Making Connections
Innoversity Summit promotes diversity in the mediaVisible minorities are coming to Canada in unprecedented waves. NOREEN FAROOQUI |
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 [ 2006-02-08 ] |
Suya Lee recently won the Innoversity Creative Summit creative pitch competition for a reality show TV series with Life Network.
A March 2005 Statistics Canada report indicates that 20% of the population will identify themselves as visible minority persons in 2017. One way of reflecting the changing demographics is through the media, so that diverse individuals are able to have input in presenting issues that are relevant to their communities.
Hamlin Grange is co-founder of DiversiPro, an organization that works with companies to help with the transition of developing a diverse workplace. He has worked as a journalist for 25 years and is past president of the Canadian Black Journalists Association, and co-founder of the Innoversity Creativity Summit, an international forum based in Toronto that promotes diversity in the media.
Grange says that in order for Canada to succeed in the global marketplace, employers have to recognize the talents of visible minorities.
The Innoversity Creative Summit is an opportunity for media and communications people from all over the world to gather and discuss the challenges and successes of creating a diverse workforce in media. Part of the Summit includes opportunities for minorities to participate in competitions and get contracts with broadcasters.
REALITY SHOW
Suya Lee recently won the Innoversity Creative Summit creative pitch competition for a television series with Life Network at Alliance Atlantis. Her series is a reality show that looks at five English as a Second Language students who have come to Canada to study, and it follows them through their lives in Toronto.
Lee is a Korean-born Canadian who has been working in various forms of media since 1983. She says the tide has been changing for visible minorities over the years and when she first started out, opportunities were scarce. As an actor, Lee says she had difficulties because of her race when she went to audition for shows.
"I was trying to get an audition for Stratford in the mid-'80s and I called the director/producer of this Shakespearean play I wanted to audition for. He told me the audition times and then asked my name. He said, 'Suya Lee? Is that Chinese? Sorry about this, but we're looking for an all-white cast.'"
In mainstream theatre, Lee was relegated to cultural plays where she would act as an Asian person. In television, Lee faced another challenge, as minority casting became part of quota fulfillment. "The first few years, when I was auditioning, I couldn't get anything -- they would hire the token black person. And then, they would start hiring the black person, the Asian person."
Lee says, alternative mediums opened doors for her, as she was recognized as an actor rather than as someone of colour.
"Sometimes [the Fringe Festival] would do mixed or colour-blind castings," Lee says. "I have to compliment a director named Conibar; she did multicultural casting for all her plays. We did Tartuf by Moliere, and I played the grandmother and the lead was a black person. It was completely multicultural, colour-blind casting."
Over the years, Lee became involved with cultural organizations such as the CanAsian Artists Group that encourages multiculturalism in theatre in Toronto.
The Summit , in its promotion of diversity, has provided Lee with opportunities she believes she would not have had otherwise.
"I've learned so much and talked to so many different people, just through my contacts at Innoversity," Lee says. "I feel extremely lucky to have won at the Innoversity Creative Summit because it's opened so many doors. Now they know who I am at Alliance Atlantis and they own the most channels on the dial."
Grange says organizations that recognize the business advantage of hiring a diverse workforce reflective of the community they serve set themselves apart as they take advantage of the skills immigrants bring to this country.
IMPETUS FROM THE TOP
He says that in order to integrate immigrants into the workforce so that they and businesses can better utilize their skills, and for diversity initiatives such as advertising, recruitment and retention of employees to work, the impetus has to be from the head of the organization.
"It starts with the leadership of the organization, at the very very top ... it's just not an issue around human resources, it's not just about hiring. It's a way of thinking and a way of doing business," he says.
One media organization that strives to be diversity friendly is the CBC. Its mission is to build a workforce that is reflective of the country it serves.
Rae Hull, senior director of network programming for CBC Television says because of limited opportunities, it will take time for visible minorities to move through various levels.
"When you've got an existing organization, it can take some time to ensure that there's the right level of diversity from entry-level employees all the way through to senior management, and in the case of the CBC, to the board of the CBC as well."
Grange says the opportunities for people of colour in media are limited to entry-level type work, despite workplace initiatives.
"In broadcast journalism, people of colour are relegated to more frontline work, as on-air personalities and researchers, and it will take time before they penetrate into higher levels of media agencies where real decisions are made," Grange says.
In order to facilitate the process of moving minority groups through the ranks, the CBC develops programs for diverse groups.
"We've created something called Exec in Residence, and one of the areas where we want to ensure that there is a level of diversity at the CBC is amongst those who make decisions about programming, who commission programs or who are involved in program development," Hull says. "With Exec in Residence one of the programming departments within the CBC has funding for a full year to hire someone who has senior programming skills and who comes from an under-represented group."
Marketing and communicating your organization on where you stand on diversity is an effective method of interesting new employees, Grange says.
"It comes down to not how this organization is viewed, not only by just the people who work within the company but by the people on the outside looking at the company. Is the public face of the company diversity friendly?"
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