Intro [00:00:00] Welcome to the Taylor Ten, a fast paced, ten minute deep dive into the minds of those shaking up the marketing world, bringing you the sharpest insights, boldest ideas and break through trends driving the industry forward. So tune in, get inspired, and stay ahead.

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Bri Cameron [00:00:17] Hi, my name is Bri Cameron, chair of Taylor's Minority ERG. Welcome to The Taylor Ten. I'm here with my colleague and co-chair, Malin Curry, to share as much as we can in ten minutes about the importance of employee resource groups in agencies and how Taylor recently relaunched its minority ERG to better support the needs of its employees. Malin, how are you doing today?

Malin Curry [00:00:40] I'm doing good, Bri. Doing good.

Bri Cameron [00:00:42] Let's jump right in. I want to hear all about this new relaunch. We know ERGs and other DEI initiatives are under attack right now, so please tell me more about what we're doing here at Taylor.

Malin Curry [00:00:54] Yeah. So I think we can start with the basic question. What's our name? So we rebranded the minority ERG to the Minority Report. It's a nod to the early 2000thriller because we love a good classic film. Still, rather than predicting and shaping the future as they do in that film, we're really here to commit to a bold mission of fostering radical visibility and creating a safe and inclusive space for the emerging majority. And we really think that that's one thing that is so important, given all of the things that we're seeing within the current climate and in culture with so many organizations and corporations rolling back to be able to stand in the foray and say, hey, even though all this is going on, we are still here and going to be pushing forward with our minority.

Bri Cameron [00:01:40] I love that, I love the emerging majority phrase that you mentioned because I feel like once we start saying minority, that word can sometimes do a disservice for everything that comes with this community. So I love the emerging majority.

Malin Curry [00:01:57] And it's interesting because we use this term minority so freely. But what we know statistically is that black, Indigenous, and people of color are particularly becoming emerging majority very quickly. And so with that change of phrase, there comes this level of adjustment and this recognition of moving away from the term of minority and again, bringing more power and emphasis on the emerging majority.

Bri Cameron [00:02:22] So many different corporations and I touched on this at the beginning - they are rolling back their DEI initiatives. What motivated Taylor to reintroduce thisminority ERG and what we're really hoping to achieve with it this time around?

Malin Curry [00:02:37] The biggest thing that we want to do this time around is ensuring that we're a space that celebrates inclusion, but also ensuring that people know that we're here for action. We want to equip our members and our agency at large with the tools and skills needed to be able to go out and impact change on the work that we do, whether that means providing counsel for a multicultural project brief connecting team members with change-makers in relevant fields to achieve some sort of a given outcome. We just want the work that we do for this ERG to be impactful and to lead the charge as it relates to client comms and the very important but specific work that we do.

Bri Cameron [00:03:15] It is a really pivotal moment to reaffirm our commitment to DEI and by us reintroducing this ERG, I think the aim is really to create a stronger support system for employees, for our BIPOC community, foster that open dialog. To your point, making sure that everyone feels empowered, and represented at all levels of our agency and then also just Taylor can't just talk the talk. We are to walk the walk as well when it comes to inclusivity, and I think that's truly our goal with what we want to do with Minority Report.

Malin Curry [00:03:49] What would you say is the biggest goal and opportunity we have to drive change with the Minority Report?

Bri Cameron [00:03:57] Yeah, I mean, Minority Report's really going to be a space for our voices to be heard, for our members to find allies within the agency. You definitely want to create a safe space for this specific community without alienating the allies that also exist amongst the Taylor walls. So that's that inclusive culture we can address challenges ahead on have some of those difficult conversations while advocating for systemic change within the workplace. There are a few different ways that we can do that in real, like touch points. Some of those virtual touch points are that we are still in this remote environment. But we really want to represent that minority community more authentically, internally. But then also as we show up for our clients like are a service-based industry. So we need to show up as our best selves internally and externally. And by having those internal values, it'll really be able to demonstrate our agency's commitment to true diversity through our campaigns, our outreach, and our client interactions. You touched on that a little bit, too before.

Malin Curry [00:05:08] Obviously, we know that this is not going to be easy. We spoke a little bit before about how organizations and corporations everywhere really are starting to roll back on their DEI initiatives and issues, specifically those that impact and support minoritized in the emerging majority community. But from your perspective, what sort of challenges do you envision us having to contend with as we embark on this work?

Bri Cameron [00:05:34] One of the biggest challenges is really overcoming that skepticism from seeing so many companies double down and then digress with their investment for these resources. So both from within the company and from the public, like some employees, they might wonder, is this just a reactionary move? Is this justtrending. Like I said, Taylor has been ten toes down. It's how we show up and making sure that we are addressing the needs of everyone across our minority community is very vast. It's not just black and white. There's a full, vast majority emerging majority within the Taylor walls. I want to make sure everyone feels represented. So not only overcoming that skepticism, but then showing up for literally everyone.

Malin Curry [00:06:30] Yeah, and I love what you said about sort of meeting people where they are. I think that that is so crucial, especially for an organization like Taylor that is committed to working from home. We really do have to be able to put together procedures and policies that allow people to just show up as they may.

Bri Cameron [00:06:49] Yeah. And we're talking about like, so much of what we want to do, what we're going to do with the Minority Report. How are we going to make sure that we actually achieve these goals? Like what are our milestones for these first couple of months to the first year? How are we really going to measure the success?

Malin Curry [00:07:10] I think that's a great question. As we think about what success looks like for this, the biggest thing that comes to mind, I think, for both of us, is just engagement. We want people to know that we're out there. We want people to know that we're here for them and really meant to serve exactly what the name says an employee resource group. So we are giving people and agency members, specifically, the opportunity to connect with one another, to talk about and talk across differences, and to use the things that we're teaching and we're learning for our agency partners and for the communities that our agency folks live in as well. And as we think about success, I really do feel that that is measured by engagement.

Bri Cameron [00:07:56] We want everyone to know that this is going to be sustainable and not just a short-term project. Taylor is very invested in making sure that you know these resources are available. You want to talk to me a little bit about how we're going to do just that and put our money where our mouth is and make sure that this lasts a lifetime through Taylor.

Malin Curry [00:08:22] Yeah. So I think that the one thing that you and I have been talking about, and we'll continue to have conversations about, is just opportunities to expand the work we're doing beyond the walls of Taylor. We obviously know that the folks that work here are incredibly tapped into within culture and also have a very expansive network with folks that are doing work, particularly for the emerging majority. One of our colleagues actually knows someone at WalkGood LA, the founder, and had a conversation with him on the Taylor Ten podcast. Justabout ways to support creators of color following the LA disaster. And I think things like that, even though it was just a conversation at the moment, go such a long way to be able to like, share visibility and lend voice to efforts and projects that are so important to bring more visibility to the emerging majority. So things like that will allow us to sustain the efforts that we're doing, things like being able to commit to various touch points. Again, we mentioned those in real-life things, the virtual meetings, the town halls, all of that really will allow us to develop a system that is sustaining and also allows us to make an impact with our agency community and the community at large.

Bri Cameron [00:09:45] Well, this is great, Malin. I think that's all we have for today is Taylor Tenpodcast. Thanks for listening and we'll catch you next week.

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