BOLD Members Learn About The Importance Of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion From Dr. Maria Elena Villar and Dr. Rokeshia Renne Ashley
This Tuesday, February 16th, BOLD was joined by Dr. Maria Elena Villar, Co-chair of the CARTA Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force and associate professor of the department of communications and Dr. Rokeshia Rennne Ashley, member of the CARTA DEI Task Force and assistant professor, to talk about their research and the importance of diversity and inclusion. Members learned about the fundamentals of this topic , which is not only significant to BOLD but to the university as a whole. As a university recognized for its diverse student body, it is crucial for students to understand what it means to be inclusive of all.
Dr. Villar kicked off the meeting by introducing students to her community-based participatory research projects. When talking about what community-based participatory research is, she said “It is partnering with people in the community to collaborate and learn about the topic you are researching—it is not conducting research on people but rather doing research with people,”. Dr. Villar worked with the Hispanic and Haitian communities to reduce the stigma of seeking mental health services by creating stories based on real-life scenarios that these communities can understand and relate to. She worked alongside people in those communities to understand the ways in which they communicate to put out effective and relatable messages.
“In advertising, you do focus groups, but with this research, nothing compares to actually working with the community and getting feedback from them. But to do that, you need to earn their trust so they feel comfortable to tell you the truth,” said Dr. Villar. She also informed members of the research she conducted with community members about the prevention of workplace exploitation of children in Colombia. To teach adults about ways to intervene, Dr. Villar worked with a game developer to create a board game centered around real-life scenarios. “Nothing replaces working with your target audience coming from a place of equality and wanting to listen and learn,” concluded Dr. Villar.
The meeting was then followed by Dr. Rokeisha Renne Ashley who talked to students about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and what it means. She explained how unfortunately most implementations of DEI by companies and organizations are not effective but rather performative. “Typically most organizations are responsive and reactive, instead of proactive, in the engagement of DEI,” said Dr. Ashley. This is particularly relevant in the current advertising space considering that many consumers are making the active decision to not support companies who use performative activism as a marketing strategy.
Dr. Ashley also introduced her research in the implementation of DEI in healthcare for black communities. “When I was in Missouri and had my daughter I had a great medical team, I had an OB-GYN, two midwives, and a doula but I was still at risk of dying because it is documented that black women are four times more likely to die than white women who are giving birth.” Dr. Ashley explained how the history of mistreatment of black people in healthcare has led to a mistrust embedded in the way they communicate with healthcare providers. She has also done research on how black women are impacted by limiting and damaging beauty standards in the media. These beauty standards have caused many black women to turn to black-market body modifications, one of them being skin bleaching which also affects black girls. To help fight this issue and educate the community, Dr. Ashley wrote a children’s book called Sunflower Child. “I developed this book to help young black and brown girls to understand that they’re sunflowers and that instead of staying inside they should be outside and playing in the sun while practicing sun safety and understanding that they need the sun to grow and that their melanin is an advantage and it makes them beautiful.”
Connect with Dr. Villar and Dr. Ashley!
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Written by: Alejandra Chahine, Director of Public Relations