Diversity is Racist?

Maintaining a soulmate is a constant working progress.

Therefore, I want to give a shoutout to MixedMediaWatch (Hello!) by elaborating on something that I found on his profile.

He bookmarked a page entitled “It’s ‘racist’ to ask for more diversity in the ad industry?” The link took me to a blog post in which the author responds to a letter to the editor published in an issue of Advertising Age. In the letter, the Ad Age reader critiques the NYC Commission on Human Rights’ request for more racial diversity in the hiring practices of advertising agencies. He argues that their efforts are actually much more racist than the problem they are trying to correct. Some of his exact points:

“What the commission requests is much more racist in its core—as it will mean that, for example, a white copywriter or creative director with a better portfolio or more appropriate experience should be neglected in favor of a black candidate just because of a “minority quota.”"

"And how about the percentage of black students in Ivy League colleges? Or how about a “white-player quota” on NBA basketball teams?"

“By the way, do you ever wonder how many white vs. black candidates apply for each top agency position? Of course, when 90% or more are white, the end result would be quite obvious.”

The blog author's counterpoints are equally compelling. This post really forced me to broaden my thinking on the issue of advertising and minority representation. As much as targeted advertising concerns me, my vision has been narrow in that I failed to even consider the source itself – the advertising agency. It’s already difficult trying to enter into such a competitive job industry, but are the decisions on who gets hired based on equal opportunity, racism, or both? Is it possible that the uneven representation of minorities inside the advertising industry corresponds to the uneven representation of minorities in advertising itself? Is it too much of a stretch to argue that if non-Asian Pacific Americans are creating ads to this demographic, it would have an effect on their marketing and advertising strategies? Could it all connect?

In any case, this would be a promising topic to delve further into, say, a research project. Now, although the letter focused on the age-old battle of ‘black’ vs. ‘white,’ the results of the Commission’s campaign can have just as strong consequences on other minorities, such as, Asian Pacific Americans, and my own future aspirations.