Diversity, Equality & Inclusion

Changing the Narrative

Diversity, equality and inclusion (DE&I) are some of the most trending and important topics in the media entertainment industry. But it’s far from just box-ticking and being seen to be doing the right thing. It is about a collective conversation – and the actions that follow, meaning that representation of all members of society across content, across platforms, becomes the norm. Embracing diversity means some are leading through example, where as some entertainment brands, ip and creators want to try and make a difference but are unsure how to go about it. Some media news outlets go out of their way to decry and even mock anything they perceive as ‘too PC’ or use the term ‘woke’ as a pejorative. Slowly but surely, however, some are leading the way to change....

Here, as well as some of the interesting ways in which the industry is changing, below, we are given a unique and fascinating insight into the life of one young woman, who has written exclusively for Total Licensing on her work as a disability consultant, inspired by her own life experiences.

My name is Blossom, and I am a 21-year-old disabled writer, artist, and consultant, as well as the founder of Tea with HB. I grew up thinking I wouldn’t make it to my twenties. This is partly because I was a 10-year-old in such extreme pain, I couldn’t imagine getting through another month let alone a decade but it is also because I hadn’t seen an adult like me. There are very few disabled people in the media, and practically zero invisibly disabled people, so no wonder I was terrified of my future. This is why I created Tea with HB, to change attitudes towards disability, and make sure no disabled person had to feelas isolated and scared as I was. I make educational infographics, podcasts, videos, and blog posts, and in doing so I created the community I never had growing up. Tea with HB is a safe space for non-disabled, disabled, chronically ill, and neurodivergent people across the globe. It’s for anyone who dreams of a better world. Many of us never saw ourselves in the characters of our storybooks, we weren’t the protagonist of our favourite television shows. Some of us had to watch as a non-disabled actor ‘put on’ our disability, whilst for others, we were shamed every time we watched a film - reminded of how society sees us: bitter, evil, hopeless. You see, there are very few villains that are not disabled, and very few heroes who are. What does that tell disabled children? How does that make non-disabled children feel about us? I didn’t know ambulatory wheelchair users existed until I became one. I didn’t know any other students who were excluded like I was. I remember how excited I was when I read RJ Palacio’s ‘Wonder’- another kid who was homeschooled, another kid who was treated differently. I also remember how disappointed I felt that the main character of the Netflix show ‘Never Have I Ever’ was in a wheelchair for five minutes and then was magically cured by a hot boy. This is why good representation, not just any representation, is so necessary. For some disabled children, good representation is the difference between being able to explain their life and what is happening to their body, and being trapped in a state of confusion and isolation. It’s the difference between finding a diagnosis and treatment in a year or waiting a decade. For non-disabled children, it could be the difference between being terrified of disability, or making friends with a disabled child. Over 15% of the world’s population are disabled, yet only 3.1% of characters on-screen have a disability. In children’s television representation is even worse - less than 1%. So, when Zodiak Kids & Family approached me to work on incorporating disabled characters into their children’s television shows, I was ecstatic. I am now working every day to give children the authentic disability representation that I never had. There has been a positive change in content creation since I was a child. Something that I still find incredulous is that Instagram only introduced auto-captioning this year for live videos and stories. Captions are not only useful for d/Deaf and hard of hearing folk, but anyone with sensory issues, like neurodivergent people, and also people with chronic migraine, or anyone who wants to watch something at night without waking their partner!

“Feature us and our stories because we are interesting people, not because we will make you look like you are being inclusive.”

“All children, no matter their ethnicity, condition or level of ability, deserve the chance to participate in the magical world of play...”

