their motherSandra, otherwise known as Strega Nona, was born in Tuscany to a long family lineage of Italian witches.

Marissa Corrente, staff member of Cauldron & The Cupboard, said their abilities were inherited.

Their ability to connect with the transcendental is embedded in their souls, passed down from generation to generation, Corrente said.

She went on to explain that many witches are more than just classic scary-movie tropes.

The reality is, witches, despite popular medias stereotypes, take the shape of everyday, some concealing their craft while others are more than open in expressing the lifestyle, she said.

Along with readings, including tarot, psychic, candle reading and more, the shop also carries various essential metaphysical goods, like gems, healing candles, essential oils, jewelry and more. They also offer natural handmade soap, books, personalized spells and other products to elevate your mystical journey.

From crosses to crystals and herbs to holy water, this shop reassures those who walk through the door that The Cauldron & the Cupboard is a place of peace, said Corrente. The Cauldron and the Cupboards enchanting energy is rooted from the three"wyrd"women who dedicate their lives to sharing their gifts with open arms to the people of the community. (Wyrd, an Old English term meant to describe fate or destiny, is often now only used in metaphysical vocabulary. "Wyrd women" are seen as foretellers of destiny, a gift that, according to White, is passed down through blood from ancestral witch to witch.)

Go: 638 Arnold Ave., Point Pleasant;732-714-6521,enchantedones.com.

While you can find classic metaphysical and mystical goods at Charmed in Company in Waretown, this mom and daughter shop also provides services, like tarot card and palm readings, as well as workshops that teachinterested practitioners how to conduct their own energy-work or "magick."

Kasandra (mother) and Victoria (daughter) Chasmar have run Charmed in Company for 20 years, having opened the shop in 1991.Using scents, herbs, crystals and more, the mother/daughter duo help send those in need on their own metaphysical pathsofself-healing.

"We utilize natural energies those found in scents through aromatherapy, gem energy, color energy, herbs and incorporatethem into your life to improve aspects of it," said Victoria."No matter what you're looking for, we have a natural energy tool to help guide you."

Victoria provided an example: Those experiencing intense stress may turn to a crystal fix, such as lithium quartz. But if they don't want to carrytheir tool, they can wear a relaxing blend of essential oils to help calm them.

Kasandra specializes in readings, and while they used to offer tea leaf and crystal readings, they hadcut back due to COVID. They offer new and limited capacity (6 to 8 participants)workshops regularly, including classes on healing, chakras even a Tree Magic class, which teaches students aboutthe energy found in different trees and how to work with those energies in different aspects of life.

Go:529 Route 9, Waretown;609-693-3311, charmedincompany.com.

Earth Spirit New Age Center in Red Bank has been the place to go for metaphysical goods for the last 30 years. While it was formerly owned and operated by Joycelyn Midose and her son Christopher, heis now the primary owner following his mothers retirement.

Visitors will find metaphysical necessities, like crystals, oils and more here, but they can also receive various forms of readings, including Tarot and Astrology, which Christopher specializes in.

Although they used to do more workshops and community outreach, it has slowed down with COVID. Even so, Christopher encourages those interested to come in for guidance.

We have a pretty good knowledge of all the different branches of spirituality at this point, said Christopher. Everything we have here helps craft your path moving forward. People come in and can find all the items they need, and we have a lot of resources for those who want to delve further.

Although they have a large selection of mystical goods, Christopher assured that everything they work with is positive.

We try to always work in the light theres a lot of other places that will delve into the dark side of magicalworkings but we dont do that, he said. Everything we have is to manifest positive things in your life.

Christopher explained while they would not carry love potions meant to control another, they do have products that will enhance your own personal magnetism and encourage self empowerment.

The whole idea is to boost yourself to heal from within, and that brings healing from without, he said.

Acknowledging his field is primarily practiced by women, he said he wants to provide a safe space for women to explore the metaphysical and encourage self empowerment, but hes also eager to see the stigma associated with men practicing the metaphysical lifting.

