Rooting For Everybody That Is A Woman 🙆🏽‍♀️

VOL 6 - THURSDAY, JANUARY 23

Welcome Back Notees! It's been two weeks and wow there's a lot to celebrate:

Our favorite Good Morning America lead anchor Robin Roberts is celebrating 30 years at Disney...Amazon is picking up a new comedy show focused on four black women including Meagan Good, Grace Byers, Jerrie Johnson and Shoniqua Shandai who are navigating what us ladies are all trying to work through: sex, relationships and chasing dreams...Erykah Badu's online store Badu World Market will open February 20...and the legendary Whitney Houston will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Class of 2020 Hall of Fame on May 20.

And we are celebrating our giveaway of an Ink + Volt Planner. Check out @Notedd on Instagram to learn more on how you can enter to win and get to planning those 2020 goals!

Lastly, we're excited to share this week's issue on a few things we’ve Notedd over the last week, some big news that happened this week, our feature of the week and a quick reflection on mentoring.

Enjoy and always: Stay Notedd!

Your Ivy Park Got Lost in the Mail Too?: A number of celebrities received a curbside orange rack of the new Ivy Park x Adidas collection created by the one and only Beyonce Knowles. From Janelle Monae to Megan Thee Stallion to Laverne Cox to fellow Destiny's Child members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams *sings I got it*, Beyonce decked out these ladies and more with a sprucing up to their active wear wardrobe with some Ivy Park. The excitement did lead to some setbacks, as Beyonce is receiving a bit of backlash and criticism for not creating an inclusive line that fits all considering that her line only goes up to a size XL. In a recent issue of Elle, Beyonce shared that the collaboration was made with "everyone in mind,", but it sparks the conversation: Can everything be made for everyone? Drop a note and let us know what you think!

Closing the Wealth Gap: Ahead of Financial Literacy Month in April, Dr. Nicole Garner Scott and Arian Simone are calling attention to financial legacy. The racial wealth divide for the American middle class is still left unaddressed, and if continues, the average black household wealth is projected to hit zero by 2053. Nicole and Arian launched the campaign Legacy or Lose to help educate and empower 100,000 people of color on wealth building to proactively close the wealth gap. Check out their website to learn more and join the movement.

A Woman's Worth: According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, women are holding more jobs than men as there are now 100K more women working than men - and the trajectory for women will only continue to increase for women in the workforce. Job sectors are employing more women, even employing women for jobs that are starting to see a decline in male employees. However, the sad part is that the United States ranked as number 15 out of 36 countries for the best countries for women. The survey reported that mandated maternity leave and the gender pay gap are significant contributions to why the US didn't make the top 5, let alone the top 10. While the US ranking improved overall to number 7, it does prove that perceptions ARE reality just like Deidre McPhillips, senior data editor at U.S. News & World Report shares.

The Women Are Winning: In probably one of her biggest moments during last week's Democratic Party presidential debate in Iowa, Candidate Elizabeth Warren stated that "The only people on this stage who have won every single election that they’ve been in are women: Amy [Klobuchar] and me." Not to say that this statement led to their selection, but the New York Times editorial board recently endorsed both candidates despite their traditional fashion of endorsing only one candidate per party. The opinion piece walks through the board's reasons, noting Warren as a "gifted storyteller" and Klobuchar as "the very definition of Midwestern charism and grit." The NYT traditionally selects one candidate, and only one candidate -- the forever President Barack Obama -- selected by the NYT has been endorsed and won the presidency. Numerous media outlets are questioning NYT's endorsement in general, their choice to showcase the board's conversations with each candidate during their new scripted television show "The Weekly" and whether newspapers should be endorsing presidential candidates at all.

