What to Wear to Work (and Home): Janai Ingram, Director, Airbnb 21st Century Community Initiative
In this bi-weekly series, we ask female executives, founders, CEOs, or basically boss ladies, about the "power suits" or effortless outfits they wear every day to conquer any job.
Janai Ingram was one of the co-founders of the Women's March and the national executive director of the civil rights organization National Action Network. She currently promotes advocacy in corporate America. Earlier this year, Ingram transitioned from Director of Domestic Partnerships at Airbnb to Director of 21st Century Community Initiatives, working with civil rights groups and nonprofits to fight bias and discrimination on the vacation rental platform.
One of the major initiatives Ingram is spearheading is Project Lighthouse (open in new tab), based on the company's 2016 civil rights audit (open in new tab). Said the company's CEO, "Project Lighthouse is a new initiative to expose the systemic racism that's going on [on the Airbnb platform]. We are trying to dig a little deeper. We've created an entire product team, the Anti-Discrimination Product Team, to root out where prejudice may exist," she says. One of the things we plan to investigate through Project Lighthouse is how people of certain racial groups experience cancellations and how reviews are affected by race."
The initiative has been underway for two years and comes at an important time, coinciding with the rise of the "Black Lives Matter" movement and a public call for all brands to be allies to the black community (opens in new tab). Airbnb has been working with black It has been accused on various occasions of fostering a discriminatory (opens in new tab) environment for both hosts and guests. After the exposé was published, the company (opens in new tab) changed the way profile photos are displayed (currently hosts do not see photos of their guests until the reservation is confirmed) and has also introduced NAACP (opens in new tab) and LULAC (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) to improve the experience for hosts from communities of color. (opens in new tab) (League of United Latin American Citizens) to improve the hosting experience for communities of color, and has sought to reduce user bias, whether consciously or unconsciously.
Ingram says these are not one-off projects, but rather ongoing discussions between the two sides to create ongoing synergies. Ingram added, "I come from a movement space, so I understand them in a way that helps me have conversations internally and externally to address the needs of these communities."
Ingram is excited about the progress of Project Lighthouse. We've been working on this for a long time, and by starting this work of understanding how perceived race impacts the user experience, we can say, 'Here's what we've found,'" she said. Improving Airbnb's culture is one of Ingram's just one of the important tasks Ingram is focusing on. Soon, she will have another, equally important role to play. Below are some snapshots of her personal life, including her work clothes while pregnant (at home).
"I now work from home, with social distance at my parents' house in New Jersey. I typically start my day with 10 to 20 minutes of meditation or affirmations. Most days I wear my hair back in a ponytail or bun. Sometimes I wear makeup unless I'm in an important meeting or something, but usually it's all natural."
"Before the pandemic, I would think about the weather and what to wear. I usually don't pull out what to wear (in advance) unless I have an important meeting. I try to make time to get everything together so I don't have to run around the morning of the day looking for clothes. Pregnancy has also dramatically changed the way I dress. Comfort is important to me these days, so I have lots of comfortable clothes like spandex and pajamas.
"Since I'm in the last trimester of my pregnancy, what I wear depends on whether I'm going to the doctor or not, so I keep it simple. If I have multiple doctor visits, I wear a two-piece outfit. When I don't go to the doctor, I wear a dress. I love jumpsuits. I have long maxi dresses that are comfy and something a pregnant woman can wear.
[When I go to the office, I absolutely loved jumpsuits. I can dress it up or dress it down, and I don't have to worry about what combination of top and bottom to wear. If I had a meeting, I would also throw on a blazer. Jumpsuits were easy to pack and simplified my life. Now I wear a lot of dresses. The ease of wearing one piece suits me. Plus, I don't have to worry about maternity bottoms. I've had all kinds of bottoms in the past, but no matter the manufacturer, no matter the style (ones that go over my belly or have elastic sides), they fell down and weren't comfortable. Dresses are the best.
There was also a time in my life when I was known as the girl who never wore flats. I still wear heels occasionally because they make me feel taller and more sophisticated, but I also appreciate flats and sneakers. For now, my shoe of choice is flat shoes, and I have a cute, versatile, fashionable pair of slides. The espadrille-soled shoes I bought at a market in Ghana are made of leather and have fabric on the front.
As for accessories, she wears a lot of bracelets. I'm the type of person who wears a lot of bracelets. I tend to choose bracelets with design elements, such as beaded bracelets or ones with tassels. I have a simple silver hoop. Silver is my favorite metal and it's my everyday staple, but when I go out or want to dress up, I wear different earrings."
"Something that reflects my style that is confident, comfortable, and appropriate for the moment."
"When I'm at work or in the office, I rely on the words of Nelson Mandela: 'If you can't do it, do it. Every situation is surmountable, even if it feels impossible in the moment. From a movement perspective, another quote I have is Coretta Scott King's 'Freedom is never truly won. You earn it, and you will win it in every generation'. This speaks to the activism that is happening now, specifically "Black Lives Matter" and the idea that this struggle goes back even further than my time. Every generation has a responsibility to contribute to this struggle."
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