We had the good fortune of connecting with Brittany Murlas and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brittany, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
Of children’s books published each year, just 31% have female central characters, and in the last 5 years only 13% feature a person of color.

Millennial parents desperately want to diversify their bookshelves, but Amazon makes it hard to discover diverse, off-the-beaten-track titles. When asked to explain the lack of diverse books available, book publishers cite “low demand.” This is an infuriating cycle that keeps more diverse books from being published, even though demand for them is skyrocketing.

My mission is that Little Feminist not only sheds light on the inequities of children’s media, but also disrupts the industry.

To start, Little Feminist is a monthly children’s book box that focuses on diversity and gender equality, teaching 0-9-year-old girls and boys (yes, gotta raise feminist boys too!) empathy and perseverance. Our book club box features 1-2 books, bookmarks with discussion questions, and a DIY activity each month. We take the months of required book research off the plate of busy parents, so they can focus on their most important job, loving and raising their awesome tiny humans.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am dyslexic and children’s books have always been a safe haven for me. When I learned that of children’s books published each year, just 31% have female central characters, and in the last 5 years only 13% of children’s books feature a person of color, I quit my job (I was the CMO of BabyList.com) to start a children’s book business.

I thought if we want the next generation, children of all genders and backgrounds, to believe their dreams are possible, then they need to see themselves represented in the stories they read. And if we want to raise the next generation to be compassionate towards ALL people, then they need to read stories featuring people of all colors, sizes, and places.

So I held focus groups, sent out surveys, and tested different ideas that would help families diversify their bookshelves. The results were overwhelming: parents and grandparents wanted a “feminist book club for kids.” So that’s what I built.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My spouse, Mickey Kay, deserves a tremendous amount of recognition for LittleFeminist.com existing and now thriving. I haven’t taken an income from the business since we launched in 2017, and while I’ve been able to supplement some of this loss with consulting projects, it’s the financial, and most importantly, emotional support of my spouse that has made Little Feminist possible.

Website: littlefeminist.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/littlefeministbookclub/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/littlefeministbookclub

Image Credits
Mark Karoda

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