Name: How can the consumer insights industry promote diversity?
Uploaded: 2022-09-23T12:44:07.624Z
Duration: 774.12
Description: Research tells us diversity has benefits for companies in terms of growth and profitability. But how can we make sure - as businesses and professionals - we are doing our bit to promote equality and inclusion?

How can the consumer insights industry promote diversity_.vtt

English

{{00:00:04}}
Diversity, inclusion and everything
around this to be part of the core

{{00:00:38}}
values of organizations and be more
authentic versus just an HR initiative

{{00:00:45}}
to be like, it's great to have okay 20
to 30% females in leadership positions.

{{00:00:49}}
I think certain organizations
in technology are really trying

{{00:00:54}}
to make this a really huge
part of their initiatives.

{{00:00:58}}
Those are great, but I think what
needs to happen is more about infusing

{{00:01:04}}
diversity and inclusion in the culture
of organizations and making this more

{{00:01:09}}
of a living and day to day employee
relations, not just the HR hiring

{{00:01:15}}
aspect of things would be critical.

{{00:01:18}}
The other aspect is education.

{{00:01:19}}
As I mentioned earlier,
we all have our biases.

{{00:01:24}}
We all have different backgrounds,
which we are all celebrating the

{{00:01:26}}
differences as we talked about.

{{00:01:28}}
But to me it's critical to have some
education in place, because sometimes

{{00:01:34}}
people don't mean certain things,
but the outcome is not pleasant

{{00:01:38}}
for the other individual or person
with the different backgrounds.

{{00:01:42}}
So I think it's critical that we
have some education mechanisms

{{00:01:46}}
in place that is like ongoing.

{{00:01:48}}
And, as I mentioned with the gen Z
as well, to understand the values

{{00:01:52}}
and how it's evolving and how we
actually can be relevant as well.

{{00:01:56}}
And there's some stats out there
if an organization, and I think it

{{00:02:01}}
could be two ways, either way whether
the companies that are focusing

{{00:02:07}}
on diversity and accomplishing
great things around that are

{{00:02:10}}
more innovative or innovative
companies are more diverse.

{{00:02:13}}
There's different topics around this
or discussions around this, but there's

{{00:02:17}}
something about productivity and
there's something about innovation,

{{00:02:21}}
because diversity and differences
bring different perspectives and

{{00:02:24}}
different perspectives bring different
ideas, different ideas bring outside

{{00:02:29}}
of the box thinking you know, when
you think about design thinking.

{{00:02:33}}
So it's really critical that we think
about it from that perspective as well.

{{00:02:38}}
And the last piece is with the
education to be able to actually

{{00:02:43}}
provide mechanisms and create
mechanisms to provide education

{{00:02:47}}
opportunities for less privileged or
disadvantage background on people,

{{00:02:54}}
especially young professionals to be
able to take advantage of difference.

{{00:02:58}}
If they're talented to get
the education they want,

{{00:03:02}}
and entering the workforce.

{{00:03:03}}
So it could be scholarship programs,
fellowships to be able to encourage

{{00:03:08}}
students from disadvantaged backgrounds
to complete their schooling.

{{00:03:11}}
There are already some non-profit
organizations that I'm part of,

{{00:03:17}}
advertising research foundation
ARF has a great initiative.

{{00:03:21}}
And this initiative actually
started this summer.

{{00:03:25}}
Supporting exactly what I used to
talked about with the scholarship

{{00:03:29}}
and fellowship program from
minority groups, low-income

{{00:03:32}}
families, disadvantaged areas,
people from disadvantaged areas.

{{00:03:36}}
So I think we can create
these types of mechanisms.

{{00:03:39}}
And if the corporations, large
organizations who want to be

{{00:03:42}}
embracing this as a culture, they
can actually support these types of

{{00:03:46}}
initiatives and part of the ongoing
conversation related to this as well.

{{00:03:51}}
And personally, I'm committing to
supporting whomever I'm mentoring or

{{00:03:58}}
engaging with to see in which race
I can actually be an ally or be part

{{00:04:05}}
of making an impact in their lives.

{{00:04:08}}
And again, like I said,
it's not just female power.

{{00:04:10}}
We are all females here, but it's
actually much bigger than that.

{{00:04:17}}
It's just to think about
it in a broader way.

