Diversity in the Workplace
Ruth Umoh, current editor and Chief at The Filament at Paperwork Studios discussed with us her experience as a Journalist, post-university. An Alune of the University of Maryland, Umoh furthered her career at Columbia University as a graduate student at the school of Journalism. Furthermore, she became the Digital Producer with the New York Daily News, covering community issues and created other multi-media content. Some other notable places of work Umoh contributed to include Rolling Stone Magazine, CNBC, and Forbes. During our discussion, she elaborated on democracy among all and the importance of covering politics. She states, “Democracy dies in darkness..” when speaking on political coverage in communities. Furthermore, the importance of getting involved with POC communities in order to bring light to their stories and struggle in order to bring awareness. Umoh elaborates on her beat within working at Forbes in which she was covering diversity and inclusion when it comes to business. Her specialization with her beat allowed her to be a well-rounded expert in the topic and states the importance of it within the Journalism career.
Additionally, she discussed confabulated the reason why many under-represent communities are historically wary of the media. Umoh states, “it’s going to take some time… underrepresented communities have been wary of the media because of the day they have been presented by the media, whether that be through comedy or news…” To elaborate, Umoh goes more into depth about the way the media portrayed Megan Markle versus the way the media portrayed Kate Middleton. When Megan Markle was first spotted to be engaged to Prince Harry multiple articles were exclusively written about her race. We later saw deeper dives into her family and their intentions entering the royal family. Many started to speculate that her entrance into the royal family held mal-intentions. When it came to Kate Middleton the media was filled with positive articles solely the engagement and wedding. Again, when it came to Megan Markle the discussion was surrounding primary surround race and intention, but when it came to Kate Middleton it was about the engagement.
Umoh goes further to state that we go into represented communication and start with one individual. It is essential as a journalist to share all individual’s stories in order to make larger communities aware of communal issues. When posed the question, “Do you think the percentage of race in a community should match the percentage in the workforce?” Umoh stated that companies must look to their community and fit diversity and inclusion within the business. That though certain demographics may not fill that educational need that is also something they must look at as to what we can do to make all individuals of all races access to education.
When it comes to diversity and inclusion within the workplace one can understand that this is essential in order to have a progressive environment. Businesses must understand the importance of having a diverse workplace that allows POC communities to have voices and feel comfortable speaking to the media. In conclusion, we must work together in order to fit these diversity and inclusion topics in and out of the workplace.