Diversity does not mean minority - Abi Adamson

It led me to ask do people really want to get it right when it comes to diversity? I feel this is low-hanging fruit and it is a little embarrassing. What is apparent here is people still think that diversity means minority and that is just not the case. It is about doing what is right.

Everything we do should always be done with a diverse lens. The world is filled with amazing people from different backgrounds, so diversity should never be seen as a casual “play thing.”

The problem we have right now is lots of organisations are jumping on a bandwagon because they want to look popular and they want to be seen as “cool”, but actually when you look under the bonnet, they are far from that.

What did the offers to “line up a few diverse people” mean? Non-white people, or women, or people with disabilities and those with intersectional identities shouldn’t be referred to as “few”.

It is so irritating that people are still not taking diversity and inclusion seriously.

This very conversation shows just how much of a tick-box exercise this really is. As a black woman, I would hate to be pulled into something just so I can fill a quota. I am so much more than the colour of my skin.

What about my accomplishments? What about my education? What about my skills and experiences?

Or am I only useful because I am black and I am a woman? The group in question were literally trying to use a black person to retrospectively make a project appear more racially diverse which means we keep going around in circles when it comes to understanding and practising what diversity and inclusion means.

I am at least grateful there is an understanding that a stock footage is not going to solve the diversity challenges we face.

The questions we should all be asking is, how in 2021, can you even be working on a creative project and there are no diverse voices involved? How can you produce a media project and diversity be an afterthought?

If the project was truly representative of the organisation and the audience demographic then there should not have been a problem. Evidently, the panic button was only hit after people realised it wasn’t going to reflect well on them, but they didn’t care enough about it in the first place.

I agree with the manager – you should be honest in that you don’t compromise your integrity by adding stock footage. Stock diversity?! I had to keep a straight face on the workshop I was delivering.

It suggests for that group diversity should be seen and not heard, otherwise a phony stock photo would never be an option.

If you want to do diversity right, then surely it should be something that should be injected into the creation of a project the very moment you all start putting ideas together?

I will say again, diversity does not mean minority and diversity certainly does not mean stock photos of black people.

Abi Adamson - Founder of The Diversity Partnership & EDI Director

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