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Diversity: A Business Opportunity
The rewards of an inclusive workplace are far-reaching, and the diamond and jewelry world has made progress — but there’s still a long way to go.
Oct 15, 2019 5:29 AM
By Deborah Yonick
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RAPAPORT... Having a workforce that is more diverse not only makes good
business sense, it makes good economic sense. Companies with a more inclusive
employee base — i.e., a greater proportion of women and ethnically/culturally
diverse individuals — are more competitive in the global market, according to
research by management consulting firm McKinsey & Company. More diverse
companies not only make more money, they’re shown to attract top talent, be
more innovative, and retain more of their staff.
After examining over 1,000 companies in a dozen countries
for its January 2018 “Delivering Through Diversity” study, McKinsey found that
firms in the top quarter for gender and ethnic diversity were respectively 21%
and 33% more likely to see higher-than-average profits than those at the
bottom. This was especially true on the management level: Diversity in
executive teams had the biggest impact on financial performance.
While awareness of the correlation between profits and
inclusiveness is growing, McKinsey says progress is slow. Companies in all
industries, including diamonds and fine jewelry, are grappling with how to
increase representation of diverse talent, gain an understanding of where
diversity matters most in their businesses, and create an inclusive
organizational culture to reap the benefits.
Women in focus
The diamond and jewelry industry has much work to do on this
front.
“Based on traditions, trust and handshakes, both the diamond
and jewelry industries are sectors predominantly governed by mainly white men,
and both were heavily saturated with family businesses,” says Victoria McKay,
founder and managing director of the UK-based Women’s Jewellery Network (WJN).
“It’s unsurprising that the trade lags behind more forward-thinking sectors,
such as fin-tech, that do not have this heritage of male-dominated power and
privilege.”
Most organizations, she continues, are focusing on gender as
the “easiest” mountain to climb with regard to inclusion. “The male
representation in directorate positions the world over remains significant, and
even where there are more women, there is a lack of intersectionality. It is
almost impossible to find representation of other protected characteristics
such as race or disability.”
That said, she sees progress. Social media has a powerful
part to play, she believes, as do the changing demographic and generational
shifts across the globe.
Jewelry industry legal consultant Cecilia Gardner has
observed a “heightened focus” on gender equality, promotion of diversity, and
protection of vulnerable groups when it comes to standard-setting. Gardner, who
works with the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) in that field, also lauds
the attention the US State Department devoted to women’s empowerment in the
mineral and jewelry supply chain at a recent conference
Indeed, laws are becoming more forward-leaning, according to
Tiffany Stevens, CEO and president of the Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC).
California and New York, where a lot of US jewelry business occurs, are leading
the way with laws that include requiring greater female representation on
public company boards, generous parental leave, sexual harassment training, and
non-discrimination against natural hair (which particularly affects black
employees). She recommends that businesses consult with an employment attorney
who is well versed in the local laws. “Suss out one before there’s a problem,”
she advises.
Gardner believes the greater focus on diversity in
standard-setting will have a positive impact. In particular, she reports, the Women’s
Jewelry Association (WJA) is using the results of its recent Gender Equality
Project survey — which focused on gender factors in workplace practices — to
develop training and mentorship initiatives that address these issues.
Pushing them out?
McKay cautions against approaching diversity as a
box-ticking exercise. “Companies may be actively trying to recruit more women
to their senior team, but continue to use the same media. Their adverts may
contain the same unconscious bias, and their policies are inflexible and
prohibit the selection of swathes of women who also have childcare
responsibilities to consider when seeking employment.”
And it’s not just about numbers, she continues. “I’ve been
in many boardrooms across the diamond industry where not only have I been the
only woman, I have also been made to feel unwelcome, or that my views were not
being taken seriously because of my gender.”
She acknowledges that it can be difficult to stay and fight
the good fight. Independent female entrepreneurship is on the rise, especially
within a younger demographic. On the one hand, she says, “this is brilliant,
but if we’re seeing women leave corporate to forge their own paths, that means
there is an even shallower pool of female leaders to choose from.”