Roe v Wade: Yesterday marked the 47th anniversary of Roe v Wade, the court case that legalized abortion nationwide. It isn't until this year where the question lies on what is the future of abortions in America. In March, the Supreme Court will hear arguments for June Medical Services v. Gee, a Louisiana case that could allow states to limit abortion rights and eventually lead to the Supreme Court overturning Roe. This will be the first abortion case positioned in front of new Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who replaced former Justice Anthony Kennedy who tended to be swing vote for abortion cases. To see the true effect of what could happen if Roe fell, the Center For Reproductive Rights created an interactive infographic that showcases the effect of a Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade by state: 24 states would prohibit, 21 states would in general be legal and the remaining five including the District of Columbia wouldn't be included as they haven't established a right to abortion. We'll be keeping a close eye on how this case will unfold!

She Makes HERstory: Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley bravely shared her personal hair story from early childhood to her infamous Senegalese twists that, just like her, left a mark on the campaign trails. Seeing Rep. Pressley's braids was inspiring and not only was she making history as a hero for young black girls, but women in general to feel confident in whatever hair they feel. Then and now, Pressley is still inspiring women, as she recently shared that she has Alopecia, which is defined as "an autoimmune disorder where the body attacks its own healthy hair follicles." A recent study shows that African Americans experience alopecia at a higher rate than other races. You can waitch Rep. Pressley's story in the link above, and watch as she notes how she is still "making peace" with her condition and experimenting with multiple styles and options. Her bravery is making HERstory!

We are all about All Things Zhuri right now! As a fellow subscriber, we have been tuning into Zhuri Nova James since her first video on New Year's Day, as the five-year-old superstar in the making launched her YouTube channel where she shares fun tutorials of various activities including no bake power balls and DIY flower crowns. Also, who does her branding because it is Subscribe today so you can also get in on the fun!

Mentors, Sponsors and Coaches -
Where’s Mine?

January is National Mentoring Month. As we reflected on the new year, and this beginning of a new decade, we started to think about the people in our circles, corners and all of the crevices within both of our professional and personal lives. Now most, like us, are familiar with a mentor - a person who provides guidance and advice to you over an extended period of time. Typically this person is one you may have selected based on their similar values or a person you admire and desire to learn more from.

Since high school, we’ve had incredible mentors that provided lifetime value advice that we still hold on to, our mentors have introduced us to other individuals that helped us get our foot in the door, and as we mentioned in our social media post, our mentors even helped us with launching Notedd. We have mentors that are all ages, and different backgrounds and perspectives!

We recently uncovered NPR contributor Anjuli Sastry’s article on mentoring where among many gems of best practices, she encourages people to establish having a board of mentors in her article, “How to Find A Mentor and Make It Work.” This is sound advice as in many cases having multiple mentors is great, but taking it to the next level, it's having a network of more than just mentors which is even greater.

Mentors are amazing, but during our own reflection, we quickly realized that we are in need of sponsors and coaches in our circle. We say both coaches AND sponsors because a coach has a direct impact to your personal growth and development, while a sponsor can be a coach but this person is your personal advocate who has leverage and power to get you to the next level especially from a career standpoint. Coaches and sponsors are relatively associated with men, as a recent study noted that 62% of men highlighted their a strategic network of coaches, mentors and sponsors in comparison to only 41% of women. Samantha McDonald’s “Why More Women Should Ask for Sponsors, Not Mentors” is an amazing article that provides insights on how to look for a sponsor and mini stories of how women across various leadership have established sponsors in their circle.

Lastly, it’s just as important to having a revolving door to your circle meaning bringing other women of color to the table as well. In her new email series, Hello Necole, Necole Kane pens the note "Who Are You Inviting To The Table?" reflecting on her experience of black women championing her career by "bringing her to the table" through opportunities of exposure to amplify her new brand. The importance does lie between establishing your network AND helping your fellow women of color to achieve their goals as well.

We are adding a goal to establish a network of all of the above: mentors, coaches and sponsors, while also actively looking for opportunities where we can bring more women of color to the table. Will you join us in this movement? Drop us a note and we'll be accountable together!

Be True to Yourself & Stay Notedd ✌🏾

1. Please share your thoughts on what you enjoyed and how we can improve here at Notedd.
2. Share with your friends who want to stay in the know and join the “Stay Notedd” community.
3. Content ideas? Launching a product or service? Major accomplishments to share with the group? Reach out to us and we'll add it to our next issue.