Login
close
Login is restricted to DCN Publisher Members. If you are a DCN Member and don't have an account, register here.
Search

Digital Content Next logo

Menu

Tags containing: "Diversity"

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | Featured Post

Safe space: Exploring NASA’s equity efforts with Edward Gonzales

Illustration by Rebecca Ustrell

From the narrative-changing storytelling initiative, “Driving Change From the Inside“,  a look at the DE+I movement in organizations across the country.

CHECK OUT THE FULL SERIES HERE: Summaries, Key takeaways, and Video Highlights

During the same summer that two billionaires made private space travel a reality, NASA announced an $18M investment in STEM diversity. But what’s it look like behind the headlines?

NASA’s investment in STEM diversity signals that the importance of recruiting, training, and maintaining a diverse workforce has risen in priority. This is a positive sign following a year that saw our nation wake up to the realities of injustice and inequality and their effect on government public service (law enforcement in particular). With government agencies under a microscope in the wake of an embattled and racially charged Presidential transition, we were grateful to have the opportunity to sit down with Edward Gonzales, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion lead for Heliophysics at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, as part of our series Driving Change from the Inside.

Eddie describes his childhood in West Covina, California as something like “Leave it to Beaver,” the idyllic 1950 tv series. However, he says his neighborhood started to change when he was about eight due to a growing gang – and police – presence. He describes it as going “from crayons to handcuffs in a very short time.” When he was 13, his father passed. Then, just months later at age 14, he was heading home from baseball practice when he heard sirens. Suddenly, police cars were everywhere and he knew something bad was going down. What he didn’t expect was to end up brutalized and handcuffed in the back of a police car. 

Turns out the suspect they’d been chasing was a 6’4″ blonde haired 30-something. Given his treatment at the hands of the police, his family filed an accusation of police brutality. He describes that as game changing; it ruined his life at the time. 

“When I walked to school, I was harassed by the police. When I was old enough to drive, I was pulled over probably about five to six times a week. Most times, they’d make me late for school. Try to explain that to a homeroom teacher. They never believed my reasons for being late because a lot of teachers, families, and students saw what happened that day and assumed that I deserved it and must have done something wrong. No one would listen to me. It really had a domino effect. That one day of being harassed and complaining about it. I paid the price for it throughout my high school years.”

Right out of high school, he got his girlfriend pregnant and worked multiple jobs to support his young family. But a neighbor who believed in him suggested he take a job at an LA law firm in the mail room. He did. And like an American dream, he worked his way up from the mail room to coordinator, then supervisor, then manager. He credits much of this to his father instilling a work ethic in him at an early age. 

And – though he passed decades before Eddie took his first role at NASA – his father was instrumental in that move as well. When Eddie was five, his father brought him into the house and said, 

“I want you to see this. It was Apollo 13. Not the movie. The actual Apollo 13 when it was happening for real. And for those of you that are unaware of Apollo 13, I encourage you to Google it. These astronauts were on their way to the moon. They ran into an anomaly, and not only were they not gonna make it to the moon, there was a good possibility that they weren’t gonna make it back to earth. But the flight director, Gene Kranz, and the amazing people that worked at NASA as a team brought those astronauts home safely.”

Beyond the clear fact of introducing a young Eddie to the otherworldly idea of supporting missions to outer space, he says it shaped his thinking in a way that persists today. “Failure is not an option. Let’s come up with solutions … watching that whole thing take place, I thought, I want to work for NASA. Not as an astronaut. But as some sort of problem solver. And if I could help people, that would be my dream.”

He joined NASA in 2001. His 20 years there has seen him in many roles. However, from his first day on the job he found himself naturally drawn to the role of mentor and connector. Yet it was not until 2018 when his title first recognized his passion as Principle of STEM Engagement for Underserved and Underrepresented. And just this year he was named Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Lead. In a wide ranging interview, Eddie describes his early childhood, the persistent cultural forces, and the work journey that led him to the role he has today. He also outlines the evolution of NASA’s equity journey – both highs and lows. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Here are a few highlights from our conversation (full transcript), which should be helpful to any individual or organization seeking to create a safe space for employees of all backgrounds, orientations, races, and abilities to feel confident that they will not be exposed to discrimination, criticism, harassment, or any other emotional or physical harm.

1. Inclusion takes active leadership

Listen and learn

“One of the things that I’m really excited about is our leadership. Not just in Heliophysics, my division, but as a center. They want to make a difference. They want to make a change. I mentioned to them that conversations are going to be uncomfortable, and if they weren’t uncomfortable, then we’re not talking about diversity. So they’re in it. I’ve seen a lot of changes already. I’m excited about it.”

“It’s gotta come from our leadership. They have to be champions of this work, and they are. It also takes community. I love celebrating the role our affinity groups play. Using the AISES group as an example, which is a Hispanic, Latinx affinity group at Goddard, they are amazing at not only taking care of “their own,” but supporting others who are moving to the area and in need of advice. The types of advice that make people feel important, make people feel safe, make people feel equal. The affinity groups are playing a huge role. Whether they’re an ally or whether they actually belong to that affinity group. I think that plays a huge role in being successful. Having a place where people feel equal, important and safe.”

Act

We hear it all the time: change starts at the top. But the reality is that leadership comes from every point in an organization. Not only do we need to see diversity reflected in all levels, we need to actively infuse our management and hiring processes with the tools to empower leaders to do more than set goals, but to achieve them. 

2. Say it loud, and outloud

Listen and learn

“In 2008, a memo went out to everyone at NASA Jet Propulsion laboratory. In that memo, it said, if you have any piercings, if you have any tattoos, if you’ve got pink, green, purple, whatever color your hair is, we want you to bring your personality to work. We are eliminating the dress code. Now, as long as it’s not of a sexual nature, or it’s going to offend somebody, feel free to be who you are.”

Act

Maybe your organization doesn’t yet reflect the diverse picture you imagine. Maybe there are issues of diversity you’ve not yet considered. From “professional hair” to “business attire” we create limitations on who can (or “should”) belong in our organizations. Making a clear statement that everyone is encouraged to openly express who they are, to truly be who they are, opens a door to diversity. 

3. Active listening is essential

Listen and learn  

“When I went to NASA Goddard in 2018…if you will recall, after Rodney King there was George Floyd, may he rest in peace. Because of that, our Center started having listening sessions. People would talk about different things that have happened to them in their childhood.”

“The people that work at Goddard, specifically, the white people, if you will, don’t take the approach of making all these necessary changes. They’re here to listen. “What is it that we can do to be a better ally for you?” They’re not trying to overstep, saying, “Okay, I have a Mexican friend, so therefore I’ve got this all figured out. No. They’re really in it to win it. And they’re doing all of the necessary things. I believe. It starts with educating yourself. Figuring out ways to do that. You could then go to some of the affinity group meetings and listen. You could go to different listening groups and hear the challenges that under-represented groups may go through, that they may not have ever gone through.”

Act

From coffee carts to moderated chats and regular listening and discussion sessions there are many ways that organizations can create discourse among different employees. And differences range from race and class to job titles, departments and divisions. Organizations that encourage open communication foster a level of understanding that will fuel compassion and creativity. 

4. Mentorship is a valuable investment

Listen and learn

“Our network is our net worth. It really is. There are non-traditional ways of bringing in people of color from underserved, underrepresented communities. They just need the opportunity.  We want to make sure that we create and tell them about those opportunities.”

“NASA continues to collaborate and partner with organizations to let them know that we’re here and we’re going to let them know about internship opportunities, early career hire opportunities, mid-career opportunities, and so on. If we are looking for a specific engineer, say, in Computer Science, that knows how to use a specific coding software program. We can go to minority serving institutions, HBCUs, and so forth and ask them to pull resumes that match. We can provide resumes that NASA may not have been able to see or have access to…. We’re letting the lab chiefs and people in decision making positions know that these organizations exist.”