{{00:04:20}}
And create those opportunities, paying
attention, infusing confidence, and

{{00:04:25}}
advocating for people who may not
have the same opportunities, but

{{00:04:29}}
have the talent so that they can
actually give them the opportunity

{{00:04:33}}
and be part of this diverse and
inclusive world that we want to all

{{00:04:40}}
live in and embrace those differences.

{{00:04:43}}
When I first started my career,
there was a lot of research that

{{00:04:46}}
proved that if you were really
into devastate inclusion it was

{{00:04:51}}
sort of seen as a negative against.

{{00:04:53}}
And now things have changed
that it is actually very

{{00:04:57}}
encouraged and seen as positive.

{{00:04:58}}
So I just wanted to make sure that
it's not some kind of a way for getting

{{00:05:02}}
brownie points for myself, you know?

{{00:05:03}}
So I think that's where I
committed to action, not

{{00:05:08}}
words almost about a year ago.

{{00:05:10}}
And so I started focusing a little bit
more on the actual things I was doing

{{00:05:15}}
whether it is mentoring people very
seriously, not providing mentorship

{{00:05:20}}
only, but also providing sponsorship.

{{00:05:23}}
Specifically being an ally and
just being aware of important

{{00:05:28}}
events for various minority groups.

{{00:05:31}}
Scheduling focus groups and
Martin Luther King day or

{{00:05:33}}
something like that, that I would
have done early in my career.

{{00:05:54}}
So just like having the non-glamorous,
behind the stage things that make

{{00:06:01}}
it easy for everybody to reach
their full potential and ideal.

{{00:06:05}}
I think that's my thing,
action, not words.

{{00:06:08}}
What needs to happen for our
industry can't just be driven

{{00:06:11}}
by underrepresented groups.

{{00:06:14}}
We can't be the only ones doing this.

{{00:06:16}}
It needs everybody to do it.

{{00:06:18}}
And I'll tell everyone
this quick story.

{{00:06:22}}
Earlier this year, myself and a few
colleagues, we all had opportunities,

{{00:06:25}}
and we all had open roles on our team.

{{00:06:28}}
And I recall that we had
our conversation with HR.

{{00:06:31}}
This was actually before the
George Floyd situation happened.

{{00:06:35}}
We sat down with our HR partner back
in January and said we want diverse

{{00:06:41}}
lights, we have five open roles.

{{00:06:43}}
We want there to be diverse
candidates as part of the slate.

{{00:06:47}}
And that was a non-negotiable for us.

{{00:06:50}}
So we had that conversation and it
wasn't just leave the other hiring

{{00:06:53}}
managers required it as well.

{{00:06:56}}
And not everyone who was
a hiring manager was in

{{00:06:59}}
underrepresented minority group.

{{00:07:01}}
So we all collectively came together
and said diverse candidates are part

{{00:07:07}}
of the requirement we passed here.

{{00:07:09}}
And with that, quite a few of the
people hired were diverse candidates.

{{00:07:15}}
So I use that story as an example to
say that if everybody collectively

{{00:07:20}}
comes together, because I remember
when I interviewed, my first slate of

{{00:07:26}}
candidates we're not diverse, and I
went to my manager and I said, I'm not

{{00:07:31}}
hiring until I get a diverse slate.

{{00:07:33}}
And my manager supported me and I
was able to bring in an exceptional

{{00:07:37}}
person into the organization.

{{00:07:39}}
So again, it just goes to show
you that everybody collectively

{{00:07:43}}
passing through this together.

{{00:07:45}}
So as someone who is in a role where
I do have people that report to me,

{{00:07:50}}
diverse slates are now something
that I absolutely require all

{{00:07:54}}
the time when I'm hiring someone.

{{00:07:56}}
Also although I'm a people manager
like I remember after the situation

{{00:08:00}}
with George Floyd, like I was
honest and transparent with my

{{00:08:04}}
team and told them how I felt.

{{00:08:05}}
I was not okay after that happened.

{{00:08:07}}
And I was like, I went and shared
my experience with my pain, because

{{00:08:11}}
I wanted them to just be me being
vulnerable for them to understand what

{{00:08:15}}
I'm going through as a black woman.

