The workforce is evolving, and with it, expectations of companies to be more inclusive in their hiring and retention practices. Younger generations, particularly Gen Z, are entering the workforce with a strong sense of self-confidence and a clear idea of what they want in a work experience. They are willing to pass on a job, even if it pays well, if it does not align with their values or create a supportive work environment.

So how do companies compete for talent? Post-pandemic, many attempted to attract younger demographics by dismantling their cubicles and building open workspaces with pool tables. Then the pandemic shifted how we work. Offices were shuttered, and employees worked from home, creating the “work from anywhere” culture many companies now find contentious. Gen Z, on the other hand, has fully embraced it and seeks to align with companies that value work/life balance and offer opportunities for growth and development.

But job candidates don’t just want employers to dismantle their cubicles. They expect companies to aid in the dismantling of systemic racism and other pressing issues plaguing society, like climate change. Developing an employer brand that appeals to Gen Z requires a visible and vocal commitment in these areas. With seasoned workers aging out of the workforce, taking their institutional knowledge with them, the balance of power has shifted to young job candidates, making those commitments essential.

Gen Z is the first multicultural majority generation in U.S. history. They are tomorrow’s leaders, and the onus is on employers today to create an early career talent pipeline to replace outgoing talent.

That won’t be easy, especially for companies unwilling to evolve with culture. In the past, the employer sat in the seat of power, and now it’s the candidate, and they aren’t asking about pool tables. They want to hear about the companies’ DEI goals and progress, employee resource groups (ERGs) and the annual DEI report. Failing to make this information accessible could jeopardize the employer brand.

In this episode of The New Mainstream podcast, Henal Majethia, Diversity Recruiting Manager, University Relations at Eastman, discusses the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in building healthy early career talent pipelines and strengthening the employer brand.

Meet Menal Majethia

Menal (“hen-null”) Majethia began her career after graduating from the University of Tennessee at Amazon Fulfillment, supporting Operations, Supply Chain, and Distribution, and later launching the Operations University Recruiting initiatives for the East Coast. In this role, Henal supported US and CA hiring goals and was able to spearhead the HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) and HSI (Hispanic-Serving Institutions) recruiting presence. She was exposed to DEI during this tenure. Upon completing graduate school at Northeastern University, Henal joined Eastman, where she continues leveraging her skills in early career talent and DEI in her current role.

Today’s discerning consumers crave personalized marketing experiences in which they feel seen and heard. The paradigm has shifted, and brands looking to stay ahead of the curve are working to foster genuine connections with consumers by committing to inclusivity in products and services and participating in meaningful community engagement. This is particularly important for hard-to-reach demographics, like multicultural consumers, who have endured generations of misrepresentation and underrepresentation in advertising.

While traditional advertising revolves around reaching the masses, often at the expense of the consumer experience, network marketing, on the other hand, leverages person-to-person interactions by independent sales teams to directly engage communities. Popular beauty brands like Avon, Mary Kay and Beautycounter have harnessed the power of this model, often referred to as multi-level marketing, to build global billion-dollar enterprises.

Yet, disparities between corporations and communities persist. There lies a need for adaptive strategies that bridge these gaps, ultimately culminating in enriched consumer experiences.

In this episode of The New Mainstream podcast, Dr. Raymona H. Lawrence, founder of Dr. Raymona H. Lawrence Coaching, LLC, explores the intersection between brands, communities and marketing strategies.

The American ethos of “individualism,” which prioritizes self-reliance, independence and frugality, has tremendously impacted general market advertising strategies. Marketing to Hispanic consumers, however, requires a different approach. The Hispanic ethos embodies collectivism, emphasizing the belief and practice of interdependence and interconnectedness among individuals. Twenty-eight percent of Hispanics live in multigenerational homes where bilingual-bicultural family members typically serve as digital sherpas for Spanish-dominant loved ones who need assistance with online purchasing decisions and online/offline searches.

Interestingly, when Hispanics search online, they prefer to search in English, particularly among the highly acculturated. Marketers may misinterpret this to mean that English-dominate or English-proficient Hispanics are receptive to general market ads when they are not. While advertisers may be reaching Hispanics with these ads, they are not truly connecting with them if they are not brand loyal. And how can they be brand loyal if they do not see themselves reflected in the campaigns? At that point, it becomes a transaction driven by price or availability, not a genuine connection with the brand.