“When I mentor students, they ask me, “Eddie, what can I do to pay you back?” And I always say “pay forward.” Mentor the next generation of leaders that are coming. If somebody asks you a question, respond. Respond to your emails. If you do a presentation at a school or an elementary school that you used to go to, notice if there’s a child in that room that really needs help. Help that person.”

Act

Identify organizations, universities, and community groups with which you can partner to open new pathways to success. Recognize that excellent employees come not just from “top universities” but may well have had to attend night school or community college while supporting a family and being an excellent employee at several part time jobs. And, as an individual, invest your time and energy in conversations with new hires or information seekers. The investment will pay dividends. 

Watch or listen to highlights of Michael and Eddie’s conversation:

About the author

Michael Tennant is a founder, writer, and movement-builder dedicated to spreading tools of empathy and helping people find their purpose. Before founding Curiosity Lab, Tennant spent 15-years becoming a media, advertising, and nonprofit executive, and delivering award-winning marketing strategies for companies like MTV, VICE, P&G, Coca-Cola, sweetgreen, and Oatly.

Tennant founded Curiosity Lab in 2017 and created the conversation card game Actually Curious. Actually Curious became a viral sensation in 2020 during Covid-19 and the rise of the racial justice movement for helping people build meaningful connections and to tackle the important topics facing our world. 

He has channeled his business success and momentum into a sustained movement supporting BIPOC and other underrepresented communities through speaking, writing, leadership, mentorship, consulting, partnerships, and talent-pipeline programs.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | Featured Post

Introducing a new DE&I series: Driving change from the inside

Illustration by Rebecca Ustrell

In the pop culture zeitgeist “Game of Thrones,” the Hand of the King bears the burden of their leaders’ whims. So too might our generation’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) leaders when the health of an organization hinges on its leadership’s ability to foster a feeling of safety internally. That means creating an environment where employees of all levels, backgrounds, and abilities feel confident that they will not be exposed to discrimination, criticism, harassment, or any other emotional or physical harm. 

Life on the front lines or cutting edge of anything can be a lonely place. But particularly heavy lies the crown of those who are the cornerstones of transforming the future of workplace culture. 

With this in mind, we’d like to introduce some of the leaders on the front lines of the diversity, equity, and inclusion movement. These leaders’ each have a personal story that informs the work they do and how they got there. They also posses practical knowledge and experience that can help others make lasting change in their organizations. Over the next few months we’ll share conversations with DE&I leaders from a range of organizations to understand, and learn from, their efforts to support enduring change. 

History repeats itself

Last year, organizations across the country pledged to make advancements in diversity equity and inclusion in response to the racial justice movement that arose following the murder of George Floyd. Outraged by the actions of public officers, our country began to look inward at the inequity and injustice surrounding us. Once again, it exposed the lack of representation, psychological and even physical safety existing in our communities and places of work. So, a generation of newly minted and veteran DE&I leaders were empowered – and pressed – to devise and advance equitable agendas. 

Meanwhile, optimistic albeit cynical onlookers like myself (an entrepreneur and self identified corporate refugee) could not help but recall similar awakenings in the past. This isn’t the first time outrage has rippled through corporate America. Unfortunately, time and again, we’ve witnessed committed companies and leaders fade into the chorus beneath the lead notes of profits and quarterly goals.

An empathetic approach

After a year working with these leaders as an empathy training consultant, I learned that many of them have overcome a kaleidoscope of challenges themselves. I chose to lay my judgments to the side and to see them as the allies and change-leaders that they are, particularly given a lack of precedent (and often leadership) to guide them. 

In an effort to support other optimistic and like-minded leaders, I decided to do my part to help unlock and share their wisdom, elevating their voices so that peers and supporters can hear them. This new project, Driving Change From the Inside, distills insights from intimate conversation with leaders at a range of organizations including NASA, NPR, Robin Hood Foundation, and Havas Group. It is about those who are leading the charge of change to correct issues of discrimination, harassment, emotional harm, and inequity.

Tactics and takeaways

The series dives into the practical tactics and best practices leaders want to learn about and enact. It also offers an intimate look at the people serving in these roles. What we find is that their success requires the passion and support of all the people around them – from the CEO and the board to the entire executive team and leadership team, and rank and file employees who share the mission and belief. 

We hope that viewers and readers will open their compassion as they experience the backstory of these individuals as well as the complicated layers of their present. As one interviewee said, “we’re running the same race but with different roadblocks.”

Driving change

All of our interview subjects have attained great achievement. Their stories are remarkable, but far from over. These conversations provide insight into the work required to establish and maintain a culture that fosters the DE&I agenda, including the steps our guests have taken, the processes and procedures they’ve implemented, and the support systems they’ve needed to achieve short- and long-term goals. 

In the absence of an inclusive and empathetic past to guide us, these pioneers are writing a guide book that we all can put to work in our own organizations. Through these conversations, we can begin to understand the “why” behind what leaders do that equips them to show up day after day in the arena, bloodied while projecting grace, and Driving Change From the Inside. Their experiences and insights give us hope and support as we shape the future of work with diversity and empathy at the core.

Key takeaways, highlight videos and full interviews:

Safe Space: Exploring NASA’s equity efforts with Edward Gonzales

Precious resources: Havas’ Juliana Akoumouh on the competition for diverse talent

Reflecting America: Michael Smith on putting the public back into NPR

Accelerate mobility: Robin Hood’s Stephanie Royal on how anti-racism fuels innovation

About the author

Michael Tennant is a founder, writer, and movement-builder dedicated to spreading tools of empathy and helping people find their purpose. Before founding Curiosity Lab, Tennant spent 15-years becoming a media, advertising, and nonprofit executive, and delivering award-winning marketing strategies for companies like MTV, VICE, P&G, Coca-Cola, sweetgreen, and Oatly.

Tennant founded Curiosity Lab in 2017 and created the conversation card game Actually Curious. Actually Curious became a viral sensation in 2020 during Covid-19 and the rise of the racial justice movement for helping people build meaningful connections and to tackle the important topics facing our world. 

He has channeled his business success and momentum into a sustained movement supporting BIPOC and other underrepresented communities through speaking, writing, leadership, mentorship, consulting, partnerships, and talent-pipeline programs.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | Featured Post | Perspectives

Inspired by the BBC’s 50:50 Project, London Fashion Week goes all-in on inclusion

After two years, London Fashion Week is back with crowds, front rows, and shows. And the welcome strut of models on the catwalk brings with it the potential for great strides forward in making the industry more representative of society.

The British fashion industry has taken up a diversity initiative born in the BBC’s London newsroom but made it their own. Indeed, they’ve innovated in ways that could be trendsetting for newsrooms, content teams, and the fashion publications devoted to their work.

Model monitoring

The British Fashion Council (BFC) is the driving force behind the tailoring of the BBC’s 50:50 The Equality Project to the needs of its industry.

The partnership with the BBC’s 50:50 Project began that to the BBC’s Director of Creative Diversity June Sarpong joined the BFC’s Council. In September 2020, she became part of a newly formed BFC diversity and inclusion steering committee, which initiated the discussions of how 50:50 could be used to collect representation for the fashion industry.

Twenty design businesses signed up to use the 50:50’s data collection model at this September’s London Fashion Week. They were asked to collect diversity data from their teams represented at the event, which the BFC will collate. The results will be fed back to designers to support their future decision-making.

Katie Rawle, the BFC’s Senior Business Development Manager and co-lead for the Council’s 50:50 initiative, said, “Our initial thoughts about taking on 50:50 was how it could be empowering for designers. We’re empowering them to add further consideration to their decisions based on the data sets we give back to them.”

