--- title: "Daily Buzz: Pixar Nails Why Employers Still Struggle With Diversity" id: "45695" type: "post" slug: "daily-buzz-pixar-nails-why-employers-still-struggle-with-diversity" published_at: "2019-02-14T20:35:14+00:00" modified_at: "2026-11-09T15:57:31+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2019/02/14/daily-buzz-pixar-nails-why-employers-still-struggle-with-diversity/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2019/02/14/daily-buzz-pixar-nails-why-employers-still-struggle-with-diversity.md" excerpt: "Workplace diversity is an ongoing process. Pixar’s new short, Purl, demonstrates where organizations should put more effort. Also: ideas to help parents at meetings." taxonomy_category: - "Meetings / Events" taxonomy_post_tag: - "age inclusion" - "AssociationsNow" - "Business" - "Meetings" - "work culture" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Director" - "Manager" - "VP" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Daily Buzz: Pixar Nails Why Employers Still Struggle With Diversity Although many organizations have developed strategies to improve staff diversity and inclusion, they often still fall short. Take it from Purl Ball. Purl, the title character of [Pixar’s new short (opens in a new tab)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6uuIHpFkuo) , is a fuzzy pink ball of yarn headed for her first day at B.R.O. Capital. After she arrives, she quickly realizes that she isn’t like any of the other employees: white, sports-loving men clad in expensive suits. After they gawk and ignore her, Purl refashions herself into a knitted business suit and becomes one of the guys. “As with any Pixar production, the film is cute, but it also tackles two long-running complaints about male-dominated industries like tech and venture capital: They’re still way behind in terms of hiring diverse teams and publicly reporting those figures, two things HR managers say are key to preventing toxic or alienating work cultures,” [writes Emily Canal on Inc. (opens in a new tab)](https://www.inc.com/emily-canal/pixar-short-purl-workplace-diversity-inclusion.html?cid=hmsub1) *Purl* also highlights the failure of employers to properly onboard new hires and orient them in the organization’s culture. “This is the kind of HR failure that can do a lot of damage in the first few days when a new employee wants and needs to integrate into a team,” Canal says. To make your office more welcoming from day one, ensure that your onboarding process anticipates new employees’ needs, gives them a comfortable place to land, and connects them to their new colleagues. ### How to Help Attendees with Families https://twitter.com/meetingsnet/status/1095769092731080704 For people with families, attending meetings is not always easy, nor possible. [A Twitter thread (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/whereisdaz/status/1092603112978698242) posed by Dr. Darren Saunders, a cancer biologist and professor of medicine in Sydney, asked users about effective ideas to support attendees with children. The result was a conversation that showcases ways to meet these attendees’ specific needs. “While there are high-tech solutions for breastfeeding mothers, including Mamava privacy pods, several people on the thread suggested that any private space for nursing will do—but a preferred amenity is a secure refrigerator for storing breast milk,” [says Hannah Kinnersley in a post on MeetingsNet. (opens in a new tab)](https://www.meetingsnet.com/event-design-ideas/it-takes-village-conference-childcare-tips-twitter) Another popular suggestion: free conference registration for a babysitter to help with an attendees’ children onsite. “The number of contributions to the thread makes it clear that this is a hot topic for attendees at academic conferences” Kinnersley says. ### Other Links of Note **Launching a new website?** The Wild Apricot blog compared [10 of the best website builders for nonprofits (opens in a new tab)](https://www.wildapricot.com/blogs/newsblog/2019/02/13/best-website-builder) . **Reward members** **with a summer camp program.** *Nonprofit Hub* explains [whether it’s right for your organization (opens in a new tab)](https://nonprofithub.org/nonprofit-content/should-your-nonprofit-launch-a-summer-camp/) . **How you speak in meetings** can affect the quality of the conversation. Jeffrey Cufaude from Idea Architects breaks down [how to talk with respect. (opens in a new tab)](http://www.ideaarchitects.org/2019/02/offense-doesnt-have-to-be-offensive.html) [Jeff Hsin](https://associationsnow.com/author/jeff-hsin/) [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/jeff-hsin/) Tags: [#age inclusion](https://associationsnow.com/tag/age-inclusion/) [#Business](https://associationsnow.com/tag/business/) [#Meetings](https://associationsnow.com/tag/meetings/) [#work culture](https://associationsnow.com/tag/work-culture/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [PodcastAssociations Now Presents: Beyond the Contract: Building Stronger Destination PartnershipsSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/associations-now-presents-beyond-the-contract-building-stronger-destination-partnerships/) - [VideoMelvin Tennant, CAE, President & CEO of Meet Minneapolis, Welcomes You to Great Ideas 2026September 2, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/02/melvin-tennant-cae-president-ceo-of-meet-minneapolis-welcomes-you-to-great-ideas-2026/) - [VideoASAE TV Daily Recap: Final Day at the 2026 ASAE Annual Meeting & ExpositionAugust 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/08/24/asae-tv-daily-recap-final-day-at-the-2026-asae-annual-meeting-exposition/) - [VideoTerin Bates, MBA, CAE, CX-PRO, Shares Her Experience at the 2026 ASAE Annual Meeting & ExpositionAugust 18, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/08/18/terin-bates-mba-cae-cx-pro-shares-her-experience-at-the-2026-asae-annual-meeting-exposition/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2019%2F02%2F14%2Fdaily-buzz-pixar-nails-why-employers-still-struggle-with-diversity%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !