Radha Subramanyam – Chief Research and Analytics Officer, President CBS Corporation; CBS Vision
Lucia Moses – Senior Correspondent, Media Insider
Summary:
This discussion with Radha Subramanyam of CBS and Lucia Moses of Media Insider began with an examination of the #Seeher initiative by the ANA, which birthed the GEM score, a methodology that identifies unconscious bias against women portrayed in the media. In this discussion, Radha indicated that this methodology was absorbed by CBS to identify bias against women portrayed in pilots and then expanded to include BIPOC and LGBTQ members, in areas such as ads, PSAs and pilots. Radha noted that pilot testing remained a highly effective and integral part of the analytical process, which included GEM and other processes and attributed the success of CBS programming to this type of testing.
Radha noted that in order to make diversity initiatives such as GEM successful, a working structure needed to be in place and bought into, by the highest levels and throughout the organization. She indicated that the goal of implementing diversity initiatives must be made with the idea that it will outlast an individual, a role or a company. Embedding these processes into the company structure is vital for the continuation of diversity initiatives, which she hoped would expand to include people with disabilities as well. She noted the successful creation of a casting database of people with disabilities, in an effort to support and cull workers from that talent pool.
Key takeaways:
- Pilot testing is an integral part of the analytical process at CBS, and this process employs a variety of metrics including the GEM score, which leads to the success rate of its programming.
- CBS expanded on the GEM score to include other groups such as BIPOC and members of the LGBTQ communities. They shared this expansion of the metric with the industry, in hopes that it would be for the better good.
- In order to make equity initiatives such as GEM, and other pushes for diversity in operations successful, a working structure needs to be in place from the top and throughout the organization.
- The goal of implementing diversity initiatives must be made with the idea that it will outlast an individual, a role or a company, so embedding these processes into the company structure is vital.
- “The country has people of all kinds of abilities. The country has all kinds of races and ethnicities and sexualities. As a big tent network, if I’m to be successful, I cannot exclude.”
- Inclusivity is no longer a niche, and “not being inclusive means exclusive, and that means leaving a market segment and very practically speaking, leaving money on the table, and not optimizing your brand, your product for all the possibility out there.”