Diversity During the Last Decade

Diversity

During the last decade (or two) the American workforce has become much more politically correct than it was during the late 20th century. Citizens have also become more sensitive to advertising, marketing or societal phrases that appear to denigrate one section of society or another, and many business' have recognized that change. A good example of this continued focus on being more diverse is an experience at an advertising agency with which I was formerly connected. My job as a salesperson was to search for companies in need of the direct marketing services my company provided.

Oftentimes I would walk the streets of my sales area, periodically stopping in to the various businesses to talk to the owners. Since the geographical area I was assigned to contained a significant percentage of business' that were minority owned, I had to be cognizant of the culture as well as the people who frequented those business locations. One particular event that took place while I worked for the agency influenced not only my thinking but a few of my colleagues as well.

I contacted the owner of a business that catered to Latino families with a variety of products. Enticing the owner to run an advertisement was difficult, so a spec ad was created to show the owner what the ad would look like if he decided to go forward with the campaign. The ad showed a stereotypical Latino women in the kitchen with a brood of children eagerly awaiting the evening meal. When the ad was shown to the owner (a women) she reacted with disgust at what she perceived as a blatant attempt to stereotype Latino women.

The issue was whether the company was going to find a niche in the Latino marketplace, and based on the owner's reaction, that scenario was in doubt. One recent article summed up the owner's touchiness, stating "when it comes to marketing and advertising, some issues are more touchier than others" (Martinez, 2007, p. 18). Neither myself or the other employees of the company had even considered the fact that some women (Latino or otherwise) would take offense at the ad.

In retrospect, the culture of the company I worked for was one that was not as diverse as it could have been. Most of the employees were young, white males and females, with no Latinos and one African-American man. This composition of employees resulted in very little diversity and a shared commonality amongst the employees that cam about due to their relatively similar experiences. None of the employees could be said to have come from any other background than me, with many of them growing up in the same suburban surroundings as I had. Most of the employees had been hired by the company because they were not only good communicators, but they were also creative and reliable as well. One recent article espoused the same philosophy that our company seemed to use when they hired employees. The article states "marketer are hiring more talent and spending more money than ever to chase multicultural consumers, yet they are divided on how to reach them- and unsure they're getting good returns on their investments" (Bulik, 2008, p.1). The company that I worked for fit that mold.

The culture remained the same because the company did not know how to diversify. Oftentimes, it seemed as if management did not wish to fix what was not broken.

This company culture led to the fact that when a spec ad was completed for this one particular client, she took offense to it. To most of the employees, the ad was not offensive, in fact, many of the employees thought it was a pretty good ad that portrayed the key message in an effective manner. The employees were what they were, and did not totally understand why anyone would think any differently. Perhaps the situation could have been better handled if the employees had a deeper understanding not only of themselves but of other individuals as well. One article states "the key to change is first understanding what we are, and then taking steps toward what we are capable of becoming" (Rover, 2008, p. 390).