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Women sometimes have an easier time exploring their psychic side than men do because a lot of men have been trained to not look at that side of themselves, to not look at your emotions or feelings because that stuff is superfluous, said Christopher.

That dynamic now is changing with young people," he said. "More than a third of our younger clientele are men.I think its much more accepted around young people now.

Go:25 Monmouth St., Red Bank;732-842-3855,earthspiritnewage.com.

While Kathy Kelly, owner of Paranormal Books & Curiosities and The Paranormal Museum in Asbury Park, focuses primarily on the paranormal, in recent years, she has delved deeper into the realm of the unknown by featuring metaphysical goods in her store.

"There's a natural blurring of the lines between paranormal and metaphysical because generally speaking, one part of the paranormal [focuses] on the survival of personality after death or ghosts," said Kelly. "You're talking about spirit, and when you're talking about the metaphysical, or communicating with people who've passed, you'realso talking about spirit."

While the storecarriesghost hunting equipment, tons of paranormal books and even amuseum of haunted artifacts, including the famous Singing Couch (where those who sit on it can faintly hear a woman singing gospel), the shop also carries metaphysical products such as Tarot cards, which Kelly thinks are a great tool in self discovery.

"This year people are hugely interested in [Tarot cards]and they're using them for self-exploration, which is really cool," she said."Tarot cards are a great way to start getting in-tune with yourself."

Kelly, recognizing the stigma and social barrier between the two realms of study, said that the metaphysical and paranormal are not so different.

"They're opposite sides of the same coin and maybe not even opposites," she said. "To me they go hand in hand, and any argument or issue people have with that is purely semantics ora fear of being judged."

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Kelly wishes for Paranormal Books & Curiosities to be a safe place, free of judgment, that brings all those who are intrigued by the unknown together.

"We are not dogmatic in anyway, and we are completely open to all questions. Our approach has always been that way," said Kelly. "You can pursue any kind of interest in the paranormal, metaphysical or new age studies here without judgment."

She also considers herself a skeptical believer of all, but takes what she studies seriously.

"We take the subject matter seriously, but we don't take ourselves too seriously," she said."We're not hardcore believers of anything. We're students of everything."

Go: 621 Cookman Ave., Asbury Park;732-455-3188,paranormalbooksnj.com.

Tina's This & That in Toms River is family-run ... or rather, coven-run by Tina Aurilia and her threedaughters, Samantha Powell, Amber Demeola and Emily Aurilia.

Tina started outselling "witchy wares" at a local flea market, and later fulfilled her dream of opening up her own brick andmortar with the help of her daughters.

We are a family owned and operated witch shop creating a welcoming space," said Tina."Fly on over, take a step inside, and feel the 'magick' within our shop andyourself.

The shop also invitesmetaphysical, "magick"and energy workers to their shop regularly, such as mediums and tarot card readers. The shop used to offer workshops but COVID halted that.They hope to offer them again soon when the time is right, to promote customer safety.

Go:1749 Hooper Ave., Suite 16 in Anchorage Plaza, Toms River; 732-506-3384,tinasthisandthat.weebly.com.

Gabriela L. Laracca recently joined the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey and eagerly brings her passion for cuisine and culture to our readers. Send restaurant tips to glaracca@gannett.com.

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5 New Age and metaphysical shops at the Jersey Shore to help you embark into the unknown - Asbury Park Press

We cant check out every investing outfits demo day. But one event that we try to catch every year is that of Pear, which is held annually each fall and features (blessedly) just a dozen or so very nascent startups.

Pear, a seed-stage venture firm founded in 2013, has an impressive track record when it comes to identifying promising companies from their earliest stages including DoorDash, Gusto, Aurora Solar, Vanta, Branch Metrics and Guardant Health. As notably, despite introducing a far smaller number of teams to investors than Y Combinator and more renowned accelerator programs, there always seem to be at least one or two projects in Pears Demo Day mix that turn into actual, sustainable and, sometimes, sizable companies.

