As someone whose first real job came on the cusp of the dot-com boom, I was “hybrid” long before the word would carry so much cache, though in my case it meant being tech and creatively inclined.
I first worked hybrid as a project manager who was on the team that launched one of the first successful e-commerce shopping platforms, and later at a tech company that pioneered the first web-based email platform. As the bubble burst, I transitioned into digital film production, bi-coastal ad agencies and, ultimately, into my current post as a freelance writer, where a virtual workplace has been my norm for more than a decade. So, when I was invited to attend a discussion about the role of technology in creating inclusive workplaces, I knew it was a virtual party I had to be a part of.
The session, hosted by the Washington Post, featured three speakers including Rosanna Durruthy, vice president for global diversity, inclusion and belonging at LinkedIn, who spoke about inclusivity: “Remote work and the use of technology for collaboration, whether it’s videoconferencing, messaging apps and other ways in which we’ve learned to communicate has made it possible for women to engage in remote work and be effective and productive.” Each presenter discussed how limited flexibility in the workplace stood as an ongoing barrier of entry for women who struggled to manage home and career. Then the pandemic, for all its upheaval, normalized remote and hybrid workplaces. While the concept is not new, (think sales positions that split between office and road time), COVID opened the gateway for technology to step in, to fuel hybrid workforces for the long haul.
Giselle Mota, chief of product inclusion at human resources company ADP, spoke about the importance of data analytics for pinpointing inequalities in leadership, promotion and pay, and its use as a vehicle for companies to access their own performance when it comes to broadening representation of women and those with marginalized backgrounds. “Being data driven and finding where those gaps are so that you can design better, and we can help to create a culture where women really want to thrive and create more of a sense of: ‘You belong here because your perspective matters, your input matters. Your voice is represented in this product.’”
Toward the end of the discussion, talks turned to ChatGPT and generative AI, the much buzzed- about form of artificial intelligence that takes actions based on past data to create content—which can span the spectrum from college essays and ad copy to rock ballads and what feels like infinite other possibilities. Lorraine Hariton, president and CEO of Catalyst, a nonprofit that helps build businesses that create work for women, went as far as touting iterations of the technology to become more profound than the internet or PC. As a Gen-Xer, it’s hard to fathom anything ever being as impactful as the internet was when it hit the mainstream, though my tap/swiping, Snapchatting, Tesla-obsessed tweens may disagree. When I discussed the technology with my twentysomething nieces, they shared anecdotes about friends who barely bother to write their own term papers and essays, because ChatGPT does a much better job and leaves them more time to party. A conceit that as a mother and writer, I find troubling.
Durruthy ended the session with, “Certainly, generative AI is going to be shaping the future of work for many of us. But I think the one technology that maybe isn’t a technology—it’s really old school—is relationships, the ability to build relationships with greater ease.”
Comings and goings
Just as technology seems to change as freely as a flip of the coin, so too do Napa Valley establishments come, go—and come again. Erosion, the St. Helena winetasting room and tap room known for its Insta-snappable space, pithy wine names and designer ice creams, closed in April only to reopen weeks later under new ownership. Erwin Tomas, who served as general manager and co-founder with former owner Patrick Rue, teamed up with brothers-in-law Eloy Garcia and Jesus Delgado to resurrect the space, thus avoiding the kibosh of the only taproom in town.
Amid an always-be-changing scene, there are iconic establishments that have endured and thrived through economic downturns, dastardly viruses and fickle tourists’ tastes.
Cindy Pawlcyn’s Mustards Grill celebrated its 40th anniversary in June with a commemorative menu, playful wine and food pairings, and a “40 for 40” online wine auction featuring 40 Mustards Grill winery friends offering elite bottles to benefit Napa Valley Meals-on-Wheels and other food bank programs.
Part of Pawlcyn’s success, beyond the stellar food, is the sense of community Mustards has cultivated over the years. While the restaurant has become a magnet for tourists, it remains a revered gathering spot for longtime locals who built relationships in that oldy-timey, IRL (in real life) way. A mode of communication I hope won’t fall out of fashion—or prey to ChatGPT and the inevitable, yet-to-be revealed technologies, that await.