To effectively engage with the bilingual-bicultural Hispanic market, brands must embrace and understand the importance of community, family, and shared experiences. Rather than solely focusing on individual benefits, marketers should emphasize these cultural values in their marketing campaigns. Highlighting how a product or service contributes to the collective well-being and fosters connections can resonate more deeply with Hispanic consumers.

In this episode of The New Mainstream Podcast, Maria (Lopez) Twena, Chief Marketing Officer at Adsmovil and children’s book author of the MariVi the Master Navigator series, discusses the importance of cultural values like collectivism to marketing to bilingual-bicultural Hispanics.

For more Hispanic Consumer insights, get the free report, “The Hispanic Market is not a Monolith but it is Collective,” presented by Publicis Media, Adsmovil and ThinkNow. Download it here.

Meet Our Guest:

Maria (Lopez) Twena, Chief Marketing Officer, Adsmovil

Maria (Lopez) Twena serves as Chief Marketing Officer of Adsmovil, a leading minority-owned and certified mobile advertising and digital media pioneer.

An award-winning marketer with extensive expertise in technology, digital media, and branding, Twena has over thirty years of marketing acumen. Prior to joining Adsmovil, she served as CMO of Entravision Communications and as CMO of Pulpo Media.

Widely recognized for her expertise in branding, positioning, and multicultural consumer segments, Twena’s accolades include receiving the ADCOLOR Award (2009) for her groundbreaking achievement in identifying, segmenting, and targeting bilingual/bicultural Hispanics while at MRM (McCann Worldgroup). There, she founded a discipline that developed Best Practices for advertising to the Hispanic bilingual/bicultural cohort.

She has served as a Board Member of the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies and as a faculty member of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA). She is also a ThinkNow Advisory Board Member. Twena is a graduate of Loyola University of the South (B.A. Psychology) and the University of New Orleans (M.A. Mass Communications, with a specialty in Film and Television).

She has also authored a children’s book and TV series: MariVi, the Master Navigator Series, which follows its heroine, MariVi, a bilingual/bicultural character, and her family, the Abascals, as they adapt to life in the U.S. The first of the MariVi television series premiered on Nuestra.TV in April 2023.

The future of AI may be uncertain, but one thing is clear, it will fundamentally transform how we do business and deliver value to clients. The technology is constantly evolving, pushing boundaries and challenging our preconceived notions. This rapid evolution sparks a sense of anticipation and enthusiasm across industries. But it also raises concerns and uncertainties about how to adapt to these changes effectively and responsibly.

In the insights industry, AI has the potential to revolutionize the process of gathering and analyzing data. AI-powered tools and algorithms can enable researchers to derive valuable insights from data faster. This newfound efficiency allows for quicker and more confident decision-making. Testing and evaluating multiple opportunities in a fraction of the time through AI is another advantage that can lead to new innovative strategies that drive market success.

Despite the advantages that AI brings, there are also legitimate concerns. Some industry professionals worry about AI replacing human panelists and the potential biases embedded within AI systems that may lead to "hallucinations" or false interpretations. The fear of losing the human touch and intuition in favor of automated processes creates uneasiness and resistance to adopting AI solutions, prompting calls for cautious integration to ensure AI technologies are designed to augment human capabilities, not replace them.

In this episode of The New Mainstream podcast, Rick Kelly, Chief Strategy Officer at Fuel Cycle, discusses the impact of AI on the insights industry and Fuel Cycle’s new partnership with ThinkNow to amplify multicultural audiences.

June presents organizations with opportunities like Pride and Juneteenth to actively engage with and support diverse communities. But demonstrating a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion requires a consistent and continuous effort at all levels of an organization if it’s to foster an inclusive environment in which people feel valued, seen and heard 365 days a year.

At the heart of that commitment are the individuals within the organization who greatly benefit from a sustained effort to foster inclusivity – employees. Typically, within inclusive cultures, employees are more engaged, which impacts retention and productivity, ultimately benefiting the bottom line. When employees carry the values of diversity and inclusion outside the workplace into the community through volunteerism, for example, they amplify the organization’s commitment, generating positive brand sentiment.