Consider that over seven previous batches that featured a collective 69 teams altogether, Pear has helped push into the market Xilis, which uses micro-organoids to quickly make thousands of 3D replicas of a patients tumor that can then be tested for drug compatibility faster (it closed a $70 million Series A round this summer); the relationship intelligence company Affinity (which announced $80 million in Series C funding last month), and Viz.ai, whose software helps doctors diagnose strokes and coordinate care (and whose funding now tops $150 million after closing its most recent round back in March). It has some others it can, and does, boast about, too.

This year, the event, held this past Wednesday, shined a light on 13 of these very nascent teams. Pear also connected investors in attendance with five of its own portfolio companies that were just coming out of stealth mode. For those of you who might be interested in tracking emerging themes or actual investment opportunities, heres a quick rundown of who pitched what (with the Pear-backed companies at the end of this list).

Note that we did not write the descriptions below. These were the exact pitches that the teams delivered straight to investors in attendance, so youll naturally spot a bit of hyperbole (because, startups).

Burst

Founders: Sameer Kapur (CPO), Vishnu Chakroborty (CTO), Gautam Ajjarapu (CEO)

Burst is the first DeFi-powered bank for Generation Z we use DeFi to help our users earn more. Our first product is Burst savings we give users up to 250x more than typical banks by cutting out the middlemen. Behind the scenes, we leverage DeFi protocols to grow their money safely by up to 10% yearly. Our future product pipeline will allow our users to spend, borrow and invest each offering is united under the common goal of putting more money in our users pockets. Before Burst, the founding team worked together building revenue-generating companies for an audience of over 600,000 Gen Z users. Gautam and Vishnu have experience engineering products at Stripe, Google, and Amazon, and Sameer was the first product manager at Perch Credit, a consumer neobank startup. Now, our team is obsessed with making the benefits of crypto and DeFi accessible to help our generation achieve financial independence.

Health U

Founders: Emily Stebbins (Co-CEO), Jonathan Siktberg (Co-CEO)

Health U combines persuasive microlearning with a clinically validated diabetes prevention program to deliver self-directed care at scale. Our mobile micro-learning platform offers bite-sized care programs for pre-diabetes patients that only require 3 minutes a day and provide real-time disease prevention for value-based providers. With high-frequency microlearning and personal health coaching, Health U keeps patients engaged with their health on a daily basis. Our solution is uniquely tailored to deliver significant 3-year ROI for Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), which include over 10 million pre-diabetic patients. Before Health U, Jonathan experienced this problem firsthand in medical school, and Emily worked in digital product at Bain and in Health Tech at JNJ before joining the GSB. Our team is on a mission to drive disruptive innovation in chronic disease care.

Bonfire

Founders: Matt Alston (CEO), Melissa Zhang (CTO)

Bonfire is empowering creators to turn audiences into communities through easy-to-use tools and a no-code platform powered by their social tokens and NFTs. Were building the infrastructure to make it dead simple for any creator to manage their token community including a dashboard, CRM, and community engagement toolkit. Before Bonfire, Melissa was a senior software engineer at Coinbase scaling their internationalization infrastructure, and Matt was a product manager at Uber building out their loyalty program. Matt and Melissa have known each other for 8 years and are passionate about helping creators become owners and achieve independence from rent-seeking gatekeepers.

Allset

Founder: Justin Clegg (CEO)

Allset is a mobile messaging company that is driving revenue for the 5 million home service businesses in North America. The typical business in this $800 billion industry has on average 6 employees and their main concern is growing their business. While there are tools like Service Titan for field management, businesses want a low touch solution for marketing and sales. We realized that SMS provides an intimate communication channel to reach those customers. AllSet is a full-service SMS messaging platform that is integrated with home services field management services and that allows businesses to create personalized customer flows such as tipping, offers and promotions, maintenance reminders and subscriptions. We have started reaching out to customers with our tipping flow, where homeowners are prompted with an automated tip request as a text message after an appointment is completed. We launched 6 weeks ago and have been growing at 20% week over week since then.

