TOKENISM
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5bb0e3e39d41494a22d8c045/t/5e1a81793ff3900c13806664/1578795391073/WHERE+MARKETING+AND+DIVERSITY+MEET+-+CHLOE+MEDINA+%281%29.pdf WHERE MARKETING AND DIVERSITY MEET– AN ANALYSIS OF INCLUSIVITY, TOKENISM AND SOCIAL RESPONSBILITY IN PRACTICE (Fall 2019) (by Chloe Medina)
How do you know if they really care about the issue? Educating people about the issue Donating Raising awareness Passing down stories Bringing people together
ARTICLE FRAME 1. Abstract Introduction Defining “diversity” and inclusivity, using a question to lead audiences into the body text According to xxx, introducing ethical norms among marketers, introduction to the aim of the essay and the solutions to the issue
Purpose of study
2. Conceptual framework This paper is supported by studies is sociology, psychology, history and rhetorical communications. The paper starts by exploring the theory of post-racialism and its connection to the social construction of diversity as we know it today. Following will be the discussion of media participation in multiplicity practices in relation to social structures. In the subsequent sections, the formation of tokenism is defined with its impact on minority audiences and why it is more affective to incorporate socially responsible marketing tactics that promote authentic inclusion for all groups.
Post-racialism Nowadays situation Quote 1 from book about concept of race, elaborate and expand Quote 2 from book about media and post racialism, elaborate and expand
Social construction of diversity Media has influenced and can manipulate the current and future social structure of diversity. Historic and culturally driven factors that shaped the social construction of diversity Power of politics have on media influence Obama - post racial movement Squires book The Post-Racial Mystique
Media participation in diversity “Individuals increasingly view culture as something to be actively created, rather than passed down from on high and passively consumed” (Rutherford, 2008, p.12) How people nowadays think diversity is Examples of tokenism in the entertainment industry and the political industry How advertisers and marketers are focussing on the idea of capitalising on the differences that are supposed to bring people together, but instead are produced only for the benefit of the brand.
3. Methodology Theory of tokenism “Meaningful inclusion is all about dedicating space, dialogue, care and action to concepts that previously have not been seriously considered,” (Mashburn and Papalia, 2019, p.25) Society has a habit of providing slight figurative gestures “What unites an individual with the community is the aesthetic experience, that is, the ability to feel emotion together with others in the community and to share the same ambience” (Maffesoli, 1996, p.74). How koenism can ruin a brand’s reputation
4. Results and analysis Brands evaluation nike Just Do It campaign with Football Player and Activist, Colin Kaepernick The ad features many major moments of diversity and ended up winning an Emmy for this quality of the advertisement and what it stood for.
Ads evaluation
Results summary
5. Discussion Social responsibility Conclusion
Key points
When diversity is misrepresented in marketing, tokenism can cause negative reputation issues for brands. authentic inclusion and its power versus tokenism in practice and how post-racialism theory connects society to a false idea that symbolic gestures are enough to represent a diverse audience. Interviews —> draw attention to learning more about audiences’ perceptions of what inclusivity means to them and what is significant to see in the current media ecosystem. In the media driven society, marketing and communications professionals are confronted daily with ethical dilemmas According to the American Marketing Association, ethical norms for marketers include: Do no harm, foster in the marketing system and embrace ethical values. Along with ethical norms, ethical values are also set out by the American Marketing Association: Honesty, Responsibility, Fairness, Respect, Transparency and Citizenship. “Media discourses and imagery help us to map the contours of change in society’s understanding of race (Squires, 2014, p.2).” Squires book The Post-Racial Mystique media effectiveness and use of diversity in marketing and how it affects the social-construction of inclusion versus tokenism in the 21st Century. Diversity as a construct has changed over the span of time. Media has influenced and can manipulate the current and future social structure of diversity. The evolution of inclusion can create a positive impact for many groups, but it can also cause issues related to post-racial theory previously discussed. 96% of survey participants feel it is important for the media to be diverse and inclusive. When survey participants were asked the questions: how often do you feel authentic methods of inclusions are practiced in the media? Approximately 72% of participants felt that only sometimes does the media promotes authentic methods of inclusion in their marketing practices. Media has become a marketplace to compete to stay on top of trends rather than showcasing the most authentic forms of communications possible. campaigns focused on the idea of capitalizing on the differences that are supposed to bring people together, but instead are produced only for the benefit of the brand research indicates society has a habit of providing slight figurative gestures Creating a more welcoming environment for cultural and inclusion to have a place does not through token attempts but through blasts of courage to be difference in a mainstream driven society.
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https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/dec/29/interracial-present-and-future-better-than-tokenism Our racially diverse present (and future) deserves better than tokenism (Mon 29 Dec 2014) (by Shalini Shankar) Minorities featured in advertising, the sentiment goes, shouldn’t look too black or brown, or sound too unassimilated or uneducated; instead, “acceptable” diversity in advertising remains middle class, unassuming and nearly invisible by being as close to “white” as possible The problem is that, when racial difference is represented in this way, we aren’t actually acknowledging diversity: we are homogenizing it. These diverse-but-not-too-diverse advertisements create a false promise of racially normalized society. Admittedly, thoughtfully representing diversity is not the goal of advertising –branding and sales are – nor is advertising the medium in which to solve our racial disparities. But, given the influence of advertising in our lives, isn’t it worth trying to do both? —> especially when social media is becoming such a big part in our daily lives, people are highly exposed to brand advertisements, it is essential that brands are aware of how impactful they are to audiences’ mindsets and perceptions to cultures After all, even the most conservative figures estimate that the average person is exposed to over 600 ads per day Studies of mass communication indicate that, while mass media does not tell us what to think, it does shape our unconscious biases and how we prioritize what is important to us. They influence how we think about society and how we respond to diversity in our workplaces, college campuses, and everyday interactions.
