Painting the Colourful Canvas of Diversity

As humans, we’re not so keen on the unknown.

So, our brains are always looking to fill the gaps in our knowledge with information, whether accurate or not….

…including information about people we don’t know. The film and art industry tell us stories about people - ourselves, those that look, sound and think like us, but also those that don’t. How might this affect the way we see the world?

In the 41st episode of Why Care?, I had the pleasure of a fascinating conversation with a prolific thought leader in the theatre space. Tegan Summer is a renowned writer, producer and lyricist, whose powerful bio-musicals have captivated audiences from Broadway to the West End. Tegan’s time as a Black producer brought an intriguing perspective to our conversation on representation in theatre and the unique experiences of underrepresented groups. Our conversation ultimately got me thinking about the stories that performing arts tell us, and the impact of their different narratives.

Historical or period pieces are typically expected to abide closely to real events, yet Netflix’s widely popular series Bridgerton deliberately and pointedly subverts this. The show, which returned for a third season a few weeks ago, paints a utopia of diversity in the aristocratic circles of Regency England and features a number of leads from underrepresented backgrounds. Very few individuals from minority groups had equal access to wealth and status in historical England (though there were exceptions like Dido Belle). The show's historical inaccuracy could be viewed negatively as ‘pink-washing’ history (making it more favourable than it was for the sake of our comfort). But, it could also be valuable as it depicts the ideal of wealth equality that we are still working towards in the modern day. It paints the possibility.

Talking about women in positions of authority, particularly about those in the past, is important - it reminds us that this isn’t a novel concept. It has occurred throughout time, although the history books may not always highlight the powerful women in this way. In film and the arts, there are countless examples of strong female leads in positions of power: Cleopatra features a Black female pharaoh, whilst Disney’s remake of Aladdin sees Princess Jasmine take the role as Sultana of Agrabah rather than the traditional male option. A very interesting West End production, Emilia, shines a light on the intriguing and shadowy historical figure Emilia Bassano, speculated to be North African, of Jewish descent, and even Shakespeare himself. The production explores how Emilia utilises her artistic agency to claim her place in a male-dominated literary world, and the power dynamics inherent in the realm of creativity and expression.

As the production itself highlights, art is at the heart of driving change, or as Tegan puts it ”theatre [is] the equaliser in diversity”. Permeating positive representation into all aspects of our perception, whether that is equal access to power, wealth or otherwise, is key to normalising healthy and positive “stories” about those who have been misrepresented or underrepresented. When we begin to normalise healthy narratives, we change the world around us because we subconsciously accept them as good, an ideal, and so begin working toward them in the real world, even in very small ways.

Alongside this, we must also confront ideas that we have already internalised. A helpful approach to ideas is not whether they are “true” or not since “truth” is very subjective and often slippery. Rather, it is more fruitful to look at their implications and assess whether they are “helpful” or “harmful".

One such idea we may hold is that others must experience pain less severely than us. It may be easier for us to comprehend the pain of specific groups over others because there has been a higher concentration of narratives inviting us to connect with those. For example, we are all familiar with the plight of the White British community during the World Wars, but most of us have no information on the experiences of other ethnicities both within the UK and under British colonial rule overseas during the same period. Productions like Tegan’s production of For Black Boys Who have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy (written by Ryan Calais Cameron) are a critical antidote to this. Talking about the pain of underrepresented communities, whether that be on the basis of race, gender, religious orientation, socioeconomic status, or any other diversity dimension reminds us, as Tegan highlights, of the essential value of “kindness”.

Can you think of any narratives, about yourself or others, that are worth revisiting and challenging?

Challenging old and rewriting new narratives into our life requires us to push past the initial discomfort that comes with any critical transformative work. My new book Beyond Discomfort: Why inclusive leadership is so hard (and what you can do about it) delves into ways we can utilise discomfort to transform the quality of our professional and personal relationships. You can get your hands on a copy of the book here.

At Avenir, we also offer an Inclusive Leadership Programme, designed to guide leaders through the journey of achieving inclusive leadership.