Why does diversity in the media sector matter? (original) (raw)

What does Guardian News & Media (GNM) mean to people of different cultures and backgrounds? How open are we to those who have a story to tell, who work for us, and don’t behave like those in our “own the weekend” advert?

On the 20th Nov 2014 the Guardian hosted a panel discussion on “diversity in the media sector” we were joined by Amanda Rice Head of Diversity at the BBC, Harret Minter Editor of the Guardian’s Women in Leadership, Yasir Mirza Head of Diversity and Inclusion at GNM and Erika Owens Program Manager of Knight-Mozilla OpenNews.

Our aim was to build a greater understanding and debate around the value of diversity within the media sector. Looking at recruitment, editorial content, commercial viability, and digital development, we hoped to encourage the audience (Guardian staff) to think about why diversity matters and how it relates to their work.

What is diversity?

Amanda Rice from the BBC explained that diversity incorporates both visual representation and differences that can’t be seen such as cultural and social diversity.

All panelists agreed that being different is more than simply looking or sounding different. It is about how your life experiences, background, age, education, peers influences the way you think, it is about “diversity of thought”.

To leverage value from diversity we have to be inclusive, creating a space where people don’t feel that they have to leave their differences at the door. Think about this... how would you feel if you were different or an outsider, how would this stop you from achieving and succeeding?

Harriet Minter of the Guardian helped to internalise the question by asking Have you ever been in a situation where you have told what you think is an hilarious joke and nobody laughs?

That feeling when you think something is brilliant, but nobody has got it, that is what it feels like to be an outsider. Taking that feeling into your work environment does not make you the most productive as you are always questioning yourself.

How society and employers address diversity is no longer limited to those directly affected by a lack of inclusion. Greater appreciation of diversity will help people to be more confident in their jobs to support productivity and drive innovation by approaching problems from different perspectives.

Why is difference valuable?

Erika Owens of Knight-Mozilla OpenNews explained that through their work to build digital tools to solve problems in journalism they discovered that people ask different questions and pursue different aspects of a problem depending on their education and life backgrounds.

Owens provided an excellent example of where a lack of difference caused problems on an OpenNews project looking at road tire safety. The data was generating questions that did not make sense because no one in the group actually drove. Projects can take on different shapes if there is greater difference and therefore life experience within a group. By building diversity into the recruitment process of their Fellowship Programme OpenNews has allowed people to see outside of their normal perspective.

Yasir Mirza Head of Diversity and Inclusion at the Guardian, believes that we should use different drivers to sell the value of diversity into different parts of the business. For some it maybe for ethical reasons, for some legal and for other business drivers.

When people see themselves in a cohort or a group they are more likely to apply for the job or contribute to a project or a story. For example, from a recruitment perspective being inclusive could provide access to a wider pool of candidates, new talent, skills and lead to confident and happier staff.

Editorially, diversity and inclusion are powerful tools in promoting pluralism, helping to build an understanding of those whose lives are different to ours. The Diverse Writers Pitching Seminars ran by Mirza at the Guardian helps those typically marginalised in society to share personal stories that only they can tell. Creating new and interesting stories that were not being unearthed by typical journalistic approaches.

Mirza highlights the link to the Guardian’s origins and diversity. If we are not open to all groups in society how do we live up to our Scott Trust Values . By being a diverse organisation we can better reflect our readers.

Rice said that it is important for businesses to have leaders who recognise, value and are inclusive of diversity. While Minter backed this up by pointing to a McKinsey report that showed that companies with diverse boards on average achieved 14% greater profit than the least diverse.

Our Challenge

However, to reap these rewards diversity must be inherent in your thinking from the beginning and not a tick box exercise. This will mean overcoming biases as well as “Group Think” which have a negative effect on innovation and decision making.

Owen said that just because you have success in one area does not mean it will happen somewhere else. An inclusive environment must benefit everyone and this takes effort.

At the end of the session we asked our panelists to set Guardian staff challenges that will help them and the business to better value difference:

1. Be open and inquisitive about people around you and get to know colleagues from diverse backgrounds to benefit from their difference.
2. Start counting the number of ‘diverse’ people in any group as you go about your daily life to highlight gaps that you might not expect.
3. If you are torn between 2 candidates for a role hire the one you don’t click with, don’t hire the one like you.
4. Find someone who is different from you in some way, Google the thing that makes them different and then ask about it to spark thoughtful conversation.
5. Think about what diversity means to you as an individual and in relation to your work.

Are you up for one of these challenges or do you have one of your own? If so please let us know what happened and what you learnt in the comments below.