I never thought Phenomenal Woman would turn into something big, you know?
My work is myself. That's what makes me feel like I have purpose. It makes me happy and inspired and hopeful - as hard as it may be sometimes.
It's a privilege to be able to take care of yourself and not have to be constantly on the treadmill.
In fact, when I began selling 'Phenomenal Woman' T-shirts on International Women's Day last year, the campaign was supposed to run just through March, for Women's History Month. At the time, I hoped to sell around 500, maybe 1,000 T-shirts in total. We ended up selling 2,500 T-shirts on the first day alone.
From the beginning, I conceptualised Phenomenal Woman as a social-impact initiative. I knew that the campaign wasn't really about a cool T-shirt, but rather using the T-shirt to benefit and amplify a cause.
I've always been a creative, entrepreneurial minded person, and I've always been inspired by other creatives, including fashion designers.
Working with different communities and organizations allows us to raise awareness in a nuanced and impactful way, while also giving us broad reach.
You have to give employees a lot of autonomy to think more creatively and out of the box. You need to hire people who are going to understand how to do this responsively and strategically.
One of the challenges mature companies face is evaluating performance and furthering the business.
I early on showed interest in the arts and I used to say, 'I'm an artist, I'm an artist.'
If I were to distill my household, it was a passion for social justice and a love for food and laughter.
I wrote 'Kamala and Maya's Big Idea' because I don't want my daughters to think in euphemisms.
As a community, Silicon Valley must adopt principles that reflect our abhorrence toward sexual harassment - and it is these principles that must guide our collective behavior.
Preventative measures should be taken to provide the fundamentals of recognizing and addressing sexual harassment. If all community members are required to undergo such training, it will be assumed in any case of sexual harassment that the perpetrator understood the effect of his actions.
My most casual day at work is a Phenomenal shirt. It's so comfortable and cozy, I have about 20 of them that I can reach for every day.
My power outfit is feeling confident and well styled, thinking that my outfit is awesome.
I have a whole quarantine-on-camera look and it's my Harwell Godfrey hoops, my Phenomenal shirt, glasses, and my hair tied up into a bun. If I'm on camera, I'll wear some makeup.
It's all too common that when we talk about diversity and inclusion, and gender equity in the workplace, it translates to just white women.