Skipper

Founders: Jason Shames (CEO), Cole Maritz (CRO), Dane Bratz (CTO), Michael Walker

Skipper is a new network for hotels and resorts that helps them run their tech stack, acquire customers, and create new revenue streams. Skipper is building an alternative to traditional chain companies like Marriott and Hilton by building a network of hotels and arming them with Bolt-like one-click checkout tools that increase conversions and serve guests with targeted personalized offers and rewards. As more guests and hotels join, the shared data creates a powerful network effect.

GatherMade

Founders: Mackenzie Branigan (CEO), Joe Sofia (COO)

At GatherMade, were building the trusted sharing economy for family meals. With recent regulation changes, there is a brand new category of supply: home chefs (parents, grandparents, and caregivers) who are able to earn a living by cooking from their own home kitchen. We will win this supply by empowering them with the software and infrastructure to run a profitable business. By focusing on families, our home chefs get better unit economics with family size meals, batched orders for better planning, and consistent demand. We are devoted to empowering modern families through economic empowerment, inclusivity, and community support.

Parthean

Founders: Arman Hezarkhani (CEO), Jason Zhu (CDO), Nikhil Choudhary (CTO)

Most Americans are not financially literate and it makes lives tangibly worse. In 2020, Americans lost $415 billion to poor money management and thinking about finances causes anxiety for 60% of us. This is because only 17% of us are required to learn any personal finance in school. Parthean teaches personal finance to young professionals. Partnering with finance-focused content creators, we create playbooks that align with critical financial events; like building credit or making your first investment. Users watch our movie-quality videos, engage with our social quizzes and polls, and keep each-other motivated and learning as they progress together. By the end of every playbook, youve taken an action that gets you closer to your goals.

Valar Labs

Founders: Anirudh Joshi (CEO), Damir Vrabac (COO), Viswesh Krishna (CTO)

Valar Labs guides oncologists to make more accurate cancer treatment decisions. The founders worked with Professor Andrew Ng in Stanfords AI lab to leverage medical imaging data for clinically impactful tasks. They are unlocking the potential of untapped imaging data that is already part of routine clinical care to help guide oncologists with treatment decisions. They have brought on top oncologists as advisors and are collaborating with cancer centers like UCSF, UCSD and cancer networks like Pancreatic Cancer Action Network to build their platform.

Kale

Founder: Isha Patel (CEO), Luis Molina (CTO)

Kale is the first credit card that empowers creators to translate their social value into economic value. We are creating an algorithm that identifies brands super fans, based on their purchasing history and their social activity. Brands reward these customers directly for posting about them, and Kale takes a fee for every match between the brand and content creator. Before founding Kale, Isha and Luis worked together at LinkedIn as product and engineering partners for 5 years, building and launching feed video, short-form video and the camera to 700 million users. We are experts on user generated content and creator communities.

Aklivity

Founders: Leonid Lukyanov (CEO), John Fallows (CTO)

Aklivity is an API platform that helps enterprise developers cut down the time-to-market for their latest API initiatives by up to 97%. It supports building, deploying and managing modern streaming APIs, which are fundamentally incompatible with existing API management solutions. With Aklivity, teams are relieved of the hodgepodge of integration frameworks and disjointed manual efforts associated with managing streaming APIs today. Before Aklivity, the team pioneered WebSocket and founded a company that brought the technology to dozens of global enterprises. An established pipeline and key strategic relationships are in place to deliver streaming API Management to over 21,000 organizations and make swift progress on a $2 billion market opportunity.

SAVVI

Founders: Maya Mikhailov (CEO) Alex Muller (President)

SAVVI is a complete embeddable ML solution empowering a market of 600,000 product teams (U.S.) to efficiently add personalization and intelligence to their products. Product Managers and Developers can quickly start using a machine learning tool that is easy to implement, deploy, and manage without the need for data scientists or ML experience. Teams using SAVVI have seen a 1,500% ROI over traditional ML methods.

