Summary
The world is evolving. By 2044 the U.S. will be a majority-minority population. Africa and India are projected to fuel the world’s population growth over the next 30 years. With demographics shifting under our feet, how will we generate accurate and relevant insight if the interpreters are not cultural natives to the new demographic mix. This presentation will explore strategies to create pipelines for the next, most diverse generation to have open pathways and onramps to the next chapter of research, insights, and innovation.
Key Insights
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A global marketing campaign failed due to interpreting consumer insights through a Western lens, missing culturally relevant meanings.
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Diversity at lower organizational levels is insufficient; diverse decision-makers are critical to avoid blind spots and costly mistakes.
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Product messaging focused on power resonated in Western markets but failed in religious or post-communist regions where choice was a better frame.
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Diverse leadership correlates with improved company earnings—every 10% increase in higher-level gender diversity can increase earnings by 8%.
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Diversity challenges extend beyond marketing and research into industries like AI and venture capital, where lack of diverse perspectives leads to missed opportunities.
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Fenty Beauty’s success exemplifies how diverse founders address unmet market needs ignored by less diverse incumbents.
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On ramps (entry opportunities) and broken rungs (career advancement barriers) limit diversity progression, especially for women and people of color.
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Voice and agency matter; having diverse people present is not enough if they lack the power or safe space to express authentic views.
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Organizations often underestimate the importance of diversifying research teams, not just participants, to deepen insight quality.
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Creating open dialogue environments and sponsoring diverse talent are crucial to overcoming implicit biases and enabling authentic contributions.
Notable Quotes
"We lacked the insight to interpret what we were seeing in ways that were culturally relevant in those particular markets."
"Our Western view of power worked well in the US and Canada but didn’t play well everywhere else."
"Diversity at the bottom without diversity at the top means narrowing perspective from the top down."
"For every 10 men promoted from entry to middle management, only 7.2 women are promoted—showing the broken rung problem."
"We constantly put the burden on women of color to navigate their voice instead of creating environments where everyone’s voice has value."
"Fenty Beauty launched 40 shades at once, filling a gap no major cosmetic brand had addressed before."
"If you’re recruiting for research projects, look critically at your job descriptions for embedded barriers to diverse candidates."
"We need more diversity at all levels because that’s where truly interesting perspectives and challenges come from."
"Diverse teams help you ask better questions about who might be missing from the table or the project."
"To avoid bias in teams, it’s easier to gravitate toward what’s comfortable, but we need voices that challenge us."
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