Rawdah Mohamed at Vogue Scandinavia

Vogue Scandinavia launches in August 2021, led by editor-in-chief Martina Bonnier. Focused on Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, sustainability will be a key topic for the magazine. Rawdah Mohamed, featured here for Cartier, will be the Fashion Editor.

Grandeur suits Mohamed, Vogue wrote in 2019. At the time the influencer was a healthcare professional working with autistic children. She also signed with a modeling agency but did not receive a warm welcome in Paris, Vogue continues.

“I really wanted [fashion] to be a place where I could just be myself and everyone would just accept me for who I am,” she says. “I was very sad to realize that, no, this is yet another place where I still have to fight to be me and to be able to free to dress however I like and to look however I like.”

Well known for her street style as a hijab-wearing Muslim woman, Mohamed, who is also of Somali heritage, believes that her appointment will impact her community. “It has a huge impact for Muslims, and I see this as [a] collective achievement to better understand the world of fashion,” she said.

“Vogue Scandinavia has taken the diversity issue to the next step, meaning creating [a] work environment where people of different backgrounds are being valued,” said Mohamed, whose April Instagram post with “hands off my hijab” written on her hand started a campaign that trended on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok. “We can participate in conversations, take part in decision-making processes and are able to have an influential voice in fashion.”

Engine No. 1 Shows Activist Hedge Funds Can Be Allies In Climate Activism Fight AOC Sustainability

By Mark DesJardine, Assistant Professor of Strategy and Sustainability, Penn State; and Tima Bansal, Canada Research Chair in Business Sustainability, Western University. First published on The Conversation.

One of the most expensive Wall Street shareholder battles on record could signal a big shift in how hedge funds and other investors view sustainability.

Exxon Mobil Corp. has been fending off a so-called proxy fight from a hedge fund known as Engine No. 1, which blames the energy giant’s poor performance in recent years on its failure to transition to a “decarbonizing world.” In a May 26, 2021 vote, Exxon shareholders approved at least two of the four board members Engine No. 1 nominated, dealing a major blow to the oil company. The vote is ongoing, and more of the hedge fund’s nominees may also soon be appointed.

While its focus has been on shareholder value, Engine No. 1 says it was also doing this to save the planet from the ravages of climate change. It has been pushing for a commitment from Exxon to carbon neutrality by 2050.

As business sustainability scholars, we can’t recall another time that an energy company’s shareholder – particularly a hedge fund – has been so effective and forceful in showing how a company’s failure to take on climate change has eroded shareholder value. That’s why we believe this vote marks a turning point for investors, who are well placed to nudge companies toward more sustainable business practices.

Update June 2, 2021: Exxon Board to Get a Third Activist Pushing Cleaner Energy