Giphy from Abbot Elementary - a show that gives us endless joy
2025 has been a helluva century, hasn't it?
So many peaks and valleys that it's hard to believe this is only the second year of Equity Activations. We set out with a mission to help companies embed equity into their People strategies for long-term business health and success. Despite whimsical political decisions affecting people's livelihoods, some companies willingly deprioritizing equity and inclusion for a variety of reasons, and People department budget cuts, we still had a great year with organizations committed to making their work environments better for everyone. They're building strong data-driven programs, embedding inclusion and equity into their professional development commitments, and believing that strong People strategies help business goals.
We were going to do a Spotify-like wrapped end-of-year conclusion but decided against it. One, we want to always give props to Jewel Ham - the Black former Spotify intern who created the craze that has gone beyond Spotify at this point. Jewel doesn't get enough flowers or compensation. Two, data is important, but sometimes it makes us miss the accolades and accomplishments we can only put into words. Yes, our motto is Feelings Aren’t Facts (you can rep us anywhere you see fit - works for home and work), but feelings can help tell the story. And you gave us the feels.
Here's our 2025 story:
We built meaningful relationships virtually from our office chair and all the way to Paris, France.
We delivered inclusive trainings and moments for events, soon-to-be college grads, entertainment professionals, and impactful tech workers.
We got to be in community with countless incredible podcasting people, including Workfluencer and Toot or Boot.
We graced stages including our favorite one for Talent Acquisition professionals - RecFestUSA - with Humanity Practice’s very own Rocki Howard, Anessa Fike from Fike+Co, and dani herrera from DEI by dani among others.
We broke out of our technology comfort zone and revamped our website to make offerings and content clearer—a true feat for completely non-technical people who don't have a design team...yet.
We spent countless hours on our social media platforms like Threads, TikTok, Instagram, and Linkedin (we tried Facebook but only our family engaged - LOL) pwe tried Facebook but only our family engaged—LOL) providing clear, transparent, and thoughtful content on how equity impacts pop culture, talent acquisition and hiring, and current events.
We launched a microfiction series called Gidget Ignores Red Flags about a Black woman executive who takes a job despite the signs to the contrary. This was honestly done in fun but got such a great response that we plan on working on something bigger for 2026.
And the latest thing...we launched The Interview Arc! TThis was no small endeavor, but we heard how many candidates were having awful interviews with interviewers beyond the recruiters (leaders asking the same questions, questioning if anyone had even read their resume, questions about the role met with confusing or unclear answers) and how many recruiters were too busy recruiting to prioritize interview training. So we built a workshop to solve a business challenge. We even built an assessment for you to see if it's right for your organization!
We did all that. This year. And now we take time to recharge.
So if you're receiving this email, it's a thank you and a wish for a happy holiday season if you celebrate. It can also just be a wish for you to spend that time how you need. But the thank you is big because whether you attended a workshop, read some fiction, reposted a post, spoke our names in rooms we weren’t in, or paid our invoice—you made this century of a year incredible even though there were world events that tried to break our souls.
We want to work with you next year—whether it's our first time or our 10th time. So if you need fractional People help in Talent Acquisition, Employee Engagement, Learning & Development, or even an audit of your data and processes, holler at us.
The only way we make workplaces better is together.
T. Tara Turk-Haynes (she/her)
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