Many of the industry’s women entrepreneurs, including
goldsmiths and designers, are the thought leaders driving the responsible
sourcing movement, adds Gardner. People like designer Dana Bronfman, blogger
and Anza Gems president Monica Stephenson, and Anna Bario, owner of sustainable
jewelry brand Bario Neal, “are pulling others along with them,” she cheers.
Conversely, the trade runs myriad risks if it does not
improve diversity, warns McKay, “from alienating women and deterring them from
careers in jewelry, to limiting product sales through lack of insights in
marketing and promotion of goods. Women have a lot of value to add, and we
remain the largest consumers of jewelry in every market you care to choose.”
‘I don’t see color’
Of course, representation in the business environment is
about more than just gender. Employee diversity encompasses race, ethnicity,
religious beliefs, educational and socioeconomic background, sexual
orientation, culture, and disabilities as well.
“When you talk about inclusion, it can be a challenging
subject,” says Nyasha Pitt, a London-based marketing and branding expert as
well as WJN’s communications director. “People feel attacked. I often hear: ‘I
don’t see gender or color. I give the job to the best person.’”
As a leading black woman in the diamond and jewelry
industry, she says the best person for the job is the one who brings the
diversity the organization needs to be successful. Having a range of
perspectives, cultures and backgrounds is a key driver of innovation, she
maintains, and it helps create organizations that are effective and resilient.
In her own experience, such diversity has been hard to find.
“I’ve often felt underrepresented; that goes for the boardroom all the way
through to the way products are marketed,” she relates. “Ironically, as I
entered the trade in a directorial role in a jewelry institution (the
Birmingham Assay Office), I became a visible influencer and role model almost
instantly. So I often had black jewelers...approach me because they were so
pleased to see someone like them.... They didn’t feel intimidated, or that
they’d be rejected or dismissed out of hand.”
The position she’s in is a “very curious” one, she reflects.
“As an influencer, I appear in trade magazines often — either because I am
contributing or I’ve been photographed at industry events. Often I am the token
black person by default. I think more people should feel uncomfortable about
that fact.”
Culture- and religion-driven nuances can prove challenging
as well in terms of shifting the diversity dial, says McKay. For instance, “as
a woman working in the diamond industry, I came to learn that a Jewish man,
dependent on his level of faith, may or may not shake my hand, or may or may
not close the door for a meeting. And I have learned to respect that this isn’t
about me being a woman — it’s about his faith and beliefs. As a religious
person, [just] his being there, in my presence, speaks volumes for his
confidence in our business.... Therefore, in my mind, I must be the global
citizen I believe myself to be, and respect his right of choice. I’d also point
out that I know the context runs the same man-to-woman as woman-to-man” — that
is, religious Jewish women often observe the same restrictions vis-à-vis men.
“To create a level playing field for everyone, we need to
find balance,” McKay stresses. “It’s okay to see each other’s differences. What
isn’t acceptable is to unfairly prejudice anyone based on their nuances.”
LGBTQ outreach
Nearly two-thirds of millennials believe organizations are
more innovative when they have a culture of inclusion, according to the 2018
Deloitte Millennial Survey. In fact, the 2016 edition of the study found that
nearly half looked for diversity when sizing up employers. Pitt adds that 40%
of Gen Z-ers consider themselves global citizens, not part of a given race or
place.
Millennials also have an evolved opinion on same-sex
marriage, which has largely been a lost opportunity for jewelers. There’s been
little outreach since the 2015 passage of marriage equality in the US, say
Matthew Perosi and George Blair IV, founders of the Jewelers Equality Alliance.
“We’ve seen two same-sex couples featured in mainstream
jewelry ads: Tiffany in 2015 and Zales in 2016,” says Perosi. “At the
time, it was hip to try and capture the early market. Both ads featured thin,
white people, but bonus points for having their models in proximity to each
other, and touching.”
