You've Got Emmail: Back again
Queen of follow-through
Hello everyone! I promised to start a monthly newsletter and then missed three months. C’est la vie!
(For the uninitiated, that’s a screenshot from Emily in Paris. Wouldn’t have been able to include that two months ago!).
But I promise I’ve been busy!!!
Before we get into it, a refresher: this is my newsletter intended to catch up folks who care to stay up to date on what I’ve been up to, from stories to events to general musings. If you missed the first one, you can see it here.
Right after I sent out the newsletter last time (the only time), Nicole Gallucci—who got a shoutout in it—came up with its new name: You’ve Got Emmail. (Every newsletter is now a tribute to Nicole and Nora Ephron).
So, why did I bail?? Besides a lack of follow-through?? Here’s what I was working on:
Business:
- I investigated the work environment at Glossier’s retail stores, where 18 employees—or “editors”—shared with me their experiences with racism and management’s failures to address those concerns. (Glossier issued an apology.) This one was a big effort and if you didn’t see it when it came out, I’d encourage you to spend some time with these workers’ experiences. (Especially if you’re a Glossier loyalist!)
- Pregnancy stereotypes—that a woman who’s pregnant won’t be able to do her job or that she’ll soon quit to raise kids—actually put women in physical danger at work. Pregnant women often overcompensate to prove they can do the job if they think they’re being judged, and then push themselves too far
- I did a Q&A about how companies can maintain momentum on their racial justice efforts with Frances Frei, the academic who turned around the culture at Uber. I’m also going to be speaking with Frances again at Fortune’s MPW Next Gen Summit next week, which I’m looking forward to!
- Gwyneth invests in an accessible therapy startup (Real, founded by Ariela Safira)
Politics:
- I did a very fun live Zoom interview for our MPW community with Rep. Ilhan Omar and her daughter, the activist Isra Hirsi (you can watch a clip here!)
- I talked to Sen. Tammy Duckworth (again! she was in our last newsletter too) about her legislation to require lactation rooms in all U.S. airports
- I interviewed former Rep. Katie Hill about her new book She Will Rise (soon to be a movie starring Elisabeth Moss??), chronicling her achievements in Congress and the complicated mix of abuse, cyber exploitation, and her own mistakes that led her to leave
- Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who also had a new book out, modeled her own civil disobedience as an elected official after the late Rep. John Lewis
- Rep. Veronica Escobar, who represents El Paso, was a star of the documentary And She Could Be Next
- Understanding Amy Coney Barrett
- Shannon Watts of Moms Demand Action on the deep connection between the movements against gun violence and police violence
- It was the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment
- I spoke to America Ferrera, who has a new organization aiming to get out the Latina vote
- Check out Candace Valenzuela’s race for Congress in Texas’s 24th district; if she wins next month, she’ll be the first Afro-Latina in Congress
- Those USPS delays threatened access to birth control
- Ambition is a good thing
Other?:
There’s some exciting stuff (very exciting stuff!) in the pipeline next week so I probably won’t take three months to send the next newsletter. Thanks for catching up!
Before we go, last time I promised to one day rank the famous Emmas (like the Chrises). I won’t keep you in suspense any longer. My ranking:
Emma Thompson
Emma Roberts (points for Unfabulous and reading books)
Emma Stone (demoted for stealing my name)
Emma Watson
Every Emma under the age of 20 who will be extremely famous in five years and make the rest of us irrelevant
Me wishing I was Emma in Paris
Bisous,
Emma
-