“I’m a cis white man in the music gear industry. I want to help, but don’t know where to start!”
This is the resounding statement* I hear from cis white men musicians or those in the music gear industry. They want to make change around gender and diversity— they want to create more inclusive spaces, hire more BIPOC, LGBTQ+ folks, and cis women— but they don’t know where to start. They’ve landed in a space where they hired their buddies or they don’t know how to get out of that process— or they don’t feel like they have the time to figure it out.
As a cis white woman, I do not have all of the answers. I have been stuck in that cycle in the past as well. And I will say, it took a concerted, intentional effort for us to get out of it.
With that, here are a few tips for your company about how to get started. Don’t you worry— I’ll follow up in a future blog with specifics for individuals, too!
WHAT COMPANIES CAN DO
Get Clear on Your Values
What is your company’s mission? Your vision? Your values? Do they communicate to your current employees, future employees, customers, or the world what you are really about? If diversity (or to be really clear— anti-racism, anti-sexism, anti-homophobia, etc.) is something you care about, is it included in your values? If not, it might be time to update! Plus, your values guide everything else your business does. If they don’t include clear language around your support for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, then it is unlikely it will be prioritized in the rest of your work. And be careful not to pander. Simply throwing around words like “diversity” doesn’t mean anything if you don’t back it up with actions (see below!).
Start With Trust
Trust happens at the individual, employee/coworker level, and at the workplace level, it’s often referred to as psychological safety. If your employees don’t trust you or each other, it will be very difficult for them to have hard conversations that are needed to make change. And this is especially important once you move out of the traditional homogeneity of the music gear industry— it’s easier for people to trust those who they view as similar to themselves. But, once you have trust, employees can be more vulnerable, assume best intentions (while acknowledging the impact of their words and actions), LISTEN, and hold each other accountable in ways that lead to a healthier and more inclusive workplace. Does this mean you might have to have more icebreakers and employee karaoke sessions? Probably. But I promise, it will be worth it!
Workplace Culture: Hidden in Plain Sight
Do people like working for you? Do they like working with each other? How do folks in your workplace communicate? Who takes notes? Who makes decisions? Who cleans the kitchen? Who orders the catering? How are coworkers’ similar behaviors treated differently or the same— whose tone is policed and whose ideas are taken seriously? Workplace culture can be about the little things that people might not always notice, sometimes even those who are impacted. But their effect can be great.
Your Policies Tell the Story
Your policies and employee handbook are an important tool in communicating your values. You may SAY that you care about your employees and want to support them… but do you really? Take a peak: Do you have a generous parental leave policy (not just a super-abbreviated six-week maternity policy)? Do you have a flexible work schedule? Does your office have a secure, private place for parents to pump (breast-milk, not iron… though, that would be cool, too!). Do you provide bus passes or other transportation support if someone doesn’t have a car to get to work? Health coverage (even if it’s just a stipend)? Support for professional development or tuition reimbursement? Do you have gender-neutral bathrooms? What happens when someone messes up— do you have clear progressive discipline or an authoritative At-Will statement? How transparent is your pay and process for raises and promotion? This is just a SLIVER of the ways you can communicate your values to current and potential employees through your handbook and policies.
Training: Get on Board
Let’s be clear: if your values, policies, workplace culture, and management don’t support this work, all the training in the world probably won’t help very much. Yes, there are ways to educate management and “manage up”… but that can be a LONG haul (private coaching might be the best solution for those folks). But! If management is on board and the rest of your work supports it, training can be highly effective. Taking the time to discuss these issues as a team shows how much you care and can create a space where new employees (BIPOC, LGBTQ+ folks, cis women, etc.) feel supported. Hiring folks who are then sent into a work environment that doesn’t support them is not a recipe for success (and this doesn’t even touch on issues of tokenism!).
Audit Your Hiring Process
Who hires their buddies when they first start a company? Most people do. The problem with white people doing this is that white people are pretty much only friends with other white people. In a recent survey I conducted on Gender and Music Gear, most musicians stated that the number one way to create more inclusive spaces was to change hiring. Rather than defaulting to your buddies or people who are like you, it’s important to take the time to get it right. Do you list the salary/rate (do!)? Do you include education requirements (don’t!)? Do you share the values you worked so hard to create (do!)? Do you encourage people to apply even if they don’t fit all the requirements (do!)? Do you outreach to the same places as everyone else (don’t!)? Do you cut people based on their language or formatting (don’t!)? Do you have a hiring committee, so it isn’t just one person making these decisions (do!)? Do you try to ensure that your interview list isn’t all white men (do!)? Do you consider hiring this person because of their potential or because of their performance (potential!)? I could go on and on. There are so many considerations and many defaults that people use because they are the norm. But they don’t need to be!
Marketing: Representation is Key
I am not going to belabor this point. I’ve gone into detail about the Music Gear Bechdel Test here. But let me reiterate how important this is. Once again, this is a place for your values to shine— make sure your representation in social media and marketing is in line. Of course, the Test focuses on women, but representation across identities is crucial. There’s the adage that “you can’t be what you can’t see” or at least it is very hard to be what you can’t see. Let’s change that. Like, today!
All of this might seem like a lot, but it is really the tip of the iceberg for companies. Obviously, you can’t do all of this at once and there isn’t space to get into the nuances of each suggestion here, but what’s most important is that you START! Pick one of these and get it on the agenda for your next meeting. I BELIEVE IN YOU, YOU CAN DO IT! And if you need help, reach out!
Stay tuned for tips for individual employees coming soon!
*this is contrary to a recent study, which found that white men were asked why they didn’t get more involved in diversity initiatives, the most common reason stated was “it doesn’t benefit me.” Among those who stated that diversity initiatives were somewhat or very important, 56% said they were involved with DEI at their jobs. The most common reason stated for not getting involved: “I’m too busy.”