Since then, both the Diamond Producers Association (DPA) and
De Beers’ Forevermark brand have run ads with LGBTQ relationships in them.
However, Blair and Perosi point to flaws. In Forevermark’s “I Take You, Until
Forever” clip, “there is a scene with a lesbian couple where they are presented
as mothers instead of portrayed as tender couples, like everyone else in that
video,” says Perosi, suggesting that this was “a safe way of presenting a
same-sex relationship without it being obvious.” And the DPA’s “Real Is Rare”
ad featuring a lesbian couple “wasn’t particularly viral or promoted.”
In general, he and Blair have not seen much courting
from the trade. “When we launched the Jewelers Equality Alliance, we
received pats on the back for being so forward,” recalls Perosi. “But when we
offered training for proper pronoun usage and inclusiveness, we received
pushback from many jewelers that felt they did not need training.”
They describe the general vibe as “If I ignore it, it’ll go
away,” or “It’s not my problem,” or worse yet, “If I advertise same-sex
couples, it will scare away my regular customers.” They cite homophobia as one
of the challenges, adding that it tends to go hand-in-hand with misogyny,
classism and racism. “The jewelry community is not intersectional,” says
Blair. “It barely acknowledges that women buy their own items.”
Same-sex male couples typically prefer to buy their rings
online, according to Perosi, “instead of dealing with the potential shame that
might be cast upon them when they walk into a jewelry store that surrounds them
with large diamonds and semi-mount rings.” It’s an experience he and Blair can
confirm from their own relationships.
“Jewelers tell us with regard to same-sex marriage that they
never turn away a customer looking to buy engagement or wedding rings. Yet they
don’t comprehend that the appearance of their store portrays traditional
marriage values and appeals to women while shunning men,” Perosi
comments. “Most jewelry stores have a paltry selection of men’s jewelry
and never advertise to male customers, yet expect men will walk into their
store when they’re ready to buy wedding rings.”
Plenty to improve
The WJN’s Pitt acknowledges that the world is changing:
Marriage rates are down, relationship dynamics are shifting, and jewelry is not
an imperative. When it comes to attracting and keeping customers, she says,
communication is key. “We need to be willing to have uncomfortable
conversations, to be forgiving, to recognize that none of us are perfect or
have all the answers.”
Practically speaking, she continues, businesses need to
recognize “that having one senior person of color isn’t enough. Implementing
blind recruitment processes and looking at where jobs are advertised are some
basic steps which would open up senior appointments to a broader pool of
talent.”
In turn, a more diverse staff can provide fresh ideas that
can help increase inclusion. “The very best person to advise on what it’s like
to be a person of color is a person of color, so if you have access to that
insight, use it,” she urges.
On the retail level, Perosi suggests that “ads for wedding
jewelry should no longer include both bride and groom, [but] one or the other
so customers can see what they want to see. Additionally, ads should show
brides and grooms in more diverse wedding-day clothing.”
The important thing is to move forward. “This isn’t about
attacking the way it has always been done,” says Pitt. “It’s about
understanding that this is how we need to do it now if we want to attract young
people of broad backgrounds to look at jewelry as viable.”
This article was first published in the October issue of Rapaport Magazine.
Image: Matthew Perosi (left) and George Blair.
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Tags:
Anna Bario, ANZA Gems, Bario Neal, Cecilia Gardner, Dana Bronfman, De Beers, Deborah Yonick, Diamond Producers Association, diversity, Dpa, Forevermark, George Blair IV, Jewelers Equality Alliance , Jewelers Vigilance Committee, JVC, Matthew Perosi, McKinsey & Company, Monica Stephenson, Nyasha Pitt, Rapaport News, Real is Rare, Responsible Jewellery Council, RJC, Tiffany, Tiffany Stevens, Victoria McKay, wja, WJN, Women’s Jewellery Network, Women’s Jewelry Association, zales
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