Transcera

Founders: Hunter Globe (CEO), Wayne Lencer (Academic Co-Founder), Justin Wolfe (CSO)

Biologic drugs have been one of the biggest revolutions in medicine of the last 30 years. Blockbuster biologics like Humira changed the way we treat chronic diseases, from Crohns Disease to cancer, and created a $375 billion market. But theres a problem. Biologics are large, complex molecules that are not naturally absorbed in the body. The way we get around this today is by injecting or infusing biologic drugs, so they can get more directly to the bloodstream. Many patients wont stick with an injectable treatment long term. Others wont take one at all. Pharma companies have been trying to enable oral absorption of large molecule drugs for years. These approaches dont work well, and result in very low levels of absorption usually less than 1% of the total administered drug. We developed a better way a platform that enables greater absorption of biologics following oral administration. After 30 years of research on cholera and how the bacteria infects the human body, Dr. Wayne Lencer, a Harvard Professor and Transcera co-founder, discovered a type of lipid which can carry larger molecules across the bodys cellular barriers. His lab at Boston Childrens Hospital synthesized and simplified these carriers to enhance absorption of biologic drugs. This is a platform technology which we plan to apply to many chronic diseases. But were starting with oral peptide drugs for diabetes and obesity.

Omniscient Labs

Founders: Andrew Fang (CTO), Jon Braatz (CEO)

Omniscient Labs geospatial image intelligence platform uses computer vision to automatically monitor locations, starting with defense and intelligence customers. More than 90% of collected imagery isnt actually reviewed, resulting in critical information and threats being missed. Omniscients platform detects equipment, facilities and surfaces historical patterns, while integrating with existing workflows. Theyve received grants from the Air Force and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency that can lead to large contracts.

Recora

Founder: Abhishek Chandra (CEO)

One in three of us will die of heart disease its time to change that.Recora is the enterprise platform for cardiac care. We help members recover from home after a heart attack. Right now, patients drive to a hospital to complete a recovery program. These facilities are 40 miles away and have 6 week wait times. So 96% of people dont finish and quickly get hospitalized again.Using video visits and connected devices, weve designed a virtual cardiac recovery program. We ran a 200-patient pilot last year and showed 3x better outcomes. Today we cover 23,000 patients across 12 hospitals and are enrolling them at 220% month-over-month. Just these three contracts are a $46 million opportunity. Were on track to close 20 contracts in 26 states over the next twelve months, and corner a $10 billion market. Before Recora, we founded and scaled Spring Health, a $2 billion mental health platform. Now were redefining the future of heart health so that everyone can live a long, full, and optimal life.

Kensa AI

Founder: Nathan Schuett (CEO)

Kensa AI develops image processing software to automate and improve visual inspections for civil infrastructure (e.g., bridges, dams, buildings, cell towers, etc.). The companys initial focus is on concrete and steel structures, combining hi-res 3D reconstructions captured by drones with deep learning to detect cracks, spalling, delamination, and other common defects. Kensa AIs customers are some of the largest owners and developers of infrastructure around the world, and include Class 1 railroads, electric utilities, and multinational engineering companies. With a team of 5 and projected revenues of $800,000 in 2021, Kensa AI is growing quickly and establish a data moat on some of the worlds most important infrastructure assets. The founder and CEO graduated from Stanford, and hes now raising a seed round to grow the companys leadership position in 3D digital twins and AI-based inspection for industrial assets.

FarmRaise

Founders: Jayce Hafner (CEO), Albert Albedi (Head of Product), Sami Tellatin (COO)

Over half of American farms dont have the tools or bandwidth they need to identify ways to improve their farms and become profitable. Our API links to the farmers bank account where our algorithm assesses the financials to provide a Farm Read, scoring the farmers financial health. We regularly monitor the farm data to continuously provide clean financials and recommendations on how to improve their farms. We use this farm specific data to connect farmers with capital to improve their score.

Gatsby

Founders: Zach Rivkin (CEO), Chris Zelazo (Co-Founder), Michael Zuccarino (Co-Founder)

Great businesses are built on personal relationships, and personal relationships are built on Gatsby the personal CRM for the future of professional network management. Gatsby is the system of record for your network providing low touch points for you to augment network information and allowing the creation of intelligent workflows for managing it, such as triaging important contacts and bringing the right people to your attention at the right time or managing gatherings and events so the key people show up. We are starting to sell to investing professionals as our initial wedge and plan to expand into all professionals for who managing their network is key.

