Digital Marketing is a white-washed industry

Growing up in the 90s, I subscribed to and read a lot of magazines. It was also so exciting t see how the photographers and producers would playfully display fourteen designer shoes in a pool, or tell readers about the trendy new shades of eye shadow for summer. Beauty standards were written for the white audience, and "beauty" meant that fashion models were thin, hair straighteners were standard, and pictures of people in most photos were white.

While the beauty industry is its own racially-biased beast, starting with fashion and beauty magazines led me to subscribe to other publications and ultimately, to my career in the digital world of marketing.

In my digital marketing career, the pictures that companies select to use for marketing purposes has become more diverse, but it's incredibly interesting to hear the white people working in the marketing department work through what photos best represent the goals of a web page, email send, or a brochure.

While working for a food insecurity entity, there was access to photos taken of real families who were taking advantages of the national services, but we were advised to used families that "looked like Vermonters", and most fundraising emails feature white families. Why? White donors gave more when the ask was accompanied by pictures of white people. "Their neighbors", (since redlining affected all areas of America) somehow inspired more charity.

That's just one example of how marketing as an industry should fundamentally change. Marketing is a department that has long been misunderstood, forgotten and underfunded, but it is one of the most important teams of any business because marketing informs your customers about who you are and what you do. And WHO is on your marketing team can limit or unleash your company's potential.

At the Inbound Conference in Boston, MA a few years ago, Piera Gelardi spoke in a moving keynote about the increasing focus on inclusivity in stock imagery. Starting with the 67 Percent Project and culminating in a partnership with Getty Images to create the No Apologies project. Piera's company/project, Refinery 29, was working to create content that was inclusive on purpose to reach under represented audiences and create high quality accessible photography that was NOT cisgender white people.

Before listening about the work of Refinery 29, I attended an NTEN Conference in DC. I wish I remembered the presenter's name, but she was a graduate student with an astounding presentation: AI is racist.

Technology has been presenting racial bias for centuries. Photography started as an art form left up to the developer to tone the capture based on the subject. But when photography became commercialized and the toning and coloring practices became standardized, the exposure was optimized for lighter skin tones.

The reasons behind modern technological advancements being informed by racial bias stems from the founders of the technology themselves. For modern computing and AI issues, the industry is predominantly white men, which narrows the scope of testing and data collected from other groups before a product or program goes to market. Then its purchased, used, and the flaws in its incomplete logic are exposed. Some products don't get pulled or improved simply because enough white people buy them (again, just look at the beauty industry which is only now finally starting to develop products for women of color).

Racial bias in tech, in marketing, and in the professional world, continues if those working are predominantly white. Choices and campaigns will continue to show racial bias if management continues to be predominantly white.

So what's the takeaway...?

Hire a diverse and inclusive group of marketers. Of all of your employees, you should open your company and your brand to the experience and perceptions of more than just the majority white stakeholders. While most businesses can't compete with Nike and collaborate with Colin Kaepernick, any business can start the dialog and learn more about different demographics to expand business and better serve new and existing customers.

#marketingbias #hireinclusively