Rubies

Blossom Gottlieb www.TeawithHB.com It also improves Search Engine Optimisation for brands and content creators alike! It is often forgotten that when you design for disabled people, you improve things for everyone. So, although this is a very late accessibility feature, and it’s not even available in every country or language, it does mean things are slowly becoming more accessible. On a wider stage, we’ve seen improvements in representation with Mattel’s ‘Fashionista’ Barbie range, including dolls with hearing aids and dolls who use wheelchairs! There has also been much more awareness raised for how disabled people are treated within the entertainment industry - from Jack Thorne’s MacTaggart lecture, to Triple C’s fantastic work in making sure disabled people are given the chance to tell their own stories. Creators and brand owners need to hire disabled people. The reason my role as a disability consultant is so important is because you can’t authentically represent something you haven’t experienced, but you can use my resources and network at Tea with HB to understand those experiences. Feature us and our stories because we are interesting people, not because our mobility aid will make you look like you are being inclusive. Performative representation is not helpful to anyone. Only 1% of the population use a wheelchair, and 80% of disabled people have invisible disabilities, but the general public would not know that because this is not portrayed in the media. When so much disability representation in the media is a paralysed person in a wheelchair, chronically ill people in real life are given dirty looks or yelled at when they use a wheelchair. Chronically ill children are accused of ‘faking it’ or not being ‘ill enough’ to use a mobility aid. As it is, chronically ill people are likely to fall through the cracks of every system, no financial support, no appropriate healthcare, no understanding or recognition in the education system, or the workplace. There are still lots of people who think the word ‘disabled’ is a negative term that only applies to wheelchair users. This is a direct result of lack of representation, and highlights why authentic representation is so crucial for both disabled and non-disabled people. It’s why we need disability consultants on every project for successful diversity and inclusion!

Passionate people such as Blossom, and companies around the globe, like Rubies, are striving to make the world a better place, where everyone can express themselves equally and see themselves represented - not just as a box ticked.

All children, no matter their ethnicity, condition or level of ability, deserve the chance to participate in the magical world of play. Rubies have been at the forefront in the industry for championed diversity and inclusion for years. It’s fundamental to their business ethos to always be forward thinking through important changes with gender neutral packaging and terminology, investing in photography to have a deeper library of images and working with new modelling agencies to expand model selection. One recent addition to Rubies impressive portfolio has been the release of a brand-new range of adaptive costumes, specifically designed for children with limited mobility. The costumes are unique due to a variety of features to ensure they are optimised for ease of wear, accessibility and fitting. These features include hook and

eye closures, discrete flaps for any abdominal tubes and more. To ensure the collection provided comfort and inclusivity with the key demographic, the costumes were tried and tested on a select focus group of participants in last year’s Superhero Series Powered by Marvel, an annual event that Rubies sponsor, with positive feedback across the board on the designs and features. The new range launched this year with a choice of characters from Marvel, DC and Star Wars that are instantly recognisable and highly inspiring to children. Rubies believes that representation matters and are continuously working towards creating a space where everyone feels seen. Children and adults of all ethnicities and abilities can transform into their favourite characters and see themselves represented instore on packaging, in marketing and social media as well. LEGO is another front-runner in the foray into inclusive support and encouraging everyone to embrace their differences. Matthew Ashton, Vice President of Design at the LEGO Group, explained why he designed the Everyone is Awesome LEGO set. “The starting point for this was my feeling that we, as a society, could be doing more to show support for each other and appreciate our differences. Being LGBTQIA+ myself, I knew I needed to step up to the plate and make a real statement about love and inclusivity, and generally spread some LEGO love to everybody who needs it. Children are our role models and they welcome everyone, no matter their background. Something we should all be aspiring to. “I was constantly told by different adults around me what I should and shouldn’t play with, that I needed to behave like a ‘real boy’ and to toughen up. I was dissuaded from doing the things that came most naturally to me. I think many of the adults around me were doing all of this to try to protect me from getting bullied, but I was actually fine with all the kids at school. All of that has had an impact on me in many ways; it was really exhausting and kicked my confidence. “So, I think by taking small steps and having products like “Everyone is Awesome” out there and people representing the LGBTQIA+ community, it allows everybody to see that things do get better over time and there is a place for everybody. That’s what’s been so important to me in getting this set out with a message that we can be really proud of.” Another company who could be regarded as a pioneer in the D&I movement is Sesame Workshop, who is building on Coming Together, an ongoing initiative to nurture children’s positive and healthy race, ethnic, and cultural identities and sense of belonging, with a new four-episode series called Tamir on the Street. Available exclusively on Sesame Street’s YouTube channel, the series stars Sesame Street character eight-year-old Tamir as he creates his very own YouTubestyle show where he learns more about the friends and neighbors in his community by asking big questions. In the first episode, when Tamir asks, “What does it mean to believe in yourself?” his Sesame Street friends Cookie Monster, Ji-Young, and Charlie show him the many different ways to build confidence and self-assurance, from practicing a challenging skill to expressing yourself in your own unique manner. Future episodes, released monthly, will explore other child-centered questions from “What are our friends’ family traditions?” to “How can we be a good friend?” These topics are part of the Coming Together education framework addressing self-worth, social awareness and empathy, and family traditions and history. “Children are naturally curious about one another and how they are the same and different from each other. They ask a lot of questions,” said Akimi Gibson, VP and Education Publisher, Sesame Workshop. “Tamir on the Street models the power of asking and following your own questions, and helps parents guide their child to be smarter, stronger, and kinder. Coming Together provides parents with insights to the tough questions children may have about race, ethnicity, and culture.” As Blossom iterates earlier in this article, people don’t just want to see themselves represented because of their disability, their race, their sexuality. They want the characters on screen to be as well-rounded as they are. Mattel, makers of Barbie, recently unveiled an inclusive range of dolls - including one with hearing aids and the first Ken with the skin condition vitiligo. Mattel commented it wants chil-