Smarty

Founders: Denzil Eden (CEO)

Smarty is an intelligence layer that connects you to all your data and applications from its one-stop hub. You talk to Smarty wherever you are online, and Smarty automates routine workflows so your focus is only on what matters most. Use pre-built recipes, create custom triggers yourself, or use natural language commands and choose how your data automatically moves between the applications you use. The founder and CEO Denzil, a graduate of MIT and HBS, is the human behind the bot. She created Smarty to empower passionate professionals to shortcut through routine tasks, to utilize known best practices, and to learn from their past personal data on how to be their smartest selves.

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Check out these startups from Pears Demo Day (theres usually a breakout or two in the bunch) - TechCrunch

LSEs Kathryn Claire Higgins looks the issue of womens believability, and how popular entertainment television shows have addressed the question of whether women are believed when they accuse men of sexual violence or harassment.

In the aftermath of the #MeToo moment, the question of whether, when, and how to believe women when they accuse men of sexual violence and harassment has become a heated point of cultural anxiety and contention. For some, the call to #BelieveWomen represents a frightening abandonment of rational scepticism and due process. Critics warn that women are now too easily believed, evading even the most basic forms of scrutiny. Others, however, have positioned #BelieveWomen as a cultural response to the historical unbelievability of womena necessary counterweight to the resilient tropes of woman as particular (and so, never authoritative) and woman as liar (and so, never truthful), which compound and conspire against women when they speak out about sexual violence.

Womens unbelievability is, of course, profoundly uneven. From the horrific murder of Emmett Till to the new visibility of the Karen in popular culture, there are all too many examples confirming that white women (especially, affluent white women) possess a form of conditional believability that can be, and frequently is, weaponized against people of colour, including men. As Ruby Hamad writes in White Tears/Brown Scars, the historical articulation of white womanhood with innocence has fostered a cultural impulse to soothe white womens emotional distress, allowing believability to be more easily accessed through the language and performance of pain. In her recent book The Right to Sex, Amia Srinivasan adds that the politics of Believe Women collides with the demands of intersectionality by obscuring how the believability of white women has historically contributed to both the hypersexualization of Black masculinity and the silencing of women of colour.

In our recent article in Television and New Media, Sarah Banet-Weiser and I consider how these questions and cultural anxieties have spilled over into the world of entertainment television. Through analysis of three recent and highly popular dramas (Netflixs Unbelievable, Apple TVs The Morning Show, and Michaela Coels HBO/BBC One drama I May Destroy You) we examine how the problem of believability is being reflexively tackled in scripted stories about sexual violence on television. While all three shows are officially fiction, they approximate real world cases of sexual violence and misconduct. Unbelievable and I May Destroy You are directly based on true events, while The Morning Show closely echoes the case of Matt Lauer, who was fired from NBC News in 2017 following allegations of rampant sexual harassment and misconduct, as well as assault.

These shows are just three examples of the emerging genre of #MeToo Media, which includes not only television series and episodes but also a growing list of books, podcasts, films, and social media productions. The animating concern within the genre is the question of the political legacy of #MeToowhat this spectacularly visible truth speaking movement has, and has not, done to advance gender and racial justice as it relates to sexual violence. Social media carries the implicit promise that more people can speak out about their experiences and be heard, as many have. But that speech, those voices, continue to be subject to familiar structures of power which suffuse both online and offline cultural spaces: patriarchy, white supremacy, and capitalism.

Economy of believability

We consider the question of believability through the lens of what we call an economy of believability. Within this context, belief is a commodity to be worked for and (precariously) secured through various intersecting forms of labour. Truthful speech is, by extension, not something women can simply do, but rather, something women must earn. In the economy of believability (as in most economies), powerful white men have been historically centred as truth tellers. Women, people of colour of all genders, working class people, queer people, trans people, sex workers, and others, are placed at varying degrees of marginality. What does it take, we ask, to become believable within such a context? Our analysis highlights three key forms of necessary labour.

