Trailblazing Women Making History
The following post was written by our Co-Founder Joe Medved who has over two decades of experience working as a recruiter in the fashion industry. Joe started his career in the late 90s, working for Abercrombie & Fitch before starting Joe’s Blackbook in 2009 - a connector between the retail, fashion, & technology space.
Women's History Month is a time to reflect on the past and also look toward the future.
Looking back, I am so inspired by the trailblazing women who have fought for Women's rights/equality and have made the future better for the next generation. I will mention a few below:
Harriet Tubman - A woman born into slavery who escaped to the North and then made 13 missions back to the South to rescue approximately 70 enslaved people. She went on to help overturn the atrocity of slavery. In her later years, she became an activist for women's suffrage.
Billie Jean King - A former No. 1 American tennis player and an advocate for gender equality who has long been a pioneer for equality and social justice. Due to BJK's activism, in 1973, the US Open became the first major championship to offer equal prize money for men and women.
Yes, I love tennis 😉
Venus & Serena Williams - In an exclusive sport not known for diversity, Venus and Serena, through a lot of hard work and determination, developed into two of the greatest tennis players of all time. Additionally, in partnership with Nike, Serena has developed an apprenticeship that will ultimately help improve diversity within our industry.
I feel honored to also share my thoughts on Women in the Retail/Fashion industry who I have had the privilege to work with and who have inspired me.
Kiana "Foster" Miree - Kiana is currently the Chief Merchandising Officer for Spanx. Kiana and I worked together at Abercrombie & Fitch. I was VP of Corporate Recruiting and Kiana was hired into our merchant training program from Harvard. Anyone who knows Kiana appreciates her infectious upbeat personality. At A&F, Kiana was often the only Black woman in the room and I am sure at times felt very lonely. Nonetheless, she worked hard climbing the corporate ladder and has inspired many others in her wake. Kiana has joined Creatives Want Change as an advocate to inspire and mentor the next generation of creative talent. Thank you, Kiana!
Keisha Golding - Keisha is currently the Vice President of Talent Acquisition and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at J. Crew. I have known Keisha for a long time, dating back to her early days at GAP. Keisha remains one of the few Black recruiters in our industry. I have always respected Keisha's recruitment style and know she is a respected leader. It is important that we have more diversity in the recruiting function, as they are the gatekeepers, and often the first person a candidate interacts with in an organization. I know Keisha has been swimming upstream to try to make change in our industry from a diversity perspective....it is hard to do it alone. As the landscape has shifted Keisha now has more allies, including CWC to help her achieve some of her goals. I admire Keisha for all she has done in her career and look forward to seeing all that she accomplishes in her new role at J. Crew. Lastly, we are proud to have Keisha as a CWC Advocate to help nurture and develop the next generation of Black creatives.
Sun Choe - is currently the Chief Product Officer at lululemon. I first met Sun back in 2011 when she was Executive Director of Women's Apparel and Accessories at Urban Outfitters. When I left the meeting, I thought to myself wow, she is a unicorn. Sun is one of the few merchants that truly can operate on both the Creative and Financial side of the brain. Many people say they can, but few really do. Additionally, I am always impressed with how Sun has her finger on the pulse of any trend. Sun has led and inspired huge teams and I look forward to watching her and the team grow the lululemon brand. Sun is also a CWC advocate and we appreciate her support of the next generation of Black creatives.