“I was constantly told by different adults around me what I should and shouldn’t play with.”

LEGOs Matthew Ashton

“I am excited to see what the future holds once greater diversity and inclusion is achieved.”

British Retail Consortium dren to “see themselves reflected” in the Barbie dolls and to encourage play with toys that don’t resemble them to help them ‘understand and celebrate the importance of inclusion. This is not just about a child with a hearing aid playing with a doll which has a hearing aid – as important as that is. It is for his or her friends to play with the doll as well, to grasp from an early age that everyone is different and that everyone has different strengths. In positive news there are many examples of brand owners and creators, manufacturers and licensees, taking small, or big steps, toward making a difference At Tonies, the company comments: “We’ve changed up our Creative-Tonies so that when you buy a Toniebox Starter Set from our website you’re able to select a Creative-Tonie in one of three different skin colours. And that’s not all, with the help of different costumes, the Creative-Tonies make it possible to discover new characters and we hope that every child will find a Creative-Tonie they can identify with. “Additionally, we’ve been carefully selecting our content, relaunching Tonies with more inclusive language and removing ones that don’t quite meet our standards. “We’ve been working with a network of writers, voice-over artists, experts and contributors from all different backgrounds to make sure we’re as inclusive and welcoming as can be. “But wait, there’s more! We’re thrilled that we get to partner with some brilliant people like Mermaids, BLM Licensing and Deilight who are doing some impressive work in underrepresented communities. They’re generously sharing all their know-how with us and together we’re making our stories – and our Tonies – better and better.” “We’ve been working hard on developing new Tonies that aim to educate, inspire and entertain little ones covering important topics from our LGBTQ+, non-White and other marginalised communities and we plan to make all our Tonies more inclusive to reflect our diverse and brilliant society. We know we’ve got more work to do but we’ve got big plans and together with our partners, independent experts and people who know their stuff we’re going to continue making sure we’re always getting better.” Recently, 55 leading retailers in the UK have signed up to a Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) charter led by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and pledged to take decisive action to improve diversity practices across the retail industry. Businesses will focus on oversight, recruitment, progression, reporting, inclusivity and responsibility. Signatories pledge to: • Appoint Diversity and Inclusion Executives • Improve recruitment practices to remove bias • Support career opportunity and progression for all • Collect and contribute data on diversity • Create a respectful and inclusive work environment • Ensure all line managers are responsible for supporting equity in the workplace The charter comes at a pivotal moment, with a report launched by the BRC, The MBS Group and PwC showing more work is needed to create a fully diverse and equitable retail industry. The report looks closely at different areas of diversity, including gender, race and ethnicity, LGBTQ+, disability, social mobility and age. By beginning to track progress in these areas, as well as highlighting examples of good practice, the report aims to play a part in driving positive change in the sector. Helen Dickinson OBE, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “Retail revolves around the customer, and to serve the needs of a diverse country, we need a diversity of ideas, experiences and backgrounds across our businesses. Five years ago, the BRC set out a vision for Better Jobs and aspired for retail to be a Diversity and Inclusion leader. The data collected by PwC and The MBS Group in our Diversity and Inclusion in retail report shows there is so much more to be done if we are to reach this goal. “Nonetheless, I am confident about the road ahead. The first step to achieving change is acknowledgement and understanding of where the challenges lie. Now, we must act. I am proud to see so many retailers pledge to better their businesses and create equal opportunities for all and I am excited to see what the future holds once greater diversity and inclusion is achieved.” Like the strong movement towards sustainability in the licensing industry, none of this need be about ‘naming and shaming’ those who are seen not to be making any effort towards changing the conversation; rather, bringing stories and characters to life from all aspects of society and celebrating our differences.