First, through an analysis of Unbelievable, we consider believability as an affective performance. As a condition contingent in the recognition of others, believability often requires inhabiting through performance a believable victimhood that will feel authentic to those who occupy positions of institutional and cultural powerpolice officers, judges, journalists, employers, public commentators; people who are overwhelmingly white and often men. When Unbelievable protagonist Marie reports her assault to the police, she is doubted when she fails to perform victimhood in a way that people in positions of power can easily recognisefor seeming fine, in the words of her stepmother, Coleen.

This echoes real-life stories like that of actress Jessica Mann. When Mann first publicly accused disgraced media mogul Harvey Weinstein of rape, many doubted her on the basis of her personal relationship with Weinstein, which continued after the assaults. While remaining in a friendship or romantic relationship with an abusive and/or sexually predatory partner is not uncommon (Mann described her relationship with Weinstein as complicated), to many this simply didnt feel like how an assaulted person wouldor shouldbehave.

Second, our analysis of The Morning Show considers the costs of believability, which we propose must be paid through visible spectacles of loss and suffering. One of the most pernicious mythical backlashes against #MeTooadvanced in particular by Mens Rights Activists (MRAs) and their alliesis that women have something to gain from falsely accusing men of sexual violence and misconduct. In such a context, only visible spectacles of the very oppositeof loss, of suffering, of paincan possibly authenticate womens claims. In The Morning Show, only an ultimate and existential lossa deathcan shake belief loose from a resilient culture of denial, awakening the predatory Mitch Kesslers colleagues to the violence of his conduct.

In the real world, women are too often accused of using sexual assault allegations to pursue fame, money, professional opportunities, or reputational restitution. Its a cruel double-bind: those with something to (potentially) gain from speaking out about their experiences of sexual violence are presumed to be acting in self-interest, while those with nothing to gainthose who already possess wealth, professional opportunities, or social statusare presumed not to be truly injured. The only way out is loss, both lived as suffering and performed as public spectacle.

Finally, our analysis of I May Destroy You considers the question of value, and the forms of labour required to attach value to belief so that it can be transformed into meaningful solidarity and material support. Belief has to do something in the world to have power, and for women like protagonist Arabellaa young Black author, creative, and social media influencerbelief does far too little. Though Arabella is widely believed, the trauma and writers block she faces in the aftermath of her assault mean she nonetheless encounters mounting professional crisis and debt.

A key afterlife of the #MeToo moment, however, is the new marketability of sexual violenceand so the rendering of believability through commercial logics. In this context, Arabella works entrepreneurially to integrate sexual assault survivorship into her brand as a social media influencer, skilfully (though often, detrimentally) performing it in ways most compatible with the demands of visibility, resilience, and individual empowerment which characterise corporate media.

In the cultural aftermath of #MeToo and amid renewed conversations about the violent potential of white womens tears, it is worth reflecting on what becoming believable means and wants in a corporatized, patriarchal, and white supremacist media culture. What these three shows reveal together is that speaking out is never enough: even for the most visible and audible survivor, believability takes work. Too often, however, this work is futile. While some (usually white, usually affluent) women may be able to earn belief through performance, payment, and entrepreneurialism, these three forms of labour nonetheless keep the recognition of powerful menthose whom women must be believed byfirmly at the centre of our public truth culture.

The question of truth remains, as it has always been, a feminist question. But the question cannot be: How can women succeed within and through the economy of believability as it currently operates? It must be, can only be: How might truth, as a core public value, be reimagined as a tool for sexual and racial justice? How might the economy of believability be otherwise?

Sarah Banet-Weiser and Kathryn Claire Higgins book, Believability, is forthcoming with Polity Press. Their article Television and the honest woman: mediating the labor of believability is available online first in Television and New Media. This article represents the views of the authors and not the position of the Media@LSE blog, nor of the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Featured image: Photo by Mlodie Descoubes on Unsplash

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What does it mean (and take) to #BelieveWomen? | Media@LSE - EUROPP - European Politics and Policy