Sarpong believes that the success 50:50 has had within the BBC (and elsewhere) will positively impact London Fashion Week. According to Sarpong, “50:50 encourages all businesses to make more conscious choices around their teams from full time employees to the freelancers employed at shows, from models, to stylists, hair and make-up artists, communications and production teams.”

The BFC’s program adheres to the 50:50’s core principles: Collect data to effect change, measure what you control, never compromise on quality. These are the same cornerstones used by more than 100 partner organizations across the globe.

As Rawle said, collecting data to effect change for the fashion industry is all about informing designers’ future decision-making. September’s London Fashion Week will set the benchmark for them and the industry at the tri-annual event and they will then seek to improve their previous performance where necessary. The BFC has pledged to publish the industry’s data after 18-months. Critically, this aligns with the 50:50 ethos: Change not only happens – but is seen to happen.  

Beyond a superficial makeover

The fashion industry has advanced the “traditional” 50-50 model in that the design businesses also collect data on their behind-the-scenes staff. This includes everyone from the design teams themselves to hair and make-up, models, production, and communications.

Yvie Hutton, the BFC’s Director of Membership and co-50:50 lead, said the decision to use 50:50 for off-camera contributors was inspired by an improvement in the editorial sphere over the last five years. She believes a similar evolution is happening behind the scenes in the world of fashion – but would like to confirm it in numbers. And if it turns out more change needs to happen, transparency can only help.

“50:50 is such a great way to look at all the different sort of stakeholders that make up the industry and come together for a major event,” she explained. “It will give us a better understanding of whether people’s perceptions match the reality.”

Saul Nash AW21

Tailored collation

So how does the BFC’s adapted version of 50:50 work? Most of the 50:50 media partners monitor their content through perception and collecting that data on aggregating spreadsheets. This allows daily output that is simple, fast and can fit into a content-makers’ workflow. However, London Fashion Week is collecting its data through QR-codes.

Hutton explained that any contributor could simply scan the QR code on their phone and fill in a self-declaration survey there and then. She says that this method of data collection fits better with the industry’s current practices and for capturing off-catwalk representation. As with the media’s approach, it also allows data to be collated quickly and fed back to designers to support short-term and future decision-making.

Newsrooms looking to garner more actual data – as opposed to audience perception data – may want to consider the QR collection method. Sending it to a contributor before transmission or publication will allow them to use the data in real-time, which could be quite powerful.

A deeper look

In addition to extending the data collection on the who, the BFC have also widened the scope of what characteristics they are monitoring. They’re examining not just what the audience can see but those behind the scenes.

Rawle explained that, as with 50:50, they are monitoring gender, disability and ethnicity However, they have also included socioeconomic diversity (SED). Fashion, like the media and other creative industries in the UK, has been identified as lacking employees from working-class backgrounds.

“There’s this idea about creative industries that they’re a meritocracy and that you just work hard and you can make it and that isn’t the case,” she said. “I think we have to acknowledge that and that was one of the things that came out of the 50:50 pilot [at June’s London Fashion Week]. People were keen for us to capture it socioeconomic diversity, as well as the other characteristics.”

source: Social mobility in the Creative Economy

A recent report on social mobility in the creative economy highlighted how what Rawle describes here mirrored in the media. According to the research by PEC, 28% of those in film, TV, video and photography are from working-class backgrounds, while 41% come from what they describe as “privileged backgrounds.”

Fashion forward

At the very least the partnership forged between the media and the fashion industry through 50:50 is a powerful one. We share a common goal to create products that better reflect our world. And, as we see through each of our partnerships, there is much to be done, and much to learn.

In the case of the BFC’s approach to 50:50, they added in the element of class and economic diversity. To date, 50:50 has not been used to understand class as it is impossible to accurately perceive. It is interesting to consider the possibility of the BFC’s simple QR survey offering a means to capture this or other diversity dynamics.

We will be watching the BFC’s progress with interest, especially the BBC’s 50:50 external partners lead Miranda Holt. She has been working closely with the BFC and hopes their work will have an impact on representation within the media in the long-term from a different angle.

“At 50:50 we talk about how the media alone can’t change the representation our audiences see, hear and read,” she said. “Our pool of experts, spokespeople and contributors come from across a multitude of industries and sectors. If those people are not reflecting society, then it impacts our ability as content-makers to represent all. So, when industries – such as fashion – take steps to ensure their sector is representative it will have an impact for us. It will mean the media’s coverage of fashion can also better reflect our world.”

The emphasis, believes, Holt is on long-term. And Hutton agreed, pointing out that the British fashion industry’s 50:50 journey is just beginning, and that it will take time to create the change to which they aspire. There is no shortage of ambition. In two years’ time, she hopes the work being done now – not only with 50:50 but with other commitments on diversity and representation – will result in an industry that is not elite, but genuinely open to all.

“We’re playing a long game here and we all appreciate that this is an ongoing conversation,” Hutton said. “It’s not going to be an overnight success. It feels like it’s the very beginning of something that could be significant and it’s exciting to be part of it – to be at the forefront.”

Opening art credit: palmer//harding AW2120 (British Fashion Council)
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | Featured Post | Innovation | Perspectives

From the top down, and inside out: tackling media’s diversity problem

The business case for diversity has been made time and again. In fact, according to McKinsey, the relationship between ethnic, gender, and cultural diversity and financial outperformance has only grown in the years since the company first outlined its importance. And when it comes to newsrooms, the philosophical, moral, and business rational for improving diversity are also evident.

It is certainly heartening to see the impressive — even historic — rise of female and diverse newsroom leadership in the past year or two. For the first time ever, Black executives lead every major broadcast news network in the U.S. Women and people of color have also assumed leadership roles at dozens of major media brands. However, as HuffPost Editor-in-Chief Danielle Belton, who is Black, suggested to CNN, truly diverse representation in media won’t be achieved simply by hiring women and people of color to fill top roles.

In order to better serve the diverse population it reaches, the media industry must reflect that population from the boardroom to product development and from the newsroom to the sales team. It must also reflect these audiences in its sourcing and reporting. Hiring is one of the most visible ways media organizations are changing right now. However, there are also a number of taking tactical approaches that are meaningfully moving the needle.

50/50 and beyond

In 2017, the BBC launched the 50:50 Project, challenging its teams to achieve 50% female representation in BBC content. Today, the company says that 70% of its content features 50% women contributors. And this initiative is not limited to the BBC. The project partners with more than 100 organizations in 26 countries. The network includes public and private media, academia, conference businesses, law, public relations, and corporations. The 50:50 Project recently announced it will also strive for better inclusion of ethnic minorities and disabled people and those. The aim to achieve a 50:20:12 balance.

The BBC approach is fairly straightforward. Participants monitor the numbers of contributors in their content to set benchmarks for their chosen diversity measures. They then track their progress against those benchmarks as content is produced. Teams continually share and discuss the data which informs editorial decisions.

The BBC has found that the longer teams monitor and share data regularly, the more likely they are to create cultural change. 50:50 has enabled teams to identify topic areas where women or other diversities are under-represented, such as science or sports. It has also encouraged content makers to think differently about the stories they choose to tell. Reporters continually seek new voices and different perspectives to enrich their output.

Working on workflow

NPR recently announced a new initiative to track the demographics of its sources in real time. The tool, called “Dex”, is integrated with the company’s content management system. Dex allows NPR reporters to easily monitor the diversity of sources’ race and ethnicity, gender identity, geographic location, and age range. Over time it will also become a robust database to identify more diverse sources as well.

