DE&I: Accelerating Change with Sandra Masiliso

Sandra is the global diversity equity and inclusion lead at DEPT® with extensive experience developing robust strategies, partnering with external organisations, holding executives to account, developing and coaching senior leaders, and taking a variety of audiences on a change transformation journey via the use of sound storytelling channels. 

Prior to joining DEPT®, Sandra worked as the creative diversity lead at the BBC, the equality diversity and inclusion manager at Newton Europe, and as a management consultant working with leading FTSE100 companies where she held key agile project management, change management, and business strategy roles. Sandra can effectively engage with clients at a range of levels, understand their business challenges, and conduct thorough research to produce quality documentation that determines their future strategy.

Sandra has also worked within the charity, intergovernmental, and academic sectors and is an award-winning, international, motivational speaker.

LBB> What drew you to the field of DE&I? 

Sandra> I have a diverse background and I identify with several affinity groups as well as intersectional characteristics so from an early age I was able to recognise the barriers facing underrepresented groups, starting initially within the context of the educational system. I wanted to first start my DE&I professional journey by targeting the inequities and behaviours developed and experienced from quite early on in an individual’s life before furthering my work across international fields and the workplace. Ultimately, I wanted to utilise my lived experience and combine it with my professional experience to undertake purposeful work and bring about long-term, sustainable change. 

LBB> Before it became your job role, what was your specialism? And how did you get involved?

Sandra> I actually started off as a motivational speaker and workshop facilitator. Given my own lived experience and background I was keen to empower and equip those from underrepresented and marginalised communities. This work in particular saw me partnering with many schools and institutions in the educational sector as well as NGOs where I led on a number of initiatives and sessions for young professionals, corporate leaders, those within healthcare as well as women and young children. It was from these experiences that I recognised that there was an opportunity area - creating a defined DEI strategy.

Prior to taking on my more recent DEI roles, I was a business consultant working on large change transformation projects for FTSE100 companies as well as providing consulting services internationally for social enterprises. My work in Brazil, in particular, was a real opportunity to utilise my DEI expertise and business acumen in designing both growth strategies with a DEI lens.

LBB> There’s a lot of frustration around the industry’s glacial pace when it comes to improving DE&I across all sorts of axes. What’s getting in the way?

Sandra> One key area and challenge that the industry continues to face when progressing DE&I is the challenging economic climate. During tough economic times, businesses tend to deprioritise functions that do not necessarily bring in direct revenue and DE&I efforts tend to be grouped into this category if viewed as a “nice to have'' rather than an imperative pillar to maintain market competitiveness and business growth. Instead, businesses focus on short-term recovery rather than long-term gains which sees many organisations take steps back in their DE&I journey.

LBB> Outside of the advertising industry, where do you see examples of large-scale meaningful progress (if at all), and what should our industry learn from it?

Sandra> I’ll first start by saying that there are learnings and best practices to be taken across all industries to further the efforts and progress being made. With that being said when it comes to diverse representation, large tech giants such as Apple have received such positive feedback amongst the DE&I community since this year’s Wonderlust flagship event which at each moment showcased the rich diversity of their teams. 

Additional progress is being made within the banking sector where examples such as Citi are incredibly mature when it comes to establishing a centre of excellence for DE&I which operates as a cross-functional strategic pillar. Alongside this, the structure of their affinity groups/employee resource groups and how the local, regional, and global all align to drive towards a common goal has also been incredibly impressive to witness from an external perspective. 

LBB> The dimensions of DE&I can differ somewhat according to geographic/cultural context - I’m curious, where you’re based, what are the big issues or most urgent elements of DE&I that you need to address?

Sandra> My role sits at the global level which ensures that there is a focus on holding onto the bigger picture and the overall cohesive vision at DEPT® with regards to DE&I. The key to being successful in the role is to collaborate with teams at the global level in order to set the overall strategic direction. At the regional and local levels, it has been and continues to be crucial to take into account cultural sensitivities in order to support teams with the delivery of the strategic priorities i.e. ensuring that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach and that the execution of priorities is tailored to the local landscape.

