Diversity in research: The journey to representation

At the Virtual Insight Summit in April this year, three big voices who are moving the needle on inclusivity initiatives took the stage to address the following questions:

• Where does inclusivity currently fall short in the research world?

• How can organizations become more inclusive?

• What immediate changes need to be made to challenge an ineffective status quo?

• How does inclusivity (or lack thereof) impact a business’ bottom line?

I'll summarize a few of the takeaways in this blog post, but watch the presentation below for the full conversation.

With a lifelong career in the research world, Melissa Gonsalves, Co-founder and Director of Colour of Research (CoRe), is no stranger to the need for change the industry faces. For years she has been startlingly aware of the lack of well-rounded research being conducted.

The initial idea for founding CoRe, however, was truly sparked when Melissa was at a market research conference and realized no one else in the crowd looked like her. She approached the one other person of color in the crowd (CoRe co-founder Theo Francis) and said “We have to do something about this.” And, they did.

Across the pond in the US, Whitney Dunlap-Fowler was also at a breaking point that inspired the founding of Insights in Color (IIC), focusing on increasing multiculturalism within the research space. She brought together a team of industry professionals ready to roll up their sleeves and do the work, including IIC board member Kalil Vicioso who joined Melissa Gonsalves at Virtual Insight Summit 2.0 for a conversation unpacking the massive topic of Inclusive Research: Inside and Out.

While there is a long way to go for true diversity in research — and for researchers to be more inclusive in representation — the journey to effective change has to start somewhere and both CoRe and Insights in Color are dedicated to making actionable progress.

Kalil and Melissa’s main points all boil down to this simple takeaway: We miss opportunities when there is no diversity.

We are supposed to be experts at understanding and interpreting for clients, so there is a direct benefit to being an organization that actually represents the world.

“When ideas lack connection to diverse audiences’ lived experiences, campaigns become what ‘white people think Black people want to see,’” Melissa notes, reflecting on a few notable examples of ads that have been tone-deaf, bordering on offensive, towards the population they were supposedly targeting.

When brands collect opinions and information from the target demographic ahead of launching a campaign, they will be able to avoid public embarrassment and ultimately succeed in getting closer to their consumers.

As Melissa’s examples highlight, poor decisions are made when a representative array of opinions aren’t given a seat at the table.

As a consumer, if you don’t feel as if you’re being represented, you may find yourself asking questions like: How can they speak for me when they don’t look like me? When they don’t understand where I come from? When they aren’t familiar with my ethnicity?

The consumer is diverse; therefore, the voices speaking on behalf of the consumer should be, too.

Internally, employee satisfaction and productivity increases when they feel a sense of belonging.

Jennifer Brown, Founder & CEO of her own diversity and inclusion consulting agency, also held a workshop at the Summit, “How to be an Inclusive Leader,” where she discussed the measured impact of performance in workplaces which champion diversity of all kinds.

Studies have reported that most people feel they need to cover aspects of themselves when coming to the workspace, Jennifer shared in a series of slides. This process of “covering” is exhausting.When people exert so much of their energy hiding pieces of themselves, they have less bandwidth to put towards doing other things.

Not only can morale improve if people feel accepted, but productivity has also been proven to increase in workplaces with leaders who encourage people to bring their full selves to work.

The data in Jennifer’s presentation backed up a personal anecdote Kalil shared about being closeted and keeping his neurodivergence hidden for the majority of his career early on. It was challenging enough to get ahead as someone who was visibly diverse from his colleagues; adding in other things that made him different seemed to be an additional barrier to success.

However, when he did begin to share these pieces of himself he realized these differences were his superpowers because he viewed the world through a unique lense, allowing him to bring new creative solutions to the table.

Inclusive leadership means leading by example.

That means:

1. Bringing your full self to work. When leaders bring their full selves to work, their teammates are more likely to feel comfortable doing the same.

2. Having awareness of and providing a safe space for those with invisible diversities. Because diversity does not merely encompass the differences that can be seen on the surface.

3. Demonstrate a real commitment to change from the inside out, starting with who you employ — especially in leadership positions. If people don’t see themselves in leadership roles, they often won’t feel as empowered to voice their perspective.

But keep in mind that bringing more diversity in research roles isn’t just about hiring more diverse researchers from the existing applicant pool; it’s also about piquing the interest of more diverse applicants. Here’s two examples of what you can be do to appeal to more diverse applicants:

1. Make an effort to educate a more diverse population that careers in research exist (and are attainable!). If there is a concerted effort made to attract talent from a wide array of backgrounds, it will increase awareness of the field and make a career in insights seem attractive and achievable.

2. Think about how current job specs may be exclusionary. One example would be by asking, “Does someone really need a four-year university degree to be great at a particular role?” If the answer is no, that will open the scope of applicants to include those who may not have had access to the same level of higher education, thus creating more equity.

There is both a humanistic and a business argument for building inclusive workspaces and true representation of diversity in research.

No 90 minute session or blog post is going to be able to fully encompass all the what, whys and hows involved; these are all just stepping stones on a much longer, more complicated journey.

For now, start thinking about how you can play a role in pushing the industry forward, how you can show up with your full self to work (and encourage others to do the same) and how you can help pave the way for a more inclusive future. And, of course, keep learning on your own!

Here’s some tips on where to start:

• Watch the full Inclusive research inside and out session below

• Reach out to our friends at Colour of Research or Insights in Color to learn how to get involved

• Contact Jennifer Brown if you’re interested in running an inclusive leadership session with your team.

• Share helpful resources and your personal story of building more inclusive spaces with your networks!

The more we work together, the brighter the future will be.