Deputy director of news operations Rolando Arrieta told Poynter that incorporating the tool into the company’s CMS makes diversity an integral part of the newsgathering and reporting process. Dex also allows for continuous monitoring, unlike the annual diversity reports many organizations produce. And, as Arrieta points out, simply counting sources is not enough. Creating a continuously updated resource for diverse sourcing and integrating diversity into content creators’ processes facilitates continuous awareness and improvement.

More work

Tactics and tools beyond hiring and sourcing are increasingly emerging. They are intended to assist in diversity objectives, but sometimes create a business opportunity in themselves.

Nielson introduced a tool earlier this year designed to better allow content creators, distributors, and advertisers to quantify their progress in diversifying representation on the small screen. Gracenote Inclusion Analytics measures how the screen time of various identity groups (such as people from a specific gender identity, sexual orientation, race, or ethnicity) stack up against certain benchmarks.

Bloomberg’s Gender-Equality Index (GEI) tracks the performance of public companies committed to disclosing their efforts to support gender equality through policy development, representation, and transparency. The organization’s New Voices initiative works to increase the representation of women and minority executives as sources in both online and on-air content. Recently, the company expanded its objectives to be more inclusive of a range of gender identities as well. 

Certainly, it is heartening to witness the recent spate of DEI executive appointments. It is encouraging to see the newsroom leadership begin to lose its pallor. However, it is also significant to see media companies not only recognize the value of diverse leadership, but also the critical role of incorporating diversity into the culture and workflow of their organizations. If diversity is the goal, there is no one simple answer. But with a combination of leadership, trust, transparency, and tools the media business can begin to build solutions.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | Featured Post | Perspectives | Research

Journey to equality: An analysis of the 50:50 Challenge

BBC News presenter Ros Atkins and I often talk about “pinch yourself moments” when it comes to 50:50 The Equality Project – a grassroots initiative he started at the heart of the BBC’s London newsroom four years ago.

He wanted to increase female representation on his program Outside Source by monitoring the contributors his team could control. Now, more than 100 organizations in 26 countries are using the data-driven core principles he came up to improve the gender balance on the content they produce.

Real results

That in itself could constitute a moment – reaching 100 partners. For me, however, a moment of truth has come. We can see how the global network is preforming. For the first time, the BBC invited 50:50 partners to join our annual challenge to see how many of us could feature at least 50% women contributors on our output.

The BBC Director-General Tim Davie found the results encouraging. He called on others to take up the next challenge. As he said, “We are now also seeing a real impact beyond the BBC on a global scale.”

This time around, 41 partners took up the challenge. So how did they fare? As a collective, 50% of the content reached gender balance. That’s up from 31% compared to when those organizations first joined the project.

Our 50:50 Impact Report 2021 details how even those organizations that did not reach gender balance showed signs of improvement. Over three-quarters (77%) of content-makers featured more than 40% women contributors on their output. That’s compared only 58% when they first joined the project.

BBC upward trend continues

Now, the 50:50 partners network has set itself a benchmark. So, next year’s challenge will be a real test of the progress 50:50 is making collectively. However, it is achievable, particularly if the BBC’s performance is anything to go by.

This was the BBC’s third challenge. For third consecutive year, there has been an improvement in the number of teams reaching gender balance. In fact, 70% of content reached 50:50 compared to 36% in the first month of monitoring. Plus, no team monitoring for three years or more featured less than 40% women contributors. That is a big first.

Audience appreciation

Audiences are noticing these equity advancements. A survey of more than 2,100 BBC online users found that 62% felt there were more women contributors on output. Meanwhile 58% of women aged 16-34 said they consumed more services as a result of greater female representation. That’s a 12 percentage point increase on comparable data from last year.

There are now 670 teams committed to 50:50 in the BBC. 50:50 Project Lead Lara Joannides is proud of the teams that took part in this year’s challenge. She said: “This is an incredible achievement, especially considering the extra demands teams have faced as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The results prove that ensuring fair representation of all audiences across our content remains a priority for 50:50 teams, no matter what.”

The Australian way

ABC News in Australia was one of the very first partners to join the BBC in implementing 50:50. Together, the two organizations are creating real impact at opposite ends of the globe. In March, the Australian broadcaster saw 75% of their participating teams reach 50:50. That’s a big jump from 29%, when they first joined the project.

The scale of implementation of 50:50 at ABC means they have a core team to drive the change across the organization. Their 50:50 Equality Project Leads keep themselves attuned to the evolving news landscape so that they can provide support to ensure women’s voices are heard.

The changing working practices for journalists due to coronavirus is a good example of that. The ABC team gently reminded content-makers of the role 50:50 had in ensuring different voices were heard at such as crucial time.

“We also asked them to consider how the pandemic was specifically impacting Australian women, to tell the story of the health crisis in a way that surfaced women’s perspectives and gave voice to those on the frontline – nurses, doctors, care workers and teachers,” explained Emma Pearce and Rhiannon Hobbins in the report.

They added that there were unexpected benefits emerging from the pandemic too: “Some teams found it easier to reach and engage female talent, particularly in our afternoon and evening timeslots, as working from home became the norm and school pick-ups and commuter runs no longer affected their availability to do a quick Zoom, Skype or Slack interview.”

Covid-19 was not the only story the team had its eye on. At the start of 2021 there was a series of headline grabbing stories concerning the treatment of women in politics and the culture faced by women working in Canberra Parliament House.

ABC’s 50:50 Leads said: “Our 50:50 work fed into and enhanced our journalism on these issues. Our coverage incorporates female perspectives and the specific impacts on women. And our teams are alert to the need to empower and respect the agency of women at the centre of the stories.”

From Australia to Austria

In Europe, the Austrian public broadcaster ORF had 90 teams taking part in the March challenge. Overall, 52% of teams taking part featured at least 50% women.

ORF equal opportunities commissioner Katia Rössner said ORF is seeing improvement beyond the March snapshot. Over half of teams (55%) taking part for six months or more reached 50:50 by the end of March. That marks a 3% increase on the overall ORF performance. She said: “This confirms the fact, that the longer the teams are part of the challenge, the more likely they reach a quota of 50% in their programs.”

Rössner acknowledges in her submission to the 50:50 Impact Report that there was some trepidation when ORF started to implement 50:50’s core principles. She wrote about an observation by a regional news editor who told her: “At first there was some skepticism regarding ‘token women.’ But the team started focusing on interviewing a female intensive care doctor instead of a man. We found a great doctor who has the potential to become a new coronavirus expert on our show.”

For Rössner the “competitive and sporting spirit of the 50:50 Challenge” appealed to many ORF program-makers. She said: “Honest engagement and even small steps towards 50:50, no matter where you start, makes you a winner.”

Building a 50:50 future

One promising sign for the future is that 50:50 has a growing network of universities and journalism schools. Lecturers use it to get their students to think about the diversity of contributors during their News Days or Weeks.

Nottingham Trent University is one of 19 academic institutions taking part. In the report, BA Journalism student Emilia Roman said implementing 50:50 was “an eye-opening experience” for her.

During the first week, the students were asked to monitor their content but not change their way of working. In that week, Emilia said they recorded 29% women contributors across their website. Week two, the students focused on equal representation.

“The challenge of incorporating the principals of 50:50 into our work came down to one crucial element of story development – research,” said Roman. “Accepting the first reply and focusing on ‘getting the story up’ was not enough to help us drive a significant change in our coverage.”

By the last day of production, the students’ content featured 49% women contributors. Emilia said that “It’s pretty clear to us that recognizing the need for equal representation can significantly change the way your content looks.”

Spreading the 50:50 word

As evidenced by the universities, the 50:50 network now spans outside of media, with 50 partners coming from a range of sectors – public relations to legal to corporate. They use 50:50 to monitor their websites, social media, spokespeople, and event speakers. They seek to understand whether they are reflecting in their content the gender balance of their organizations.