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https://mumbrella.com.au/in-trying-to-be-diverse-marketers-are-damaging-brands-and-creating-further-bias-599296 In trying to be diverse, marketers are damaging brands and creating further bias (October 15, 2019) (by Anne Miles) I’m an advocate (even activist) for diversity and inclusion, and care greatly about it. But at same time, many activists are in a phase of diversity over-steer. There is a time and a place for activism and speaking up about topics that are being ignored, but there is a time where we should move onto just living and breathing what we fight for, rather than making lots of noise or falling into tokenism. Are brands over-representing these issues and stepping into ‘woke/ purpose washing’ or tokenism? And how can we tell? As reported by Ipsos MORI, Australians believe that our population is 12% Muslim. The actual population is 2.4%. With many marketing campaigns putting token Muslims in their advertising, we are likely over-representing a segment of the population, which would lead Australians to believe more Muslim people are here than there really are. We also know from Western Sydney University that nearly one in three Australians have negative feelings towards Muslim Australians, with 63% saying they would be concerned if a relative married a Muslim. This is very scary. Tokenism impacts perception, and could be a cause of this backlash and racism. We need to be working on ways to equal the balance. The consequence for getting so much of this wrong is that we aren’t representing the actual customer and we’re causing brand damage along the way and creating new bias. It’s time to move on from activism and focus on actually doing something. Tokenism is defined as the following: “the practice of making only a perfunctory or symbolic effort to do a particular thing, especially by recruiting a small number of people from underrepresented groups in order to give the appearance of sexual or racial equality within a workforce.” Tokenism, and the misguided diversity attempts it stems from, simply gives the appearance of equality without achieving it. Think of the person who tries to prove they aren’t a racist by pointing out their one black friend. Or another person who thinks having a lone gay friend makes them a supporter of the LGBTQ community. After all, diversity was never meant to focus only on numbers and skin tone or gender. The diversity movement was meant to pull ideas and strengths from a wide variety of workers. Together, these people from different backgrounds could innovate and dream up truly astonishing solutions. It wasn’t a statistics project. Diversity was supposed to have an impact.
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https://medium.com/@TonieSnell/the-problem-is-not-diversity-972f4009dce0
The Problem Is Not Diversity (mar30, 2017) (by Tonie Snell) It’s not about ensuring 10% of your workforce is non-white. It’s about giving that 10% a chance to generate ideas, speak in meetings with the CEO and always have a seat at the table. It’s important to note that diversity and inclusion are not the same thing. Diversity is a statistic; inclusion is so much more. The practice of inclusion is about reducing unconscious bias and truly seeking the value of having a diverse team. Diversity is important, but by no means is it the final step. Once companies have assembled a diverse team, there’s still work to be done. Inclusion is an ongoing process that must continue long after these diverse employees have joined the team. Diversity is a number. Inclusion is a behavior. Your company needs both, but one without the other will lead to poor results.
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https://bizshifts-trends.com/tokenism-inclusion-is-an-illusion-treating-people-like-props-diversity-gone-awry-token-appearance/ TOKENISM – INCLUSION IS AN ILLUSION: TREATING PEOPLE LIKE PROPS– DIVERSITY GONE AWRY – TOKEN APPEARANCE… (march 22,2020) ( BIZSHIFTS-TRENDS) - Many businesses, in their attempt to achieve diversity, are slipping into quagmire of ‘tokenism’. Tokenism is practice of making only a perfunctory or symbolic effort to include members of minority groups. Especially recruiting a relatively small number of minority or under-represented groups to give the appearance of diversity within a workforce. However, diversity was never meant to focus on numbers and skin tone or gender. Diversity was meant to pull ideas and strengths from a wide variety of talent and experiences. —> an immerse of different cultures, people from different places of different cultural backgrounds could innovate and create truly astonishing solutions The effort of including a ‘token’– worker, manager or leaders (usually race, religion, sex…) in organization is intended to create illusion of diversity to deflect potential accusations of discrimination. —> Instead of solely following the trends like what people do, they are afraid of being accused of not following the trend Tokenism and token representation is a misguided attempt at social diversity in order to deflect criticism and simply give the appearance of diversity without achieving it. Tokenism is an empty movement with no real impact beyond confusion and frustration. It gives companies a false sense of achievement. Tokenism: Result of Diversity Without Inclusion by Tonie Snell writes: There’s a mad dash in the business world to improve diversity. Every high-profile company is working to boost the statistics in hopes of favorable public profile– one in which people from every group, background, ethnicity are welcome. And ‘fake’ statistics is exacerbating the matter– it’s masquerading the real issue of token representation and tokenism. ripples of tokenism are being felt in all directions, e.g.; some corporations hire female executives as a way to avoid criticism– instead of hiring them for their talents… —> Secondary effect of tokenism: people got hired because of there race instead of their talents and ability Tokenism isn’t solving any problems- it’s masking them and only making them worse. According to Shutterstock survey of 500 major companies; about one-third said they were using fewer white people models and heterosexuals in their advertisements, and doing it to ‘prevent perceived discrimination’. According to The London Times report, half the advertisers said ‘they were using fewer white people because they no longer represented ‘modern society’, which seems a somewhat peculiar, and certainly metro-centric, viewpoint. a way of virtue ‘signaling’ However in business, diversity and inclusion are imperative, and it cannot/or should be faked. Tokenism and token representation, in all forms, are neither viable or acceptable.
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