In our newest episode of TV Talk with Jo Kinsella, Jo chats with Monique Nelson, CEO ofUniworld Group, to discuss how we can open our lens to a more diverse and inclusive work environment during the pandemic. Monique discusses tactical things we can do right now to ensure inclusive practices and how there is still opportunity, innovation and acceleration during this unprecedented time.
Rethinking What Diversity Means
When we talk about diversity, we sometimes think only about race and gender—but it goes so much further than that. We are also talking about moms and dads working from home with children or people with severe anxiety who are trying to balance work with very real fears about the pandemic. Many employees are used to living under stress episodically (e.g. having a 30-minute stressful meeting) but now they are living with it every day. This pandemic requires companies to open the lens of diversity as we deal with people living under severe stress and abnormal circumstances.
Using Data to Unearth Moments of Truth
How do we use data to understand audiences from diverse backgrounds and how can we take that into our organizations and push leadership to promote diversity and inclusion? Monique states that moments of truth now come from social listening — and listening to everyone.
She says,"Talk to people in your organization. Ask how people are doing. This pandemic is affecting diverse people differently. And these moments of truth are very different for different people."
There will be new brands that emerge from this as audiences split into two camps - those that will be eager to venture out into the world, and those that may not be comfortable heading to a brick and mortar store. For advertisers, this will come down to understanding, listening and asking permission as consumers will be more sensitive to factors we never thought of pre-COVID-19.
Check out the full episode here. TV Talk with Jo Kinsella is also available via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Google Podcasts.
