Building Resilience Skills

Black women lost 91% of all women’s jobs in April. But that number isn’t the whole story — it’s just the tip of the truth. Here’s what’s “under the hood”: 1. This isn’t a fluke. It’s design. We’re overrepresented in jobs labeled essential during crisis and expendable during recovery. Admin, healthcare support, education, retail — sectors that get cut first and protect last. This is occupational segregation, and it’s doing exactly what it was built to do. 2. We were already leaking out of the pipeline. Let’s not pretend this started in April. We’ve been underpromoted, underpaid, and undersponsored — despite being the most educated demographic in the country. So when layoffs come, we aren’t just losing jobs. We’re losing hard-won ground. 3. Post-2020 performative #DEI is dead — and we’re the collateral. Many of us were hired into DEI roles or “diversity-friendly” spaces when companies wanted good press. Now, as backlash builds and budgets shrink, we’re first on the chopping block — again. This is what happens when #equity is cosmetic. 4. The economic damage is generational. 91% job loss isn’t just a stat. It’s a ripple: • Mortgage denials • Career derailment • College fund delays • Entrepreneurship on pause • Healthcare gaps This hits families, not just individuals. 5. Stop calling this a resilience issue. Resilience isn’t a fix for economic exploitation. We are not interested in masking systemic harm with individual hustle. So no, this isn’t just about job loss. It’s about power. It’s about who gets to stay. It’s about who gets protected — and who gets the short end of the stick just for taking up space. Black women are architecting a strategy that doesn’t require permission. Black women are pivoting on purpose, rebranding without code-switching, and rising without waiting for rescue. If this shook you, good. If it lit a fire under you, even better. Now let’s build something they can’t lay off. #RebrandAndRise #CareerNomadNoir #BlackWomenAtWork #StillEmployedStillAfraid #RNA #Layoffs #WorkplaceTruths #StopTheErasure #PowerToPivot #LinkedInNews LinkedIn News #hellomonday #officehours Source: Black Enterprise Magazine, May 2025 Jeffrey McKinney https://lnkd.in/eCMzUd8K

When someone tells you "you can’t," they reveal their own limitations and fears. Your journey is uniquely yours, defined by your vision and perseverance. Embrace your potential, trust your path, and let your actions speak louder than any doubt. By believing in yourself and pushing past others’ limitations, you can achieve greatness and inspire others to do the same. Here is how best to deal with it: 1. Believe in Yourself: * Inner Confidence: Cultivate a strong sense of self-belief. Trust your abilities and intuition, even when others doubt you. * Self-Affirmation: Regularly remind yourself of your strengths and past achievements. Use these as anchors to reinforce your confidence.
 2. Recognise Projection: * Understand Limits: Realise that others project their insecurities and limitations onto you. Their doubts are reflections of their own fears, not your reality. * Empathy Over Frustration: Approach their scepticism with empathy. Understand that their perspective is shaped by their own journey.
 3. Set Your Own Standards: * Define Success: Establish your own criteria for success and fulfilment. Don’t let others dictate what you can or cannot achieve. * Personal Goals: Focus on your personal goals and aspirations. Keep your vision clear and unwavering.
 4. Surround Yourself with Positivity: * Supportive Network: Build a circle of supporters who believe in you and your potential. Positive influences can bolster your confidence and resilience. * Avoid Negativity: Distance yourself from consistently negative or doubting individuals. Protect your mental and emotional energy.
 5. Embrace Challenges: * Growth Mindset: View challenges and doubts as opportunities to grow and prove yourself. Every obstacle is a chance to demonstrate your capabilities. * Resilience: Develop resilience by facing and overcoming adversity. Each success builds your strength and confidence.
 6. Continuous Learning: * Knowledge and Skills: Invest in continuous learning and skill development. The more you know and can do, the less others’ doubts will affect you. * Adaptability: Stay adaptable and open to new approaches. Flexibility enhances your ability to overcome challenges.
 7. Celebrate Small Wins: * Acknowledge Progress: Recognise and celebrate your progress, no matter how small. Each step forward is a testament to your potential. * Positive Reinforcement: Use your achievements as positive reinforcement that you are capable and worthy of success.

