“It’s not enough to check the box and say, ‘okay, I’ve hired Black people, so now I don’t have to worry… anymore.’ ” – Win Rosenfeld, President of Monkeypaw Productions. Fun fact: that’s also not the pathway to businesses recouping the billions and trillions lost thanks to systemic racism.
According to a report from Yahoo! Finance in March 2022, Bank of America conducted a study to determine just how much money companies were losing by not being more inclusive.
We can start with $70 trillion in foregone economic output, then pivot over to $23 trillion in USD GDP, and finish strong with $172 trillion in lifetime earnings.
“No matter how you measure it, lack of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) limits national economies and reduces GDP,” says BoA.
They also go on to say that “systemic racism creates a devastating loss for communities and companies alike.” Just kidding.
What they actually said was: “[for businesses], a lack of diversity leads to less innovation, weaker revenue and cash flows, and lower employee retention. As for individuals, a lack of diversity causes detriments to educational outcomes, physical and mental health, lifetime achievement and earnings, and wealth passed down across generations.”
The latter is commonly recognized by many as a potent stench lingering in the runoff from—say it with me: Systemic racism.
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The very (very) high cost of lacking diversity: Sexism and systemic racism converge
Before we move on, a quick shout-out to Sexism:
Yahoo! Finance also writes that 47 million women from “developed” countries are expected to fall into extreme poverty due to the pandemic. Many of the roles they once held in industries like hospitality (restaurants, hotels, etc.) have dwindled and offer no work-from-home option.
Sexism: Insult to Injury to Poverty, a sad-but-true story featuring primarily Women of Color and starring The Patriarchy—coming soon to a developed nation near you.
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Back to the stranglehold of systemic racism
Let’s all sit with the fact that trillions of lost dollars aren’t enough to convince global corporations that hiring more diversely is good for business.
TL;DR—Even the thought of more profits doesn’t earn an upper-hand against racism.
Thankfully, we can at least point to the entertainment industry as a beacon of hope.
Film and TV have shown us that authentic representation — on-screen and off — can enrich our cultural zeitgeist by amplifying marginalized talent and… no, I’m kidding, again. Could barely type that with a straight face.
In fact, just last year, Forbes featured an article with this very matter-of-fact headline: Hollywood Loses $10 Billion A Year Over Lack Of Black Representation.
Please note that it specifically says the lack of Black representation. The McKinsey report Forbes is discussing here doesn’t even include money left on the table from all the other underrepresented voices.
As Forbes writes: “The U.S. movie and television industry could increase annual revenue by about $10 billion a year by improving Black representation on-set and on-screen.”
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Dismantling systemic racism: The cure for what ails any industry isn’t more industry. It’s better people.
Enter Win Rosenfeld, the President of Monkeypaw Productions and a man who knows that the cure for what ails any industry isn’t more industry. It’s better people.
Monkeypaw, founded by the brilliant—and Oscar-winning—writer/director Jordan Peele, has given us artful, entertaining, and profitable films and series including Get Out (2017), Us (2019), “Lovecraft Country” (HBO), and “Twilight Zone” (CBS). Their latest film, NOPE, is currently at the top of the box office. In fact, all three of Monkeypaw’s films have debuted in the #1 spot.
And President Rosenfeld, a native New Yorker and thoughtful storyteller, is also stunningly creative and quite funny. Sitting at the helm of a premier company that very intentionally also centers Black stories, he was the first who came to mind for a delightfully candid discussion about industry and art.
As he shared in our conversation, “I would like to think the hands of capitalism would have already taken care of this. Which is, again, my point: institutions don’t help us.”
Unless your business can demonstrate with discernible results that you’ve heard and supported those DEI hires, anything you do is just performative—and unlikely to earn you any golden statues.
Listen to my incredible conversation with Win Rosenfeld on his episode of sub·ver·sive titled “Industry Vs. Art.” We discuss his career trajectory, creative process, and how Hollywood (or any business) can do more to drive genuine change.
Granted, that change won’t be dismantling systemic racism, but we have to start somewhere.