Richard Purnell is communications manager at the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and he said 50:50 “has helped draw attention to the issue of diversity in our organization, and given us the tools to do something about it.”

He said, “While it’s clear we have some way to go, 50:50 has triggered a whole series of conversations about equality which weren’t really happening before. As a result, we are now planning to train and develop a new set of media spokespeople. That should improve the breadth and depth of insight we can provide.”

An everyday movement

What the 50:50 partners have demonstrated is that we can all make small changes that are in our control and they can have a much wider impact.

The BBC’s Director of Creative Diversity June Sarpong reminds us in the 50:50 Impact Report a quote from American feminist Gloria Steinem: “The future depends entirely on what each of us does every day; a movement is only people moving.”

She goes on to say she believe 50:50 is creating that movement. I leave you with her words: “Every day, thousands of people are counting the 50:50 way. A small action for one individual, but a powerful tool of change – a movement. I would urge as many people and organizations as possible to join us so we can work together to reach a common goal – creating content that better reflects our world.”

About the Author

Nina Goswami is the BBC’s Creative Diversity Lead and is spearheading initiatives to support the Corporation’s aspiration that its on-air representation reflects society. Nina is also a journalist and, before her current post, was a BBC News senior producer. She has worked in media her whole professional career including The Sunday Times and The Sunday Telegraph.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | Featured Post | Perspectives

Going beyond diversity, the Maynard 200 program fosters true equity

Many white Americans—and American corporations—were shocked into a recognition of America’s ingrained racism, past and present, by the brutal drama that played out in 2020 on the blacktop of a Minneapolis street and under the knee of a former police officer.

The callous murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless other Black Americans spurred millions to finally take a close, honest look at their communities, schools, and businesses. Eyes turned to newsrooms as we sought to understand why the media’s depiction of these institutions do not reflect the diverse reality of our lives.

History lessons

Echoing uprisings in the streets, we saw similar uprisings within America’s newsrooms. The inequities seen in our communities parallel those long in place in media institutions. And our news coverage and the framing of news stories and issues reflect these biases.

Racial disparities in America are older than the Constitution. They began with America’s original sin of chattel slavery. Tremendous leaps and bounds have been made in the fight to realize the promises in our founding documents for all Americans. Yet those words—that all are created equal—remain aspirational.

The Institute for Journalism Education was born out of this aspiration, of the struggle to ensure all segments of our society are fairly, accurately, and equitably represented. This applies not only to the halls of Congress, but to the pages and screens of our journalistic institutions.

Long before the ubiquity of “DE&I” initiatives and Black Lives Matter marches, Washington Post journalist Robert C. Maynard recognized that white men dominate America’s media organizations. Declaring “We must desegregate this business,” Maynard and eight other journalists founded the institute to train and lift up journalists of color. Robert Maynard’s ineradicable legacy as a true pioneer was solidified when the organization he helped create was posthumously renamed the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education.

Amplifying voices

The Institute’s flagship program, the Maynard 200 Fellowship, is about building a new and lasting legacy for entrepreneurs, leaders, and storytellers of color who will shape the future of journalism in America. What we are seeing across journalism right now is a modern-day Civil Rights Movement for journalists of color.

In response, we must foster substantive power, belonging, and agency within the institutions that tell the stories of our society and our world. Through Maynard 200, the institute aspires to empower journalists of color to lead and grow organizations to have cultures of belonging. These leaders will help ensure that media organizations continue to serve our democracy. To do so, they must accurately represent the minds, souls, histories, and perspectives of all Americans.

Like many organizations, we’ve had to pivot following public health protocols due to the ongoing recovery from the global Covid-19 pandemic. That means that, for the first time, Maynard 200 will hold an all-digital training component to serve more than 40 diverse media professionals as fellows across the country. The program provides them with tools to elevate their own digital voices through panels, dialogues, and events.

Diversity and equity

For decades, Maynard has been the standard-bearer of aspiration and expertise in its primary mission of making newsrooms reflect America. It has led the re-envisioning, and advancing, of what it really means to be “diverse.”

In fact, Maynard has flipped the prevalent DE&I convention upside down, by bringing equity to the forefront. Without equity, diversity is only performative. By focusing on equity, Maynard has forged a longstanding record of training and advancing individuals from a varied diaspora of racial and ethnic communities throughout newsrooms and media organizations across the country.

Maynard conceived the “Fault Lines” framework for facilitating honest discussion about highly charged issues, through an understanding of how people with different perspectives can view something in completely different ways. In other words, the way we perceive the world and experience each other is filtered by our own backgrounds and experiences. Thus, diversity of perspectives produces a strength greater than the sum of each individual alone.

We belong

And, as a result of Maynard’s framework, a new narrative has emerged: the necessity and power of belonging. It is not nearly enough for organizations to check a diversity box with new hires. The perspectives and backgrounds and ideas that each individual brings to the table must be fully absorbed into the culture and decision-making of the organization itself. Inclusion alone is surface-level; inclusion can be as empty as toleration. But when you belong, you can feel it. And the implications can be felt in the work you produce.

For the Maynard Institute, pursuing belongingness is about far more than mere integration. Belonging creates the kind of atmosphere where people of color can feel empowered and entitled to bring their full selves into the newsroom, including their history and their perspectives, rather than feeling pressured to contort themselves to fit existing narratives.

Maynard 200 is the institute’s answer to the breakdown in the pipeline of training and jobs for journalists of color. In the wake of the Great Recession, years of progress were decimated in a matter of months. The ongoing public health crisis vis-a-vis the pandemic, America’s widening racial disparities, and the division and hate provoked by the Trump administration have only increased the urgency and salience of Maynard’s cause.

Writing a new story

Repairing all of this damage requires institutions of journalism to be active participants in the dismantling of structures of systemic racism—rather than the enablers of inequity and oppression.

Media organizations can be part of the solution. From the stories they tell, to the sources they use, to the framing of what is news and who is newsworthy, the media is a powerful component in our nations racial reckoning. We believe that strong diverse leadership is critical for this to occur. And so, with this year’s Maynard 200, we renew our commitment to supporting the growth and equity for future media leaders. And it is our belief that these leaders will make an impact that will resonate across all sectors of American journalism and media.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | Industry-Research

Publishers go beyond diversity reports and make plans for action

Last summer’s Black Lives Matter movement served as a catalyst for change in the workplace. Ignited employee voices and their frustrations filled Slack channels and social media postings. As more and more people shared their work (and life) experiences, it became clear that businesses needed to examine their internal culture and take action.

Publishers were front and center, reporting on the movement. They were also widely included in the criticism. Clearly, media organizations needed to take a hard look at their diversity and inclusion practices. Many acknowledged the need for their company culture and practices to evolve.

Digiday recently published a breakdown of 12 publishers’ diversity statistics. Unfortunately, few changes emerged in publishers’ employee composition over the last six months. Evolutions are slow and often painstaking. Some say it is too little, too late, while others continue to monitor and hold publishers accountable.

Importantly, as an initial step, many publishers have begun to conduct internal assessments. The New York Times, Conde Nast, and Vice Media Group (VMG) are among those that published their findings. These companies also identified some of the actions needed to transform their company cultural. It is clear that those who have been systematically underrepresented, underpaid, and discriminated against deserve accountability, transparency, and — most importantly — action.

Accelerate the timeline

Publishers recognize the need for change. In February, The New York Times noted positive movement in its diversity statistics as compared to 2015. However, it appears that these efforts slowed and 2020 shows little improvement. The company’s full investigation finds that Black and Latino employees are still underrepresented, particularly in leadership roles. While management sees positive shifts compared to 2015, they recognize the need to implement a comprehensive plan to accelerate change.

