Photo by Johnny Arguedas
My 4-year-old daughter recently showed me a picture of our family on a trip to Michigan two years ago. We're smiling in front of the sand dunes after a long hike. She said, "I want to go back to these times, when we were all happy."
My daughter’s words gave me pause. While running a small business amidst a global pandemic is undoubtedly stressful, I thought I personally managed it well. I was able to grow Queen City Certified in a year of extreme economic uncertainty. And with everyone home more, our family had plenty of moments filled with laughter and joy. We spent more time together, took more walks, played more, enjoyed extra snuggles. I consider us incredibly lucky. Our home is safe, our jobs are stable, and our family is healthy. By all accounts, I have so much to be grateful for.
But I don't think I understood how the stress would affect our daughter—all of us, really. It's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day activities to make sure the bills are paid, our kids are learning, we're staying safe. But the emotional labor, uncertainty, and isolation that accompanied the pandemic took a toll. I imagine many of us are feeling this way.
2020 shed light on the deep structural inequities in our country. The anxiety and hardship that 2020 brought to so many families does not fade simply because it's a new year.
There are no quick and easy solutions to achieving justice, equity, and inclusion, but there are things that we can do today to make our workplaces more responsive to the people that keep them running every day. Queen City Certified doesn’t have all the answers—no single person or organization does. Our goal in 2021 is to empower organizations—and people—to lead with empathy, compassion, and understanding. To dig deeper into the systems that serve some, but not others. To share the skills, tools, and data needed to make meaningful change.
We're not going to accomplish this all in a year, or even three or four years. This is a lifetime of learning, a lifetime of rolling up our sleeves and doing the work. To be successful, our work must be transformative. But with the right partners, we can move forward together, creating more equitable and inclusive workplaces for all people—so that everyone can thrive. And that is something to remain hopeful for.
Queen City Certified’s goal has always been to bring changemakers together, to create a movement that brings greater success to our communities, our workplaces, and our families. In 2020, we talked with many of you. We heard loud and clear that you want to gather, to learn from one another, to grow as a community. We want that too.
In 2021, we will continue to elevate equity together. Our new speaker series will bring together thought leaders, QCC alums, and others passionate about workplace equity. You’ll be hearing more regularly from our growing QCC team via our Elevating Equity newsletter, and we’ll be sharing more of your case studies.
Together we will learn, share, and grow. I can’t wait for you to join us.
—Nicole
