YAPClassic: Vernā Myers on Overcoming Bias and Promoting Equity

Young and Profiting with Hala Taha

When Vernā Myers started her law degree at Harvard Law School, there were more people of color than she had ever gone to school with. So, it was disheartening when she became the first and only Black person at the corporate law firm that hired her. Dissatisfied with the status quo, she joined forces with others who wanted to increase representation for people of color. Since the '80s, she has been promoting diversity and inclusion, becoming a cultural thought leader and catalyst. In this episode of YAPClassic, she breaks down the importance of diversity and inclusion for both businesses and individuals. She also shares her wisdom about overcoming the intrinsic, unconscious biases present in all of us.

Vernā Myers is the VP of Inclusion Strategy at Netflix. She is the founder of The Vernā Myers Company, which helps organizations embrace and advance a culture of inclusion. She is the bestselling author of Moving Diversity Forward and What if I Say the Wrong Thing?

In this episode, Hala and Vernā will discuss:

- Her career transition from law to inclusion and diversity

- Her definition of diversity and inclusion

- Systemic barriers to success

- The counter to imposter syndrome

- Systemic bias as the root cause of unconscious bias

- How to improve our unconscious bias

- The true meaning of equity

- Her one-up and one-down framework for understanding social hierarchy

- The difference between sympathy and empathy

- How to support marginalized groups with empathy

- How to raise empathetic children

- Taking action with micro-affirmations

- Counteracting microaggression with humility

- The impact of diversity and inclusion on a business’s bottom line

- And other topics…

Vernā Myers is a Harvard-trained lawyer who transitioned from a decade-long legal career to become a cultural thought leader in diversity and inclusion. As the founder of The Vernā Myers Company, she is known for her impactful consulting work and bestselling books like Moving Diversity Forward and What if I Say the Wrong Thing? In 2018, she became the VP of Inclusion Strategy at Netflix. Vernā has been featured on CNN and referenced in publications such as The Atlantic, Bloomberg BNA, Business Insider, Forbes, Fortune, Harvard Business Review, Refinery29, and TED NPR Radio.

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Resources Mentioned:

Vernā’s Website: https://www.vernamyers.com/

Vernā’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vernamyers/

Vernā’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/VernaMyers

Vernā’s Book, What if I Say the Wrong Thing?: 25 Habits for Culturally Effective People: https://www.amazon.com/What-Say-Wrong-Thing-Culturally/dp/

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