This is something that I am excited to take the lead on at DEPT® and thinking ahead I envision the company continuing to take strides along our DEIB journey, turning the dial and learning each step of the way. I am keen that DEI is embedded across all that we do from our systems to leadership, to our external impact and our ERGs and ultimately impacting the work we do with our clients with more innovative and creative ideas that are brought to briefs and pitches. I’m also keen that we have a robust way of keeping ourselves accountable and monitoring our progress through the design of sound metrics and reporting measures.

What’s already fantastic to acknowledge at DEPT® is the infectious passion for DEI across the organisation, the great work being done by our global and local ERGs, and the incredible initiatives and work being done by our internal teams who are partnering with many across the organisation to bring about change. What’s more, being a B-Corp Certified organisation is such an impactful channel that continues to connect our external impact and sustainability measures to our DEIB values and priorities - something I’m sure we’ll continue to build on. 

It’s also been great to witness how this translates into the work we undertake for clients. One of my favourite examples is Fingerspelling.xyz, a browser-based app that uses webcam, machine learning, and AI to analyse hand shapes so you can learn the English alphabet in American Sign Language (ASL). Through technology, we help bridge the communication barrier between D/deaf and hard-of-hearing children and their hearing peers. 

LBB> In your role, what have been some of the most meaningful projects or policies you’ve been involved in regarding DE&I?

Sandra> Quite a few examples come to mind actually, but if I had to narrow it down I would choose these three. The first is creating and leading a strategy to ensure on-air and content-making channels are representative of the diverse makeup of the communities we serve as well as the national demographic makeup.

The second would be designing and leading on an Inclusive Leadership Coaching Pathway to better support and develop the capabilities of senior leaders across the business to become inclusive leaders whilst being authentically themselves. This involved using a number of behavioural and strengths-based assessments which supported the design of a pathway that developed four core areas.

The third would be leading a global diversity data collection campaign in order to better understand the current landscape of the organisation and recognise any existing inequities, biases, and opportunities to bring about change.

LBB> What role are clients playing in holding agencies accountable and driving better DE&I (e.g. via RFPs)? Is this something you are seeing or would like to see more of?

Sandra> Clients can play an instrumental role in holding agencies to account regarding ensuring they are partnering with an agency that deems DE&I as a priority, are actively making steps towards turning the dial internally as an organisation, and are putting forward project teams that are representative of a diverse makeup.

What is promising is that I have begun to acknowledge that clients are demanding more from agencies in this aspect and are regularly asking about an agency's DE&I initiatives as well as at a high level what the diverse makeup of their organisation looks like. Agencies that are often unable to speak to these two asks can find themselves struggling to remain competitive in the RFP process. It would be great if we could witness more of this as this often encourages business leaders to place DE&I at the forefront and as a key business priority.

LBB> We often see DE&I siloed or pigeonholed as an HR issue - what’s the key to ensure that it’s embraced as an agency-wide or industry-wide responsibility?

Sandra> The key to ensuring DE&I is embraced and deemed a priority is to align it to the strategic priorities of the business, articulating how DE&I is an imperative channel to facilitating business growth rather than the often perception of it being a “nice to have” initiative. In this regard, forming relationships with stakeholders across the business e.g. advocates within leadership teams, employee resource groups, HR/People teams, etc, will be instrumental in DE&I being a cross-company strategic centre of excellence that stretches beyond HR functions and becomes everyone's responsibility. 

LBB> What are your thoughts about where accessibility fits in the DE&I agenda?

Sandra> There are a number of discussions and perspectives on where accessibility fits within DE&I amongst the DE&I practitioner community. A key thing that I would call out is that diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility although may seem similar, have subtle differences that differentiate them from each other. Accessibility, although often grouped in with inclusion, focuses more specifically on whether a working environment and facilities can be accessed by all (as an example). This stretches beyond noticeable, physical barriers to also encompass invisible or non-physical barriers also. With that being said, accessibility can be viewed as an additional feature of the DE&I agenda i.e. evolving the term and moving towards a focus on DEIA. 