Conde Nast’s release of ITS Diversity and Inclusion Study also notes prior diversity initiatives. They launched two employee-led community groups, Global Employee Council for Diversity & Inclusion in 2019 and Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) in 2018. Both initiatives showcase employees who are fostering inclusivity.

Separate from the report, Conde has made steps through changes in their executive team. Sixty percent of this team identify as women, 30% identify as LGBTQ+, and 30% are of a racially diverse background. Unfortunately, even with positive movement on the executive level, the report offers details on aspects of the Conde culture that perpetuate a biased racial environment. Management has identified new steps required in employee diversity, leadership, content, and training and benefits that will help combat the cultural divide.

Vice Media Group (VMG) continues their efforts to evolve and redefine their company culture. While things have changed since the reported “bro culture” and allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct circa 2017, it’s a work in progress.

VMG’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Report does find that the company is improving on the diversity front. The executive team is now comprised of 56% men and 44% women compared 68% men and 32% women in 2019. Further, BIPOC representation increased to 57% white and 43% BIPOC from 80% white and 20% BIPOC in 2019. While witnessing a few achievements, there is more work to be done.

Action plans

The New York Times identifies a four-point plan as its roadmap toward diversity and inclusion.

  1. Incorporate explicit details on exactly how diversity, equity and inclusion tie to the company mission and values.
  2. Increase Black and Latino representation in leadership by 50 percent by 2025.
  3. Improve systems to improve developing people to ensure more diverse, equitable and inclusive. 
  4. Create a more diverse and inclusive newsroom. 

The plans include setting clear expectations for employee behavior, new training programs for managers, and the creation of a new diversity, equity, and inclusion office. The Times also plans to establish a feedback loop where employees provide evaluations on their managers. An assumption Times states it wants to correct immediately is the idea that “there is a tradeoff between diversity and excellence.” In fact, excellence can best be achieved through diverse opinions.

Conde Nast’s plans toward cultural change go beyond their employees as it includes freelancers and content. They want to ensure that at least 50% of all candidates for open positions are from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds. They also want to include diversity in the hiring of freelancers, contributors, and photographers. Further, they have pledged that their content will reflect the topics and stories important to a diverse collection of people and communities. Finally, Conde Nast promises that 100% of their global employees will undergo mandatory unconscious bias and anti-racism training.

The Vice Media Group (VMG) is providing a new Hiring Playbook and initiated a second Pay Equity Report. The company is conducting a full review of their performance management and leadership training. The goal is to ensure there is objectivity and no bias in the process. Vice also plans to issue a new code of conduct and respect in the workplace. Details on implementation are in development.

Progress in-process

Internal examination and transparency from these media organizations marks a step in the right direction. However, action and results must accelerate. Top consulting firms, Boston Consulting and McKinsey, confirm that diverse companies result in better financial outcomes and more engaged employees.

Diversity is a win-win. Success happens when diversity acts as a business model and an integral part of the business design and workflow. Media works best when it reflects the audiences it represents. Publishers must do more than report on the problem, they need to be part of the solution — and that starts from within.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | Featured Post | Innovation

Getting the ratio right: How the BBC is tackling gender equity in its coverage

“Women’s representation in the news has flatlined (if not reversed) in the 21st century.” That was one of the damning conclusions in the recent report The Missing Perspectives of Women in News by Luba Kassova.

Structural marginalization

The claim is drawn from many factors including analysis of online news publications from six countries – the U.K., U.S., Nigeria, India, South Africa, and Kenya. The report also cited that, in political coverage, men accounted for up to seven times more of the voices heard than women.

It cited from a separate report: “Given the deeply political nature of the Covid-19 crisis, women’s structural marginalization in the political leadership roles established in response to the crisis locks in the suppression of women’s voices in the story.”

Some of the research used was conducted by Media Ecosystems Analysis Group, which wrote, for a study conducted between 1 March and 15 April 2020, that “when looking at non-coronavirus stories, gender equality metrics tend to be better than 2019 levels.”

Taking control

So, what are journalists doing differently for non-Covid stories? It comes down to control. And we’ve made control a core principle of the BBC’s 50:50 Project, which uses data to increase the number of women contributors on content. Control in this context means a journalist or content-maker’s ability to choose the people they include in their article, TV, or radio news piece.

For example, when the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson makes an announcement around the latest coronavirus restrictions, a journalist would be compelled to include a statement from him. He is intrinsic to the storytelling. Therefore, he’s not an element of the news item that can be controlled. However, sourcing the business owner impacted by the new announcement is in the power of the journalist to control.

This is what 50:50 concentrates on. It looks to create change by identifying the voices that are in the power of the journalist and content-maker to influence, and it is working to increase women’s representation at the BBC.

Data effects change

Understanding what content-makers can control has required the BBC to subtly change its thinking. BBC News presenter Ros Atkins, who started 50:50 in 2017, talks of how he wanted to move the BBC from being in a “constant state of trying” to increase women’s representation to actually doing it.

His approach was simple: Use data to effect change.

“We ask content creators to count each of the contributors in their work that they control and try to reach 50% women over a month. Every person who counts, counts as one. That makes the data collection very simple,” explained Atkins.

In the earlier Boris Johnson example, this would mean the British Prime Minister would not count but the business owner would. And counting people once, no matter how many times they appear in a piece, means the monitoring can be done quickly.

Atkins continued: “The approach means you can measure your work as you produce it, when it is still fresh in your mind. That gives the data the best chance to influence your thinking and your actions.”

Find new voices

The golden rule of 50:50 is that the best contributor always takes part. Atkins explains that it is not a quota system. Rather, “It is an opportunity to identify where representation may be lacking and then for content-makers to go out and see if they can find new voices to enrich their content, while improving the output’s gender balance.”

There are more than 650 teams across the BBC taking part in 50:50. That means not just the news, but also sports, factual and entertainment are seeking out new voices themselves. To support their search there is  also a central expert database with more than 1,500 women contributors available to the content teams.

Implementing these actions – using data to effect change, measure what you control and widening the pool of voices – has made a tangible impact at the BBC – and the audience has noticed. A survey of 2,000 BBC online users found that 39% had noticed a shift toward more women contributors and 32% of women aged 25 to 34 are now consuming more content as a result.

The impact

Lara Joannides, 50:50 Project Lead

In March 2020, as the world went into lockdown, two-thirds of BBC teams that submitted data reached 50% women representation. This is up from a third when they joined the project.

50:50 Project Lead Lara Joannides, who spearheads the initiative inside the BBC, had feared that the challenges of coronavirus could have a detrimental impact on representation because 50:50 is a voluntary scheme, and the Corporation moved down to critical services. Despite this, the challenge results saw a nine percentage point increase on the previous year.

“The determination of BBC colleagues to make change and the conditions created by the pandemic have resulted in a really positive shift,” said Joannides. “We’re confident that while there is still a way to go, we’ll be able to maintain and improve on these figures going forward.”  

The Covid effect

In more recent months, the BBC wanted to better understand the impact Covid-19 may have had on the representation initiative. So, the BBC took more than 2,500 snapshots of the gender balance on its programmes, online content, and events across a six-month period. Between June and November last year, the BBC took 2,563 snapshots, with 1,219 (48%) reaching 50% women contributors. During the same period in 2019, we took 2,528 snapshots and 988 (39%) reached the 50%. As mentioned, that represented a nine percentage point increase on the same period in the previous year.

Fran Unsworth, Director of BBC News

For Director of BBC News Fran Unsworth, a key factor behind increasing women’s representation has been the removal of barriers in the news making process that existed before the pandemic. “We’ve all embraced new ways of working this year. One definite benefit is that we’ve had a wider range of guests on air,” she said.

