Considering Change: Diversity Festivals

There’s a debate in the diversity practices community. It’s not the only one but it is especially salient in challenging times. It has to do with cultural diversity events.

Are diversity events worth the resources? 

Whether it’s a corporate “diversity day” or a full-fledged community festival, do they have the desired effect of helping people value differences and reduce bias? 

Some say, “Do it!  Engage people with the fun stuff.  Music, food and being together create a buzz.  People will come to something that is not threatening.  Bringing people together is the first step in building understanding.”   

Others say, “Don’t go there!  Those who attend may be entertained, but scarce resources should be used for substantive change efforts.  Festivals let people pretend they’ve met diversity goals and then when the party’s over, it’s back to business as usual.  Equity and bias reduction  come from deeper commitment over time.” 

What do you think?

Getting to Yes/AND...

The answer is not either/or.  Consider this example:

Several years ago, the board of a new, community diversity organization grappled with just this debate.  Should it take on a community event before there was agreement on strategy and purpose?  Without consistent resources? Or would a community event contribute to long range success?

Divided, the board approved the community event – a diversity festival, the kind with traditional music and dancing, food and dress.  Approval was contingent: the group advocating the event had to do the work and raise the money. 

The first two years were iffy.  Attendance was nominal; competition for dollars between the festival and the organization itself created challenges.  Yet the organizing group put processes in place and the festival grew. 

At the same time, the parent organization was galvanized by a funding crisis, related in no small part to its decision.  It began to shape itself more purposefully with new leadership and strategic planning that integrated the festival into a larger picture.

This festival is now a successful annual celebration. It drew national recognition and a prestigious award in 2010.  The parent organization, stabilized with leadership, structure and funding (for now, at least), has begun to consider more substantive issues like poverty, immigration and a community human relations commission.

Can we conclude cause and effect?  No. 

Can we conclude tangible value from cultural diversity events? Yes – at least in this case. 

Can we conclude bias reduction?  No – measures of that can be tricky.  Here, they are not even being considered. 

Yet music, arts, food and traditional practices can create uniquely intimate, shared experiences and feelings. There are reasons to think that this type of event, done properly, can make a contribution to larger diversity goals.  Here are some of those reasons, based in social science research. 

• Personal contact with people in a perceived “outgroup” can reduce bias, especially when that contact happens between people of equal status, shared goals and no competition, and where this contact is sanctioned.  Psychologist Gordon Allport first put forth these ideas in the 1950s. They have gained considerable research support over time.  Done properly, cultural events and festivals can increase meaningful contact between people of different cultural groups.

• Bias is powerfully influenced by the social environment. Festivals and events can affect a social environment; they are settings where stereotypic beliefs are out of place, where empathy and seeing others’ perspectives is encouraged and where people feel good about themselves – all of which have been shown to mediate stereotypes and change beliefs about others’ behavior.

• When people from opposing groups find out that they share common affiliations or interests, even something as ephemeral as participating in a diversity event, similarities can begin to outweigh differences. In other words, prejudice is reduced when “us” and “them” become “we”.  To the extent that these cultural events promote a cross-categorization or shared identity, they can begin to reduce bias.

On its own, a one-time or short-term event cannot eradicate bias in any individual or institution.  One can argue that those who most need the exposure are the least likely to attend.  Both of these statements are true.  That’s why the AND. 

Festivals can work. An organization-wide “kick-off” celebration might be a very effective way to share information about your company’s plans for building inclusion; to generate enthusiasm, gain employee buy-in and build engagement.  Participation in a company or community event can augment what you are able to do on your own; it can build connections, encourage multiple social identities and create a sense of belonging that transcends boundaries.

AND

To achieve goals of bias reduction and full inclusion, these efforts must be strategic and accountable.  They must be part of a larger plan and a long-term commitment; they must have an impact outside of themselves. They must also have clarity about both desired outcomes and the extent to which those outcomes are achieved.

For Organizers

Here are some questions that may help you determine whether a diversity event could successfully contribute to a cultural change process for your company or community:

1.    Are there clear and agreed-upon objectives for this event?

2.    How have you fully integrated these objectives and positioned this event in the larger context of your institution’s strategic diversity goals?

3.    Are there enough people with enough time, energy and material resources to bring the project from planning to execution?  Is their collective passion unwavering?

4.    Is there cultural, skill set and network diversity within this organizing group?

5.    How have functions been delineated, assigned and matched to skill sets and interests?

6.    Has a time line been set?  Is this time line realistic and achievable?

7.    How will you involve different people and groups to ensure authenticity, representation and respectful participation?  Who’s missing?

8.    How will you reach communities and cultural groups that have no representation or contacts on the committee or in your organization?

9.    How will you hold organizers and participants accountable?

10.    How will you measure success and ensure continual improvement?  

The fun stuff – diversity events and festivals – has a place in effective change efforts  AND investments in those events must be leveraged to achieve results.  To create positive and lasting cultural change, your diversity event must be part of a strategy that brings people into contact for the long term, shapes multiple and shared social identities, reduces bias and builds inclusion in ways that, in turn, benefit your endeavor over the long run.

Be The Change
May-June 2010