During a recent site visit to a textile factory in Kishangarh, where we at Sustainable Living Lab (SL2) are conducting a heat risk assessment, I encountered something simple yet fascinating. The factory’s hydration station featuring a traditional matka for drinking water. Curious, I snapped a picture on my thermal imaging camera to measure surface temperatures in the room. The results were striking: the surface of the matka was consistently 8 to 10 degrees Celsius cooler than every other object nearby. But why does this humble earthen pot keep water so cool, especially in the harsh heat of Rajasthan? The science behind the matka is elegantly simple. Made from porous clay, the pot allows water molecules to slowly seep to the outer surface. As these molecules evaporate into the air, they absorb latent heat from the pot’s surface, effectively cooling the water inside. A natural example of evaporative cooling. This process can reduce the temperature of water significantly without any electricity or mechanical refrigeration. The matka exemplifies how traditional, nature-based solutions can be highly effective and sustainable. In a world increasingly searching for high-tech answers to climate adaptation and cooling, sometimes the best innovations are already within our cultural heritage, quietly working in plain sight. As we advance climate adaptation strategies, it’s worth remembering that innovation is not always about reinventing the wheel but sometimes about rediscovering wisdom embedded in our traditions. Climate Hub Asia Sustainable Living Lab (SL2)

Today I have been asking myself the question: What if we're solving the wrong problem - chasing AI disruption while the real opportunity for human flourishing lies in the green economy? AI is getting all the headlines, but here's what the data actually shows: 🔹 AI impact: Creates 11M jobs, displaces 9M → Net gain: 2M jobs 🔹 Green transition: Creates 34M jobs with minimal displacement That's a 17:1 ratio in favor of green jobs. 🤯 Yet 90% of workforce discussions focus on AI disruption while climate jobs barely make the news. Why this massive disconnect? ✅ AI grabs attention - ChatGPT created immediate, visible change ✅ Green jobs seem gradual - but they're happening faster than we think ✅ Tech giants drive the narrative - while green jobs are distributed across industries ✅ 40% of employers expect AI workforce reductions - creating immediate anxiety The reality check: 1.2 billion jobs depend on healthy ecosystems Green jobs are harder to automate Climate action is literally existential Green skills show 22% growth in job postings vs 12% in available workers. Our future depends on our ability to close this gap. For professionals: While everyone's learning prompt engineering, there's a massive opportunity to apply YOUR existing skills to green roles: 🌱 Accountants → Carbon accounting & green finance 🌱 Teachers → Sustainability training & green skills education 🌱 IT professionals → Energy management systems & smart grids 🌱 Recruiters → Green talent acquisition (fastest growing field!) 🌱 Project managers → Renewable energy projects 🌱 Sales/Marketing → Clean tech & sustainable products ... and many more Maybe we should focus our upskilling efforts where the real job growth is happening? What do you think - are we chasing AI shiny objects while missing the green goldmine? Data sources: World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report 2025, International Labour Organization, Manpower Global insights sustainability and the rise of green and turquoise jobs

Across the Horn of Africa, climate shocks now unfold as compound crises. The 2020–2023 drought left over 46 million people food insecure and eroded their livelihoods. Before recovery could begin, the 2023–2024 El Niño rains triggered widespread flooding, displacing hundreds of thousands of people. Drought–flood whiplash is no longer exceptional; it is the region’s operating climate. My research with the Jameel Observatory for Food Security Early Action in northern Kenya reveals that pastoralist communities are already adapting to these shifts with remarkable flexibility. From star calendars to animal behaviour and vegetation cues, herders read a rich tapestry of indicators and now complement these with radio forecasts and satellite data. They do not wait for a single forecast or a rigid trigger. Instead, they adjust grazing routes, stagger herd movements, and pool resources as signals evolve. This flexible anticipatory action challenges the dominant model of fixed thresholds and single-event triggers. It shows that forecast information only has value if it is trusted, timely, and open to renegotiation on the ground. Climate Information Services (CIS) enable this agility by translating global climate models into local, impact-based advisories. Regional centres, such as ICPAC, provide seasonal outlooks to guide rangeland management and food security planning. Communities use this information to develop innovative solutions by layering these scientific forecasts onto their own adaptive calendars. Formal Anticipatory Action (AA) frameworks can learn from this. Kenya’s 2024–2029 AA Roadmap is vital. Fundamentally, it will deliver more if it incorporates flexibility by allowing rolling triggers, locally defined indicators, and iterative decision-making, rather than treating early action as a one-off release of funds. The cost of inaction rises with every season. Investing in flexible, forecast-driven anticipatory systems is both fiscally prudent and politically essential. For governments, regional bodies, and development partners, the way forward is clear: move beyond crisis response and embed adaptive, plural, and community-grounded anticipatory action at the heart of policy and planning. In the Horn of Africa’s climate future, acting early and being flexible is the most innovative and cost-effective form of adaptation. Photo courtesy of United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)