Organizations can also partner with external groups such as nonprofits and civic organizations to develop relationships and implement programming that brings long-term benefits to marginalized groups, not the occasional performative headlines.

Post-2020, there was a rush to quickly onboard DEI programs in fear of public backlash. But many organizations have since learned that doing it right is far better than doing it quickly.

In this episode of The New Mainstream podcast, Sue Schmidlkofer, Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at UPS shares DEI best practices for actively engaging employees in driving sustainable change.

Meet Our Guest:

Sue Schmidlkofer, Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, UPS

In this role, she oversees the company’s global strategy centered around its mission statement, ‘You Belong At UPS.’ Monitoring workforce diversity aspirational goals, supporting more than 200 Business Resource Groups, and developing top talent are her key areas of focus in 2023.

Throughout her 28-year career at UPS, Sue has held a variety of roles primarily within Human Resources in Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, and currently at the global headquarters in Atlanta. Sue serves on the board of the Georgia Diversity Council, the Atlanta Diversity Management Advocacy Group, and The Drake House, a non-profit organization that supports women and their children experiencing homelessness. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Spanish and a master’s in Business Management and HR. Outside of spending time with her family, her interests include reading, writing, baking, and tennis.

During the Fall League Meeting in 2022, the National Football League announced enhancements to its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across its 32 clubs and the league office. Essential to the success of these initiatives is culture, and people are at the center of culture. Peter Drucker is often credited with saying that "culture eats strategy for lunch" due to the influential role of organizational culture in driving employee engagement, retention, and performance, which ultimately has a profound impact on the bottom line.

Organizations approach culture differently, but those that do it well are open and willing to cultivate psychologically safe spaces that foster trust and transparency and honor vulnerability. Since organizational culture and business operations are interconnected, removing barriers presents opportunities for employees to participate in driving that culture. It empowers them by making them feel part of something bigger than their current job role.

Employee resource groups, led by employee volunteers, are incredible development opportunities to cross-collaborate, create unique business synergies, and foster a sense of belonging. Those synergies, however, cannot exist in a silo and must be diffused throughout the organization. Communication is vital to culture building, particularly when an organization is undergoing change management.

In this episode of The New Mainstream podcast, Alissa Lieppman, Vice President, Head of Culture & Business Operations for NFL Media at the National Football League (NFL), shares insights on how the league effectively navigated the challenges of an office relocation while also emphasizing the importance of culture on change management.

May is Maternal Mental Health Month, a time dedicated to raising awareness about the intersectionality of motherhood and mental health. It serves as a reminder that behind the joy and anticipation of becoming a mother, there may also be hidden struggles and challenges that need to be acknowledged and addressed, like access to quality care, particularly for Black women.

Women of color frequently encounter healthcare providers who hold unconscious biases that impact the quality of care they receive. These biases can lead to misdiagnoses, inadequate pain management, dismissive attitudes, and a lack of culturally sensitive care. Such experiences jeopardize the physical health of women of color and erode their trust in the healthcare system.

In a recent report released by the CDC, 89% more women died from pregnancy-related issues in 2021 than in 2018. Black women are nearly 3 times more likely to die than White women and 2.5 times more likely than Hispanic women. The majority of these deaths were preventable.

In this episode of The New Mainstream podcast, Denise Evans, Principal, CEO & Founder of Consult Me, and Senior Learning & Development Specialist at Corewell Health, discusses the impact of implicit bias on Black maternal health and how to advance health equity in public health.

Meet Our Guest:

Denise Evans is a trained facilitator, public health educator, and Truth Racial Healing Transformation practitioner. She has specialized training in health equity and social justice, cultural intelligence, and unconscious/implicit bias, as well as technologies of participation facilitation. Denise serves as a content expert for the National Healthy Start Association and the National Institute for Children’s Health Quality and served the National Association of County & City Health Officials and state and local health departments on issues of equity, justice, bias, diversity, belonging and inclusion.

For the past 25 years, she has worked diligently to connect community organizers, faith-based organizations and public health professionals from New York City to Los Angeles in a collective effort to disrupt systems of oppression and build a more equitable future for those living in our nation’s most vulnerable communities. Ms. Evans is a two-time past chair of Spectrum Health’s (now Corewell Health) System Inclusion Council and a founding member of the Greater Grand Rapids Racial Equity Network.