Such a theory is supported by the content-makers themselves including Rachel Foley, Senior Journalist and 50:50 Lead for the BBC News Channel. “There haven’t been many upsides to Covid-19. But one is that it appears to have made it easier for women to appear on air,” said Foley. “I’ve noticed more female contributors are able to speak to us live on the BBC News Channel since the pandemic began because they can do so from their own homes using apps like Zoom or Skype.”

Dr. Linda Bauld, professor of public health at the University of Edinburgh and a regular contributor on BBC News programmes, is one such example. “Not having to go anywhere has been absolutely brilliant,” she explained.

“It’s just made it much more possible for me to fit it in with my family responsibilities as well as my working life. It’s now not unusual for me to do TV or radio interviews before my youngest goes to school in the morning. I’d not been able to easily do that before.”

Collaboration now

The Kassova Report may see the women’s perspective as missing overall however, it also points to solutions. In fact, the report cited 50:50 as one of them. It points out how BBC News achieved “a wave of change in a short space of time against all odds and despite the numerous societal, cultural and systemic barriers that stand in their way.”

Since launch, more than 75 organizations across 22 countries have begun to do so as well by using 50:50 to monitor their content and communications to reach gender balance. In October, the BBC’s Director-General Tim Davie invited more organizations to join the 50:50 partners network saying that it is “only together we can deliver positive change.”  

His invitation to join 50:50 remains open.

50:50 is simple solution to increasing women’s voices on content but it is an effective one. It cannot fix a company’s workforce inequalities but it can act as a tool in a its diversity and inclusion armory.

I truly believe that the more of us embracing the 50:50 way the more likely we will be that, one day, we will read a report on gender representation that is not about the absence of women’s voices but the inclusion of them – loud and clear.

About the author

Nina Goswami is the BBC’s Creative Diversity Lead and is spearheading initiatives to support the Corporation’s aspiration that its on-air representation reflects society. Nina is also a journalist and, before her current post, was a BBC News senior producer. She has worked in media her whole professional career including The Sunday Times and The Sunday Telegraph.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | Industry-Research

Female representation in filmmaking inches upwards

Women in the media and entertainment industry are making slow but steady progress in closing Hollywood’s gender gap. According to the Celluloid Ceiling Report, women working behind the scenes in the industry’s top 100 films increased from 20% in 2019 to 21% as representation in the top 250 films grew from 21% to 23%. The Celluloid Ceiling Report is produced by the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University. It is one of the industry’s most comprehensive study of women’s employment in film and this is its 23rd year of reporting. 

Key findings:

  • Women in the top 100 grossing films:
    • Women accounted for 16% of directors in 2020, up from 12% in 2019.
    • Women did best as producers (28%), followed by executive producers (21%), editors (18%), directors (16%), writers (12%), and cinematographers (3%). Important to know, female writers (12%) declined by 8 percentage points from 2019.
  • Women in the top 250 grossing films:
    • Women comprised 18% of directors working in 2020, up from 13% in 2019.
  • Women accounted for 30% of all producers, 22% of all editors, 21% of all executive producers, 17% of all writers and 6% of all cinematographers.

While there is progress in the number of women working in movies, there is still a long way to go to close this industry’s gender gap.

Of the top 250 grossing films in 2020:

  • 94% did not employ a female cinematographer,
  • 80% did not employ a female director,
  • 73% did not employ a female writer,
  • 72% did not employ a female editor, and
  • 41% did not employ a female executive producer.

Females champion one another

The study also found that films with at least one female director are much more likely to hire women to be editors, cinematographers, and other behind-the-scenes jobs. In fact, of films with female directors, 53% of the writers and 39% of the editors are also female. In comparison, only 8% of the writers and 18% of the editors are women in movies with male directors. 

Both 2019 and 2020 registered growth in women working in films, however, there is still a large imbalance of females employed in this industry compared to men. In fact, a full 80% of today’s top films do not have female representation at the highest level. Unfortunately, more than two-thirds of films (67%) employ 0 to 4 women in the roles mentioned above, while 5% of films employ 0 to 4 men in those jobs. It is important to highlight the underemployment of women in films and the need for studios to hire more women in significant roles. It is time to ensure a gender balance in the entertainment business and to make certain more women are involved in the strategic decision-making process of the industry.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | Featured Post | Innovation | Revenue

How Vix fueled 10x audience growth with Hispanic audiences

The proliferation of on-demand platforms and services combine to drive what Nielsen calls “the most profound media disruption of the last half-century.” Record-high audience numbers and time spent using streaming services and apps add up to make 2020 the biggest year yet for streaming.

But the real growth could be in serving culturally relevant content to underserved audiences such as Hispanics, which now make up nearly 20% of the current U.S. population. It’s a demographic that demands balanced content and appreciates diverse views and voices. It’s also an audience of cord-cutters that uses streaming services, smartphones and apps. During March, Hispanics increased their weekly viewing of movies or TV shows using a streaming service by “about 8 hours.” That’s well above the numbers reported by non-Hispanics.

It will be a stretch for many mainstream content companies to bulk up on content and capabilities to cater to this mobile-first audience with culturally relevant content. But not all companies will be in catch-up mode in 2021. Vix, a free Spanish-language ad-supported video-on-demand streaming service (AVOD) company founded in 2016, has a significant head start.

Inside Vix’s success

The move to acquire Pongalo, a market-leading Hispanic AVOD, in August 2019, has established Vix as the largest Latino AVOD player in the world, growing its audience more than 10x. Today, Vix, backed by Discovery Communications and HarbourVest Capital, creates, acquires, and distributes Hispanic-focused content to audiences in the U.S., Latin America and across the globe. It counts over 20,000 hours of Latino-focused films and TV shows.

Blockbuster and premium content is a crowd-pleaser. But it’s the company’s social media footprint, which includes 100 million Facebook followers, that keeps audiences engaged. Importantly, social media is also the motor that drives customer acquisition and allows a modest 50-person ad sales team to achieve ambitious growth targets and expand efforts to Brazil. 

The company has also grown the number of partnerships (Amazon, Google and Roku). The top-ranked app (the #1 most downloaded entertainment app on Android devices in Mexico ahead of Netflix) recently became a top-five free film and TV streaming app on Roku in the U.S. Vix is the first-ever free streaming app to hit that benchmark.

Continuing our series of DCN video interviews, I talk to Rich Hull, formerly the CEO of Pongalo. Hull, now the Head of Streaming Platforms and Chief Strategy Officer at Vix, received Variety’s Dealmaker of the Year honors for his part in architecting one of the most significant media deals of 2019. He is also instrumental in growing Vix’s platforms and partners. 

In this interview, we discuss why all media companies must acknowledge the demographic revolution and the requirement to serve up culturally relevant content to 60 million Hispanics in the U.S. alone. We also debate the future of streaming, the role of personalization and the business benefit at the “collision of advertising, international and content.”

Here are three key takeaways from our talk:

Drive discoverability through platform diversity 

U.S. Hispanics are ahead of the curve when it comes to digital. They lead in the adoption of new devices and services. And they are the power users of mobile and over-index in video consumption. 

To keep pace with consumers and cater to a growing and global audience for Spanish language content, Vix has maintained a mobile-first approach. It’s all about choice and letting consumers decide for themselves how they want to consume our content, Hull says. 

To date, Vix is available on multiple platforms including Apple TV, Fire TV, Roku and connected TV devices from Samsung and Vizio. “We’ve put ourselves there so that they can discover us.” Following this strategy has allowed Vix to “punch above its weight” and leverage partnerships to build scale. Amazon counts Vix as its biggest supplier of Hispanic content, Hulls says. It’s more than an accolade. It’s also an inroad to Amazon’s Alexa, a platform Hull says is important for his company – and many others – to extend the brand and win new audiences.

