-> Talking about diversity with humor
-> Why humor disarms the most tense situations
-> Why companies don’t invest more in diversity
Arwa has no shortage of humor, and so much the better, for it’s the weapon she’s chosen to get her message across: the need for diversity in business. The young woman is a writer and columnist for The Guardian. She made a name for herself in 2016 by creating Rent-A-Minority, an obviously humorous site poking fun at companies that make tokens out of minorities. Lines like “We’ve got a minority for every occasion,” or “Rent-A-Minority is a revolutionary new service designed for those ‘oh-shit’ moments when you realize your party, panel or conference is made up entirely of white men.” Within a week of launch, the site had received 90,000 hits. Media from around the world also took an interest.
The Rent-A-Minority site was launched in 2016, has there been a change in people’s perception since #metoo?
Arwa: Not really. I haven’t seen any change since #metoo, but that was in 2016 and I would have expected society to have evolved in the last 2 years and the site to be less relevant. But it’s become even more relevant. I’m still talking about the same issues.
#metoo has brought many excellent things, but also the kind of comments from men, for example “Oh now I can’t even hug a woman in the office”. This is obviously not true at all, it’s frustrating that some people’s common sense has completely taken the edge.
You use a lot of humor to get your message across. Is it an effective weapon?
Arwa: The situation of minorities in the workplace was something that made me very angry. In that kind of situation, you either stay angry or you try to do something about it, and humor allows me to do that. There’s not a lot of humor around diversity, and I think a lot of people have found it refreshingly different. It’s a good way of breaking the ice on what could be a heavy subject.
We all know that when it comes to diversity, you have to set clear objectives and make them public. Why do so few companies do this?
Arwa: Because they’re not doing a good job! They’re afraid, of course! Companies focus on numbers: “Let’s have xx numbers of women”, or “We want xx numbers of diversity”. You have to be willing to change your culture in depth, otherwise the people you attract won’t stay.
What would be the number one action that would have the greatest impact among mentoring, role models and sponsorship?
Arwa: First of all, we shouldn’t have to choose just one action, because it’s by implementing a set of actions that we succeed in achieving a result. If I really had to pick just one, I’d choose to change the way we approach diversity. Make sure everyone is on board with the fact that diversity is good for business. That way, it won’t feel like an obligation, but a common goal to achieve.