This morning's breakfast discussion with Business Insider reinforced something I see daily: #resilience isn't just a buzzword, it's become the defining capability that separates thriving organizations from those merely surviving. The conversation centered on how companies are leveraging #sustainability insights to build organizational resilience through comprehensive risk evaluation and translating climate considerations into sustainable competitive advantages. What struck me most was the shared recognition that these aren't separate initiatives, but interconnected strategies for long-term business continuity. Exercises like #doublemateriality and climate risk and opportunity assessments (#CCRO) have evolved far beyond compliance tools. They've become essential frameworks for understanding how environmental and social factors intersect with core business operations, supply chains, and strategic planning. When done rigorously, they reveal the connections between sustainability performance and business resilience that might otherwise remain invisible. Last week, we published our updated Sustainability Materiality Report, which reflects years of learning about how to make these assessments truly decision-useful rather than just comprehensive. The process taught us that the most valuable insights come not from identifying every possible risk, but from understanding which factors could fundamentally alter our business trajectory. As #ClimateWeek unfolds, these conversations feel particularly timely. Building deep understanding of both #mitigation and #adaptation strategies isn't just about environmental stewardship, it's about developing the organizational awareness needed to navigate an increasingly complex operating environment. Those around today's table represented diverse stakeholder groups, yet we all shared similar challenges: how to build systems that can anticipate change rather than simply react to it. The answer consistently pointed back to the quality of our risk assessment processes and our willingness to integrate those insights into strategic decision-making. #ClimateAction requires this level of institutional intelligence—the capacity to see connections, anticipate disruptions, and adapt accordingly. Companies that master this integration will find themselves better positioned not just for environmental challenges, but for the full spectrum of changes reshaping business today.

Climate Risk Management 🌎 Climate Risk Management (CRM) is essential in today's world where the impacts of climate change are increasingly felt across all sectors of society. The relevance of CRM lies in its ability to equip communities, governments, and organizations with the tools and strategies to prepare for and mitigate these impacts, ensuring sustainability and resilience. By addressing the immediate and long-term challenges posed by climate variability, CRM is not just a protective measure but a proactive step towards safeguarding development gains and enabling continued progress under the shadow of climate uncertainty. The CRM process begins with a meticulous risk assessment. It is the groundwork that informs all subsequent actions, pinpointing which hazards pose the greatest threat and who is most vulnerable. This stage is crucial for developing a clear understanding of potential climate impacts, allowing for the creation of targeted, efficient responses. Identifying these risks is the first step towards resilience, as it sets the priorities for action. After identifying the risks, CRM requires the development of strategies to address these identified risks. This involves a combination of policy initiatives, technological solutions, and community-based actions that are designed to reduce vulnerability to climate impacts. The relevance of this planning phase is reflected in the tailored solutions it provides for different contexts and challenges. Resource allocation is a crucial phase in CRM, reflecting the prioritization of identified strategies. This phase is indicative of a society’s dedication to combating climate change, as it involves the practical aspect of funding and resources to support CRM initiatives. The implementation of CRM strategies is the active phase where plans are put into practice. The effectiveness of this phase is measured by how well it reduces actual vulnerability and enhances adaptive capacities. It is a testament to the practical value of CRM in fostering resilience and sustainability. Finally, the process includes monitoring and evaluation, which ensures that CRM remains a flexible and responsive tool. This phase is crucial for learning from experiences, adjusting strategies, and improving the overall approach to managing climate risks. It underlines the iterative nature of CRM, necessary for it to remain effective in the face of evolving climate patterns and risks. #sustainability #sustainable #climatechange #climateaction #climaterisk #esg #strategy #environmental #vulnerability