{{00:08:17}}
So I feel like as leaders, we also
have to be able, if something is not

{{00:08:20}}
right, or something's not sitting
with us, we need to be able to be

{{00:08:23}}
vulnerable and talk to our teams about
this, but if they can learn how to

{{00:08:28}}
how these things are affecting people.

{{00:08:32}}
I'm very like transparent with my team.

{{00:08:35}}
And I think that has created
great relationships with them.

{{00:08:38}}
I would say, what else I'm
personally doing is I continue

{{00:08:41}}
to mentor folks in this industry.

{{00:08:44}}
Not very many people know what market
research and consumer insights is.

{{00:08:48}}
I think that there's a lack
of education in that space.

{{00:08:52}}
So like, how do I bring people along
and talk to people about my career?

{{00:08:57}}
Again, I kind of fell into this.

{{00:08:59}}
I didn't know what it was either
when I started my career in

{{00:09:02}}
this industry 13 years ago, but
thank God that I fell into this.

{{00:09:07}}
How do we find the next person like
me, who now sees the beauty and

{{00:09:11}}
the benefit of this industry and
talking to consumers every day.

{{00:09:14}}
So I continue to commit myself
and my stories and sharing them

{{00:09:18}}
being upfront and transparent
when something's not right.

{{00:09:21}}
And being able to have
that conversation.

{{00:09:23}}
But I would just ask all of us,
regardless of your gender, regardless

{{00:09:27}}
of the color of your skin, regardless
of your level in the organization,

{{00:09:31}}
you've got to all do this together,
especially with folks who look

{{00:09:34}}
like me pushing this agenda.

{{00:09:36}}
We can't help everyone,
but we can help someone.

{{00:09:40}}
I think in a addition to the idea
of being mentors, coaches, which

{{00:09:45}}
I can definitely update there.

{{00:09:47}}
I also tried to leverage
again, I go back to like

{{00:09:51}}
being an insight professional.

{{00:09:53}}
I actually tried to leverage
my career to champion that

{{00:09:57}}
style of that change within the
organization that I'm part of.

{{00:10:00}}
Because the two examples that I
will be sharing, and I think we

{{00:10:03}}
can all do this as well, when I was
at P and G I actually spearheaded

{{00:10:11}}
basically our efforts to recruit
diverse candidates in the US for the

{{00:10:21}}
equivalent of insights organization
and what was great about that,

{{00:10:25}}
and one of the reasons I was still
happy to be involved because I was

{{00:10:29}}
able to help build teams, which
at times are not necessarily led

{{00:10:33}}
by diverse people themselves.

{{00:10:35}}
Understand that we all want the
find, generally speaking, we all

{{00:10:39}}
want to find that really talented
individual, but they're actually hard

{{00:10:44}}
to find and you need to proactively
be looking for those individuals

{{00:10:50}}
and look in the  right places.

{{00:11:13}}
Well, I was able to achieve
that strategy and infuse it

{{00:11:17}}
with insight, no pun intended.

{{00:11:19}}
So actually help them find these
candidates in better places

{{00:11:24}}
and be more intentional about
where they were recruiting and

{{00:11:28}}
looking for these individuals.

{{00:11:30}}
And then more recently in my current
experience of McCormick where I

{{00:11:35}}
work now, again, I'm lucky that
all these companies are trying to

{{00:11:40}}
really push diversity and proactively
looking for diverse organizations.

{{00:11:46}}
Then more recently again,
leveraging we want to do that.

{{00:11:51}}
We've actually been working
on some activities to support

{{00:11:55}}
Hispanic Heritage month.

{{00:11:56}}
And what we've been able to do
is actually a panel with leaders.

{{00:12:05}}
Again, what I've noticed is that
we do have some Hispanic leaders

{{00:12:09}}
at my organization, but they're
not as well known because again,

{{00:12:13}}
they're not out there maybe
screaming that they're Hispanic

{{00:12:17}}
or that they have that background.

{{00:12:19}}
But while we've been able to do
is actually put them together in

{{00:12:22}}
a panel as one of the activities
for Hispanic heritage month.

{{00:12:25}}
And we're basically going to be doing
a broadcast, kind of like this one,

{{00:12:30}}
where everybody in the organization
gets the chance to meet the leaders.

{{00:12:35}}
And I'm talking like presidents
and they're going to get to

{{00:12:38}}
meet them like more casually.