LBB> Covid-19 changed things up across the industry. On the one hand, it opened up remote working, opening up opportunities to those who can’t afford city living, but on the other hand, it had a notably negative impact on other groups, notably mothers. Now that some time has passed since the extremes of lockdowns in most territories, what’s your assessment of the positives and negatives to come out of that time of disruption?

Sandra> The effects of the pandemic have been tough and challenging for many, to say the least. Now that a bit of time has passed since lockdown measures were in place, there are a few uplifting lessons learned from the pandemic and also challenges that have come to light.

A more positive observation has been that there has been an increase in those who require greater flexibility measures. Also, those with visible and invisible disabilities enter the workforce due to new flexible working arrangements put in place across a number of industries.

As well as this, what I’ve been able to observe and what has been called out in more recent studies is the experience and increase in safety amongst those from POC communities. In particular, working from home has shown that POC are able to avoid stereotypes, microaggressions, bias, or fears that are often projected onto a physical presence.

However, working remotely has also been quite challenging, especially for underrepresented groups in the workplace that statistically tend to be overlooked or unseen. It has meant that greater and more visible efforts have had to be made by some to be seen and have their contributions and work valued.

Also, there has been greater insight into the negative experiences of those with mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression and feeling obliged to, if not forced to, put their cameras on within meeting settings.

Overall, with much thought, some of the uplifting lessons from the aftermath of the pandemic have better served and included more underrepresented communities. What would be great to see going forward, are greater accessibility and well-being measures in place to better support those working from home and unable to be physically present in workplace meetings.

LBB> What resources/platforms/programs have you found useful on your DE&I journey and would recommend to our readers?

Sandra> Having a continuous learning mindset and connecting with others in the field of DE&I has been incredibly helpful to me and my own journey. The field of DE&I is constantly evolving so remaining aware of changes and movements being made is essential when looking to turn the dial. I’ve often found it useful to regularly read academic studies and articles from the Harvard Business Review, Forbes, McKinsey & Co, BCG, and Accenture.

From a policy perspective being looped into the discussions within the charity sector as well as the UN, EU, and national governmental papers has been invaluable.

In terms of connecting with others, LinkedIn has been a brilliant platform where I’ve been able to form and be part of DE&I practitioner groups to learn from one another as well as best practices.

I’ve undergone a number of professional programmes to strengthen my expertise in the area ranging from a number of DEI for professionals courses, Incorporating DEI into business strategy courses, change transformation as well as project management accreditations. 

LBB> The scale of the change needed is so massive that individuals can often feel powerless without the levers to move huge structures. What's a more personal act of positivity that you've seen recently that others could look to as inspiration for change on the human scale?

Sandra> I’d love to call out two acts of positivity that I’ve seen recently and I hope they do inspire others. The first example has a focus on gender equity and more specifically within my community there are efforts being made to tackle period poverty affecting those who are unable to access hygienic and safe menstrual products that they need. What this looks like is individuals giving up their time to donate sanitary products, sew reusable sanitary towels, create packages, and deliver them all across the community and schools to support women and menstruating people.

The second is supporting the elderly particularly those in relative poverty and who may struggle to afford to turn the radiators on during the cold winter months as well as having a regular meal. In particular, in the area I grew up in, an individual has partnered with their local GP surgery offering complementary lunches as well as a warm place to sit and meet others in the community. 

LBB> If you’d like our readers to take one thing away from this interview what would it be?

Sandra> Turning the dial on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is incredibly multifaceted and requires a multi-layered approach whereby everyone is actively involved and playing their part. This does mean efforts are needed at the policymaking and business scale yet also, there’s an opportunity at the individual and community scale to drive change by grouping together and supporting those around us.