“Diversity is being invited to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance.”
“Diversity is being invited to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance.”
Truer words have never been spoken than those by Verna Myers...
"Do you know Naati? Because if not, you're about to!" exclaimed Deepika Padukone (one of India’s top actors) as she built up the excitement to introduce the performance during the 95th Academy Awards. As the fast-paced song ‘Naatu Naatu’ started with its catchy lyrics, the crowd went wild, and my little girls jumped off our couch to dance and sing along! I took it all in, admiring the set design, costumes, Indian singers belting out the song and Indian dancers performing energetically. I cheered loudly at the end of the performance and later when the song won “Best Original Song,” a first ever for a song from an Indian movie!
I was thrilled that as dancers themselves, my little girls got to see Indians dancing in one of the most watched award shows! These types of opportunities have been very rare for Indians to date. The last time there was an Indian performance at the Academy Awards was before my girls were even born (about 15 years ago when Jai Ho won “Best Original Song”). It was amazing to see that the Academy was overcoming its stereotype of not recognizing minority talent…a dawn was upon us! Or so it would seem to the many who never learned the truth behind the facade…
Soon the truth prevailed…as my social media feed blew up with various Indian influencers, dancers and choreographers revealing that not a single person of Indian descent was asked to be a part of the dance or planning of the production. In fact, the two lead dancers were non-Indian but were made to look like the original dancers! When the original dancers from the RRR movie the song is from could not attend, instead of considering Indians already extensively trained in the folk-Indian dance style, the choreographers chose their own non-Indian dancers. Indians who tried to audition were not even given the chance. Sadly, a performance meant to display and honor a South Indian song instead felt disrespectful to so many of us with the way it was carried out. What could have been a total win for the Academy was instead a huge misstep and has offended a whole community of South Asians.
So many questions raced through my head about how this could happen:
How was not a single Indian person invited to be on the production or dance team to ensure authenticity of the production?
Was it naivety or just a blatant lack of caring about representation that the choreographers did not give classically trained Indian dancers the opportunity to audition and instead chose non-Indian dancers not trained in the folk-Indian dance style?
Did the choreographers really think it was OK and that they could fool the public into thinking the non-Indian dancers were the original Indian performers?
Given the Academy’s reputation for lacking representation, how do the producers not have checks in place for all aspects of the show?
Or did the Academy producers know about the details of the production and were fine with it?
Most importantly I wondered, can calling out these injustices and advocating for not just equity, but inclusion as well, help create a future for my girls... and the next generation, where they can be fully embraced?
If an organization/association wants to show that representation/diversity matters, then it must take due diligence to do it with respect and care in all aspects. Doing it inauthentically just alienates those an organization intends to honor. It is not OK to hide behind a false guise of representation. An organization must include the culture they aim to represent in order to get it right in all aspects and ultimately to be authentic and effective. Even those with good intentions can get it wrong if they do not execute with full integrity.
There are so many aspects to consider and nuances to understand when creating a product for or communicating to a specific minority group. As this example shows, it is crucial to ensure all aspects of creation feel authentic to be embraced by the target. When a company does this right, they will win the hearts of the target who will feel seen and understood…and will come back for more…a win-win for all!
If DEI is important to your organization, SEEK can help! SEEK employees are trained to deeply understand and connect with humans on an empathic level. We are partners who can support you to make sure your organization 'gets it right'.
We have had much experience with DEI-led initiatives across several clients. Below are a few examples where our work had profound impact on our clients’ historically underrepresented consumers:
We recently helped a wound-care company create a product for people of color that exhibits a compassion and deep understanding not shown by competitors. While the product addressed a basic need, it had been overlooked by the industry. This product has been successfully embraced by its target as shown by sales.
We did a study on maternal health for a healthcare company. Women of color, especially Black women are dying, trying to bring life into this world and the issue needs to be a priority in the medical community. We spoke to moms to learn about their holistic needs and concerns throughout the pregnancy process to help identify:
What is contributing to the high morbidity and mortality rates
How to best provide resources to support and educate mom and her community
Gaps between her desired hospital experience and her reality
We came away with some powerful insights that will be used to help create resources for moms and their support systems as well as feedback for area hospitals. We will continue to push this conversation forward and lead change.
If you have a DEI initiative in mind or if you would like to just start a conversation around DEI, please reach out to me at laxmi@seekcompany.com!