{{00:12:40}}
And to learn more about their
backgrounds versus how they may

{{00:12:43}}
typically encounter them, like
a president or a vice-president

{{00:12:47}}
and more of an informal setting.

Diversity, inclusion and everything
around this to be part of the core

values of organizations and be more
authentic versus just an HR initiative

to be like, it's great to have okay 20
to 30% females in leadership positions.

I think certain organizations
in technology are really trying

to make this a really huge
part of their initiatives.

Those are great, but I think what
needs to happen is more about infusing

diversity and inclusion in the culture
of organizations and making this more

of a living and day to day employee
relations, not just the HR hiring

As I mentioned earlier,
we all have our biases.

We all have different backgrounds,
which we are all celebrating the

But to me it's critical to have some
education in place, because sometimes

people don't mean certain things,
but the outcome is not pleasant

for the other individual or person
with the different backgrounds.

So I think it's critical that we
have some education mechanisms

And, as I mentioned with the gen Z
as well, to understand the values

and how it's evolving and how we
actually can be relevant as well.

And there's some stats out there
if an organization, and I think it

could be two ways, either way whether
the companies that are focusing

on diversity and accomplishing
great things around that are

more innovative or innovative
companies are more diverse.

There's different topics around this
or discussions around this, but there's

something about productivity and
there's something about innovation,

because diversity and differences
bring different perspectives and

different perspectives bring different
ideas, different ideas bring outside

of the box thinking you know, when
you think about design thinking.

So it's really critical that we think
about it from that perspective as well.

And the last piece is with the
education to be able to actually

provide mechanisms and create
mechanisms to provide education

opportunities for less privileged or
disadvantage background on people,

especially young professionals to be
able to take advantage of difference.

If they're talented to get
the education they want,

So it could be scholarship programs,
fellowships to be able to encourage

students from disadvantaged backgrounds
to complete their schooling.

There are already some non-profit
organizations that I'm part of,

advertising research foundation
ARF has a great initiative.

And this initiative actually
started this summer.

Supporting exactly what I used to
talked about with the scholarship

and fellowship program from
minority groups, low-income

families, disadvantaged areas,
people from disadvantaged areas.

So I think we can create
these types of mechanisms.

And if the corporations, large
organizations who want to be

embracing this as a culture, they
can actually support these types of

initiatives and part of the ongoing
conversation related to this as well.

And personally, I'm committing to
supporting whomever I'm mentoring or

engaging with to see in which race
I can actually be an ally or be part

And again, like I said,
it's not just female power.

We are all females here, but it's
actually much bigger than that.

It's just to think about
it in a broader way.

And create those opportunities, paying
attention, infusing confidence, and

advocating for people who may not
have the same opportunities, but

have the talent so that they can
actually give them the opportunity

and be part of this diverse and
inclusive world that we want to all

When I first started my career,
there was a lot of research that

proved that if you were really
into devastate inclusion it was

And now things have changed
that it is actually very

So I just wanted to make sure that
it's not some kind of a way for getting

So I think that's where I
committed to action, not

And so I started focusing a little bit
more on the actual things I was doing

whether it is mentoring people very
seriously, not providing mentorship

Specifically being an ally and
just being aware of important

Scheduling focus groups and
Martin Luther King day or

something like that, that I would
have done early in my career.

So just like having the non-glamorous,
behind the stage things that make

it easy for everybody to reach
their full potential and ideal.

I think that's my thing,
action, not words.

What needs to happen for our
industry can't just be driven

Earlier this year, myself and a few
colleagues, we all had opportunities,

And I recall that we had
our conversation with HR.

This was actually before the
George Floyd situation happened.

We sat down with our HR partner back
in January and said we want diverse

We want there to be diverse
candidates as part of the slate.

So we had that conversation and it
wasn't just leave the other hiring

And not everyone who was
a hiring manager was in

So we all collectively came together
and said diverse candidates are part

And with that, quite a few of the
people hired were diverse candidates.

So I use that story as an example to
say that if everybody collectively

comes together, because I remember
when I interviewed, my first slate of

Best Practice

Research tells us diversity has benefits for companies in terms of growth and profitability. But how can we make sure - as businesses and professionals - we are doing our bit to promote equality and inclusion?