Tap social media to fuel your audience growth flywheel

Social media presence boosts awareness and buzz. But there’s no reason to stop there. Vix has tapped its community to create a new kind of funnel, Hull says. The audience of 100 million Facebook followers alone is one that Vix cultivates and activates with content. “It’s a really massive audience that we can speak to and it’s a very powerful megaphone that we have,” he explains. 

At a high level, Vix works with major brands to create content and branded entertainment to amplify key messages and recruit audiences. “So we’ll do things like say: Here are the top five J-Lo movies ever made and, as it turns out, we’ve got two of them, so click here to install our streaming service.’” The outcome, he says, is a “very elegant way to drive people down the funnel.” It’s also helping Vix increase organic reach and reduce dependence on Facebook or Google or Apple search ads to target audiences.

Engage consumers by making free content the “front porch” of your offer

In the search to find the right mix between subscription models and advertising companies, Hull says companies should widen the aperture of how they view the potential of free content supported by advertising. He points to the example of NBCUniversal. Rather than compete head-on with Disney, AT&T’s WarnerMedia and others that have launched subscription-based on-demand services to compete (or at least catch up) with Netflix, NBC has launched a free, ad-supported service. Free doesn’t just bolster audience numbers, he says, “As the space evolves, where [streaming] is monetized with ads, it is also becoming a better user experience.”

In addition to challenging the viability of locking content behind a subscription wall, Hull also debunks the myth that original content is the way to win audiences. Granted, Game of Thrones and original content has paid dividends for Netflix, but it’s a competitive space where smaller players can go broke fast. Instead, Hull advises companies to keep content free, and bottom lines in the lack, by curating quality content, not creating it. “For us, it’s about volume and choice,” he says. The value is in curating content in a “very authentic way.”

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | Industry-Research

Newsrooms evolve amidst the pressures of 2020

It’s an unprecedented time for individuals and industries. The forces of 2020 continue to reshape the media business — from a radical shift in work environments to calls for racial equity in industry ecosystems. Journalists find themselves in a unique position as they both report on these stories while being personally affected by them.

A new report from the Reuters Institute, Changing Newsrooms 2020, offers insight into today’s evolving news industry. The findings from leading researchers, Federica Cherubini, Nic Newman, and Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, are based on survey data analyses from 136 news industry leaders across 38 countries.

Remote working is here to stay

The pandemic forced many industries including the news media to adopt a work from home policy. And more than half of the news leaders surveyed report (55%) that their organizations are working more efficiently from home. However, at least eight in 10 respondents have concerns about employees maintaining relationships and communicating effectively.

Interestingly, nearly the same number of  leaders (37%) think that they are more creative working remotely as those who do not (42%). Nevertheless, more than half of respondents’ report (54%) that they would like to go to the office a bit less often than before coronavirus. A full 21% state that they’d like to go back far less often.

News leaders report that their newsrooms are already planning future changes to their physical workspace. More than half of respondents’ (55%) state that their news organizations are looking to downsize their office space. Many think that a hybrid model could be a positive and practical solution for publishers with added flexibility and cost savings. Only 25% of news leaders report that they want to get back to an office environment.

Building a diverse news culture

The focus and attention on Black Lives Matter added external pressure on news organizations and their leaders to examine and address the lack of diversity in the newsroom. To date, 80% of news leaders report seeing progress in gender diversity. However, only 43%, see improvement in ethnic diversity.

News leaders state that publishers are doing a good job in junior staff diversity (84%) and a fairly good job with mid-level staff (59%). However, only 37% think their companies are doing a good job on diversity among senior level management.

Publishers are working to transform practices in the newsroom. They are now tracking newsroom diversity, both gender and ethnic, to include news sources, contributors, and interviewees. Importantly, ethnic diversity is cited as a top priority in the news industry.

Attracting and retaining talent

Publishers have been under pressure to transform the news media building new digital businesses and revenue models, particularly over the past decade. These companies need high quality teams to effectively manage and evolve their business strategies. More than half of the news leaders (53%) believe in their organization’s overall ability to attract and retain talent.

However, their confidence is much lower in recruiting and retaining talent across a few key departments. These include product, audience, and design (23%), data and insights (21%), and technology (18%). Further, in hiring new talent, publishers want to attract younger employees. It’s important to note that younger talent often looks for a highly competitive salary and demands high standards in a company’s culture and values.

The transformation of the newsroom’s work environment and social culture offers an opportunity for positive change. It may present challenges and potential disruptions. But its critical for publishers to stay the course to produce the necessary structural shifts in the news media.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | Featured Post | Perspectives

Transparency and trust in the media business

Like most Americans, I have been closely watching and reading coverage of the worldwide protests over racial injustice. And I am reminded that, during this time of unrest and dialogue, trusted news organizations and journalists are more important than ever.

Why? Because trusted news organizations give people credible reports of the protests and counter-protests; a framing of the national conversation through fair and accurate reporting and informed editorials; and a platform where elected officials are held accountable for their actions – or inaction. Imagine the state of our country if we only found our news on Facebook where everyone’s crazy uncle shares a conspiracy theory article link from Russia Today or outright falsehoods and where the fact-checking is mostly performative and the leadership can’t be held accountable.

Inside out

That said, even trusted news organizations are confronting their own issues right now. The New York Times published an editorial that fell short of the standards we have come to expect – and without following their own editorial protocols. Their actions, and reactions, triggered an important discussion about the role of news organizations in airing opposing points of view.

Unfortunately, this speaks to a bigger problem. Across the spectrum of media outlets, less than 40% of people say they trust news most of the time. The top concerns for news consumers are around accuracy and bias. And, unfortunately, the difference between news and opinion is not always clear to many Americans. Historically, editorials were created as a way for newspapers to provide opposing points of view while maintaining objective news operations. Certainly, transparency will help. Because the better that audiences understand the processes by which news is produced, the more confidence they are likely to have in it.

And perhaps this particular situation with Cotton’s editorial signals a shift in what younger generations will come to expect from news organizations when it comes to the presentation of opposing opinions. Just because it’s always been this way doesn’t mean it always will be this way. We need to recognize that the consumption of news and opinion is different. Audience expectations have evolved. And we need to evolve accordingly.

Accurate reflections

Another critical issue for news consumers, however, is one of seeing themselves accurately reflected in news coverage and in newsrooms. Historically, newsrooms have not appropriately   incorporated minorities in the ranks of journalists and executives. This lack of different voices and perspectives has led to blind spots in coverage and, wholesale ignoring of issues important to these communities.

We’ve seen a slew of stories emerge around longstanding issues in media organizations in the wake of Black Lives Matter. Editors and executives have left (or been removed from) their positions and many organizations have pledged to do better. And this is a good thing, because the stakes are high.

Work to do

Some organizations are making a concerted effort to remedy these shortcomings. The aforementioned New York Times, for instance, publishes an annual Diversity and Inclusion Report, where they share “data on the composition of our staff, and provide updates on the steps we’re taking to continue to build on our progress.” The goal is to be fully transparent around the current state of their diversity staffing as well as the efforts they are making to improve. However, there is some debate about whether these kinds of efforts move the needle or just underscore the problem.

But at least we’re talking about the problem. For example, there was a great deal of public debate around the merits of The New York Times’ choice to publish an editorial by Senator Tom Cotton. And the Times’ own justification and internal review were widely shared.

From my perspective, transparency is paramount. Without transparency, we won’t ever have meaningful conversations or realize change. The conversation about racial injustice is profoundly important because Black Americans need to be heard. We all need to listen. And we need fundamental and systemic change. The media plays an essential role in this important issue. So, a frank open discussion of the issues at hand – globally, nationally, locally, and in our own newsrooms – is critical now, more than ever.

©2024 Digital Content Next. All Rights Reserved.