DOUBLE DIP: What am I doing

Meet the Chips + Dips inclusion index

👋 Hi. After sending last week’s newsletter, I received feedback that my reference to bell hooks’ framework of “centering on the margins” was appropriative. I have since updated the web version of the email to remove it, recognizing that much of what appears in my newsletter stands in direct contrast with hooks’ anti-capitalist feminist theories.

I apologize for co-opting hooks’ work and using it as a rhetorical tool to serve my own analysis. In sitting with my mistake, I began to think about what I could do to hold myself accountable long-term. Awareness is the first step toward change, so I combed through each issue of Chips + Dips to better understand the representation I’ve put forth in my newsletter.

Crunching numbers

You can find the full index here.

Here’s what I noticed:

• Overall gender representation is fairly even across all issues.

• Across every issue, an average of 2% of companies mentioned are Black-led, 80% are white-led, and 12% are led by non-Black POC.

• DIP 012 exclusively mentioned white-led companies. Yikes.

• DIP 015 had the smallest proportion of white-led companies, but also zero Black-led companies.

• DIP 024 had the largest proportion of Black-led companies, at 12.5%.

It’s important to note that the index has a number of shortcomings:

The act of researching founders and categorizing them by race or ethnicity is an inherently white supremacist endeavor. At the same time, this feels like an important exercise in accountability and transparency.

Grouping non-Black POC founders together is problematic because it perpetuates erasure. I’d love to find a solution to this; the challenge is that effective categorization requires self-disclosure on behalf of the founder, and that information is not always readily available.

Companies with multiple founders of different backgrounds also presented a challenge. Those companies aren’t counted in the percentage totals because I’m not sure how best to label them. How do I categorize a company with one Black, one non-Black POC, and one white founder? I’d love any suggestions or thoughts here.

Companies with non-founder CEOs have been classified according to the CEO’s identity at the time of publishing. That means that for the few months that Cliff Moskowitz helmed Outdoor Voices, the company is listed as being male-led.

The index is not perfect. I likely skipped a few brands and misidentified founders. If you catch any errors, please let me know. And, as always, I welcome your thoughts, feedback, criticism, and comments.

What now?

I’m going to consciously work to increase representation among Black- and non-white-led businesses in my newsletter. Fifteen percent of the US population is Black, and 15% of the businesses I mention in my newsletter should be Black-led. It’s the same framework that Aurora James is applying with the 15% Pledge, and similar to Refinery29’s 67% Project.

Representation matters, especially when less than 1% of VC money goes to Black founders. Readers tell me that my newsletter is a resource for discovery. If I can use it to facilitate awareness of Black-led businesses and share their stories, it can maybe — and in a very small way — work toward change.

I’ll be sharing the inclusion index in each newsletter going forward and updating it before each send. If you scrolled past it the first time, here it is again.

Thanks for snacking,

— Emily 💡