The most important skills today and in the next years will be human capabilities: critical and analytic thinking, resilience, leadership and influence, overlaid with technological literacy and AI skills to amplify these human capacities. World Economic Forum's new Future of Jobs Report provides a deep and broad analysis of the drivers of labour market transformation, the outlook for jobs and skills, and workforce strategies across industries and nations. It's a really worthwhile deep dive if you're interested in the topic (link in comments). Here are some of the highlights from the Skills section, which to my mind is at the heart of it. 🧠 Analytical Thinking Leads Core Skills. Skills like analytical thinking (70%), resilience (66%), and creative thinking (64%) top the list of core abilities for 2025. By 2030, the emphasis shifts even more towards AI and big data proficiency (85%), technological literacy (76%), and curiosity-driven lifelong learning (79%). This shift underscores the critical role of technology and adaptability in future workplaces. 📉 Skill Stability Declines but at a Slower Rate. Employers predict that 39% of workers' core skills will change by 2030, slightly lower than 44% in 2023. This reflects a stabilization in the pace of skill disruption due to increased emphasis on upskilling and reskilling programs. Half of the workforce now engages in training as part of long-term learning strategies compared to 41% in 2023, showcasing the growing adaptation to technological changes . 🌍 Economic Disparities in Skill Disruption. Middle-income economies anticipate higher skill disruption compared to high-income ones. This disparity highlights the uneven challenges of transitioning labor forces across global regions, particularly in economies still grappling with structural changes. 🚀 Tech-Savvy Skills in High Demand. The adoption of frontier technologies, including generative AI and machine learning, is increasing the demand for skills like big data analysis, cybersecurity, and technological literacy. These trends indicate that businesses are aligning workforce strategies to integrate these advancements effectively. 📚 Upskilling Is the Norm, Not the Exception. By 2030, 73% of organizations aim to prioritize workforce upskilling as a response to ongoing disruptions. This reflects a shift in corporate investment priorities towards human capital enhancement to maintain competitiveness.

Are we reaching the last mile? In this week’s climate story, I’d like to highlight the efforts of humanitarian partners in reaching isolated communities of Northern Kenya. I had the chance to visit the county of Turkana this week. The Turkana are mainly pastoralists from indigenous communities, some still nomadic or semi-nomadic, others having settled and developed agriculture. The region is also home to hundreds of thousands of refugees who’ve fled insecurity and conflict in neighbouring countries. Amid this cultural diversity, there is one common factor: climate change. Everyone here is affected by the climate crisis. Increasing droughts and floods, including the recent ones fuelled by El Niño and La Niña, threaten their very way of life and their livelihoods. Despite the unprecedented challenges, there are solutions. UN agencies, international and local NGOs are present on the ground, trying to leave no one behind and build climate resilience. I have visited interesting activities run by IOM - UN Migration, World Food Programme, UNICEF and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. One particularly successful project is being implemented by the NGO Mercy Corps through the USAID-funded Nawiri Consortium, which is integrating climate resilience with the overall goal of sustainably reducing acute malnutrition. They worked with the community and local government to climate-proof water infrastructure, designed to withstand both drought and heavy rainfall, while a combination of old and new farming techniques is turning barren land into productive one. Communities have been able to withstand climate shocks, but also rehabilitate land, increase soil fertility, grow food and increase their incomes. The project has reached more than 400,000 people out of a total county population of about one million, and there are plans to expand it. These are concrete examples of how we can help communities reduce their dependence on costly humanitarian aid. But it is still not enough. Climate finance remains insufficient, and the communities that need it most are not getting their fair share. We need to invest in adaptation on a scale that matches the urgency of the crisis. As world leaders prepare for #COP29, they must prioritize vulnerable communities like those living in Turkana. The stakes have never been higher. #Resilience #ElNino #ClimateAdaptation #Kenya

Small acts. Big shifts. That’s how climate resilience is quietly being built in cities around the world. From Detroit to Havana, Bangkok to Barcelona, communities are leading climate adaptation. Not through billion-dollar plans, but through everyday action: ~ Planting gardens that double as cooling hubs. ~ Turning vacant lots into urban farms. ~ Harvesting rainwater to ease floods. ~ Reclaiming roads as public spaces. When we picture “climate resilience,” we often imagine high-tech smart cities or giant seawalls. But the future of our cities might just depend on small, local acts that don’t make headlines. In my new article, featuring the ideology of All Bits Count, for The City Fix (by World Resources Institute), I spotlight how everyday people—farmers, youth groups, neighbours—are quietly rewriting the climate playbook. These aren’t feel-good side stories. They’re proven, scalable solutions that save lives and money. ⤷ Every $1 spent on resilience saves $13 in avoided losses. 🖊️ Special thanks to Taylor Symes, Schuyler Null (WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities) and Laurie Mazur (Island Press) for editorial guidance. 🔗 Read the full article: Small acts building urban climate resilience: https://lnkd.in/griVdhc3 ♻️ Share it. Debate it. Start small. #Publications #UrbanPlanning #ClimateResilience #Sustainability