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Women’s Jewelry Association Chapter Board Members Resign in Wake of DEI Statements

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Three full Women’s Jewelry Association (WJA) chapter boards and several individual members have resigned or say they plan to resign as the WJA grapples with a December 2024 statement its president-elect made regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The Chicago, Northern California (NorCal), and San Diego chapter boards announced in written statements online that they collectively have stepped down from their WJA volunteer roles. Individual members also have gone on platforms such as Instagram to quit their positions at their WJA chapters for personal reasons and in solidarity with these two boards.

Their decisions to resign come after a Dec. 10 speech national president-elect Gabrielle Grazi (pictured) made at the 2024 National Annual Membership meeting. In her statement about WJA and its future, Grazi commented on its approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion, noting that “our content did not always reflect the complexion of our membership and that of our broader industry.

“Our sincere efforts to be inclusive created a perception of exclusion by many long-standing and founding members of the jewelry community. We sincerely apologize for this misstep,” Grazi said. “Everyone is welcome in our community. Every individual is diverse. As a women’s business organization with a 501(c)(6) designation, we will be focused on diversity of thought and not comment or create content around social-justice issues.”

Viviana Langhoff, the Chicago board’s president, tells JCK that the board asked for WJA National to clarify Grazi’s comments, waited several weeks for a response, and then posted its Instagram statement.

“The WJA Chicago Chapter board members were shocked to hear Grazi’s remarks,” the board’s Instagram statement said. “As a diverse board composed of women from various cultures, creeds, races, and nationalities, we were deeply disheartened by her statements and the implications they carry for our organization’s future.”

WJA Chicago said WJA National’s staff indicated to its members that Grazi’s comments were meant to address the dissatisfaction of some of WJA’s Jewish members “with the national board’s lack of response to the events of Oct. 7 and the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

The NorCal board resigned Jan. 24, calling its move “a gut-wrenching decision and one we did not make lightly” in statements posted on various board members’ Instagram accounts.

“Due to decisions made by the current WJA National Board, we choose to no longer be representatives of this association,” NorCal members, including president Wendy Wagner and president-elect Alisa Thorp, said on their individual Instagram stories and posts.

On Monday, the officers and majority of the San Diego WJA chapter stepped down from its positions, the group reported in an Instagram story.

“The decision by the 2025 National Board to retain Gabrielle Grazi as president of WJA National after sowing unprecedented division within our membership and instigating dozens of resignations from our local and National leadership following her Dec. 10 statement at our Annual Membership Meeting has left us unable to effectively support our community members through this association at this time,” it said.

JCK reached out to WJA National multiple times for a response to the resignations. The organization released an emailed statement to its members and media on Jan. 24, which said WJA is “not making any changes to its DEIB [diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging] programming.

“The WJA Board has discussed Gabrielle’s remarks and our next steps at great length over the past week,” WJA National wrote in its email. “It is important to understand that Gabrielle’s remarks were hers and hers alone—they do not reflect the opinion of our Board. On a chapter leaders call earlier this week, Gabrielle expressed her sincere apologies for the division and discord her remarks caused.

“She took full responsibility for her mistake, and we appreciate her not only recognizing that mistake, but also owning up to it in front of our chapter leaders,” WJA National added. “As Gabrielle stated on the call with chapter leaders, what she was trying to convey—and what she said she now understands she did not do as well as she could have—is that she does not feel as though WJA should be making statements or social-media posts about external cultural, political, or social issues that do not directly impact our organization’s mission, as every event will impact our members in different and deeply personal ways.”

The statement continued: “While it was never her intent to imply that we would be changing our approach to DEIB, she—and we—understand that there is much to learn from this experience. To that end, we are pleased to share that WJA Board member Donna DeLucia will serve as chair of the DEIB committee for 2025.… Please know that we are diligently working on repairing the damage that was done over the last few weeks, and Gabrielle is as well.”

JCK also reached out to Grazi for comment; she declined to speak on the record.

Grazi did conduct a call with chapter leaders to discuss their concerns. She also released a statement, a copy of which was shared with JCK. In that statement, Grazi said that her December comments were meant to “rally and unify our membership around our shared values, but unfortunately, not everyone interpreted them the way they were intended.” She also apologized, explaining that “formal board protocols that needed to be adhered to regrettably delayed this communication.”

On Jan. 26, Grazi posted a statement on Instagram, which said: “WJA exists to help women thrive and we pride ourselves on building a culture of inclusion and belonging, fostering spaces where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued.” She emphasized “everyone” in bold.

Independent WJA members who chose to resign or say they are considering it because of Grazi’s statements noted that National’s response “still leaves significant concerns unaddressed,” Trish Carruth, owner of Your Personal Jeweler in metro Detroit, tells JCK.

“While they claim her comments were ‘hers and hers alone,’ it is difficult to separate the words of a sitting president from the larger culture and direction of an organization. These remarks, coupled with the leadership’s reluctance to engage with external social issues, highlight a troubling misalignment between WJA’s stated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and its actions,” Carruth says.

“While appointing a DEIB chair and seeking external expertise are steps in the right direction, WJA’s response feels more focused on damage control than on a genuine commitment to change. Without clear accountability, measurable goals, or transparency, this promise risks being another performative gesture rather than a catalyst for progress,” Carruth adds. “What WJA and organizations like it need to realize is that neutrality in the face of injustice is not neutrality at all; it is complicity. Supporting women in the jewelry and watch industry means acknowledging the intersectional challenges they face in society and actively working to dismantle the structures that perpetuate them. Until WJA demonstrates a deeper understanding of this responsibility, its statements will continue to feel hollow, and its members will continue to feel unheard.”

Chouette Designs owner Ashley McGinty also responded, posting on Instagram, “As an openly LGBTQ+ leader and business owner, I cannot remain silent on these issues, particularly as we navigate the resurgence of bigotry in the current political landscape. Unless the WJA national president-elect issues a formal apology and steps down from the role, I will resign from my position as a board member of the San Diego chapter out of both respect to my community and in solidarity with the Chicago board.

“True leadership is about doing what is right and not just what is easy or most profitable,” McGinty continued. “I urge WJA leadership to reflect deeply on the values espoused by the organization, and if the decisions made moving forward will truly reflect the diversity of the jewelry community.”

Grazi was elected president of the WJA in January 2024. She previously served as the WJA Foundation Board of Trustees president.

Grazi currently serves as vice president of sales for North America for Hearts On Fire. She previously worked as vice president of retail strategy and partnerships at the Natural Diamond Council. She also worked at Signet Jewelers, where she introduced and served as chair of the 500+ member Signet Women’s Business Resource Group, the largest employee resource group at Signet. She also served as an advisor on Signet’s Diversity Leadership Team.

Top: Gabrielle Grazi (photo courtesy of WJA)

Karen Dybis

By: Karen Dybis

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