Why global DE&I strategies are doomed to fail… and how to get them back on track
I was honoured to be asked to speak at the Omnicom Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) Forum in June, where I took the opportunity to tell DE&I leaders from across the Omnicom network that I believe that most global DE&I strategies are doomed to fail.
Let’s backtrack so I can tell you how I came to this conclusion. Born and raised in Manchester to Iranian and Iraqi parents, I have lived and worked in the United Kingdom (UK), Ireland, and most recently Belgium.
For the past five years I’ve been the DE&I champion for Porter Novelli, and now Ketchum Brussels – where I also sometimes find the time to work as the Creative Lead.
I grew up in a culture that was not that of my parents and have faced the challenge of assimilation and being perceived as the ‘other’. I have worked away from the familiar structures and norms of my birthplace, and I can tell you from experience – we’re all VERY different.
So why do I say that global DE&I strategies will end in frustration and failure?
Because if we look at it in a language that we, as communications professionals understand, global DE&I strategies fail in the most basic element of any good campaign strategy. We forget to account for the diversity of our audience.
DE&I work has a clear objective: to eliminate the need for DE&I. We want to be obsolete. We know that organisations, teams, and systems are made stronger, more resilient and more powerful the more diverse, equitable and inclusive we are.
We have developed language to explain the principles, moving from the basics of unconscious bias, to integrating more complex ideas like privilege and intersectionality. We have developed online training courses, presentations, thought leadership articles, inspirational activities, ERGs and messaging to convey the strength of DE&I – the way it boosts creativity and ‘turbo boosts’ the bottom line. In doing all this, we have developed global strategies which use the same tactics to reach everyone, forgetting that our audience is as diverse as the principles we espouse.
Our audience does not have the same history with DE&I as maybe you or I do. Their culture may approach DE&I from a different angle. They may have had a lack of exposure to the topic. Their education, socio-economic background, family life, and lived experience all contribute to making them unique. The country they grew up in, the attitudes, myths, legends, culture, approach to teaching and learning history and appetite for media and politics all contribute to how receptive they will be to the message that we want to convey.
Taking all of this into consideration, barging straight into an organization with pre-prepared commandments that have been mandated by head-office is never going to work. DE&I implementation needs to be nuanced, culturally appropriate, and most of all, empathetic.
Engaging empathy allows us to meet our colleagues at their level of understanding. It can counter the feelings of frustration that arises when we try to impose cultural expectations on a group that has their own way of perceiving the world.
To bring it back to my original thesis, all DE&I strategies will fail if they continue to view audiences as a giant, indistinguishable mass. But how to fix this? I don’t claim to have all the answers, but here are a few starting points that will help us all get back on track.
- Global DE&I strategy needs to be goal oriented and should NOT contain defined tactics. While suggestions for how to roll-out an idea are welcome, they shouldn’t be mandated.
- Global DE&I strategy should be staged. It should be broken down into subcategories of beginners, intermediates, advanced – and the more of a breakdown there is, the better. This allows local DE&I champions to identify the level their office/country or client is at, and tailor the tactics and messaging appropriately.
- Speaking of local DE&I representatives – please cherish them. Make sure they are supported, emotionally, practically – and financially. Often it is a role being performed on top of regular duties, usually by a person from a marginalized community, fueled by passion. The work can nevertheless be discouraging and dispiriting at times.
Finally, take a back seat. Let the local leaders LEAD and the local voices speak. They have stories to tell, and we can all learn by listening to what they have to say.
Image credit: © Malcolm Lightbody
