CANNES — In the focus on DE&I, don’t forget that “A” is a key component.
But “accessibility” can often be left behind in the diversity debate.
In this video interview with Tameka Kee for Beet.TV, Laurel Rossi, CMO, Infillion, assesses progress in the industry toward diversity, equality and full inclusion.
Improve media accessibility
“Inclusion is a matter of action,” Rossi says. “When I think of creative work, I’m starting to see much more inclusion in the actual creative itself, whether that’s actors or just mindset.
“I think accessibility is the thing that we really need to work on.
“If you walk around Cannes Lions, you walk up and down the Croisette, there are very few accessible spaces, whether that’s for the hearing-impaired or physically-impaired, mobility wise.
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“There are a few that have done it quite well. I also think our media could be more inclusive in general in terms of just having the right accessibility tools in place for all of our advertising.”
The accessibility campaign
Infillion is a new company recently formed out of a merger of Gimbal and true[X].
Rossi describes herself as an advocate for women and people with disabilities in the workforce.
She co-founded and chairs Creative Spirit US, a non-profit to “create integrated employment for neurodiverse individuals at the best companies in the world”.
That organisation has been speaking-up about the difficulties certain groups have accessing digital content.
Media Should Seize Accessibility’s Infinite Possibilities: Infillion’s Rossi
Embrace everyone
Rossi says “diversity and inclusion” has “taken center-stage” in the advertising and media industry. Often, the focus is on a particular set of characteristics.
But Rossi is not convinced business is truly approaching the issue through the broad lens of encompassing “every single mindset, every single personality, every person, all abilities, all colors”.
She hopes to see more of that breadth of conversation, going forward.
But Rossi also said debates about diversity in the Cannes Lions agenda were at best as prevalent as previous years, if not fewer.
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