FN asks the industry about the lack of racial diversity in footwear: why it happens, what it looks like and how to fix it.
Source: Why the Footwear Industry Needs to Face Its Racial Diversity Problem
It was never my goal to become the check and balance for the footwear news industry. This site has always been about informing and educating. However, when Footwear News took the energy to create the least diverse 40 Under 40 Executives in Footwear list… pause… they created the only 40 Under 40 Executives in Footwear list. Their list just so happened to be the whitest grouping of execs they could find, overlooking all of the fantastic people they just took the time to write about in this new article. I didn’t intend to become a “fact” checker, but I needed to look at what and how they are deciding to address a serious issue in a billion dollar industry that is fueled by the dollars of urban (Black) culture.
On May 25th Footwear News delivered an in-depth look at diversity. In this new post, they established that, “… last month, when FN published its list of under-40 executives and designers, the severity of the problem was glaringly evident, even among the next generation of leaders — and shoe people took notice.” Although they made this statement the article that they’ve just written never explained how and why they created the list that they did.
That is the problem. Footwear News is the most respected news source for footwear in the industry. Their magazine has long been shared within companies from Nike to Footlocker Inc. Since revamping their website the traffic there hits almost a million visits a month and the content created is shared and retweeted at a rate that allows the site to thrive. Writing an analysis of the lack of diversity begins with an analysis of the inside of your own business I would think.
I don’t know who works for the company, but I do know that their editorial staff doesn’t have one Black person and like I said, in this article they’ve written on May 25th, they NEVER address the fact that they created a 40 Under 40, that was whitewashed. Now, I actually appreciate that they did create their list and then they tried to correct it with an updated designers list, but I have a few problems with their current attempt at delivering information on diversity:
- They posted the article on a Friday afternoon: MAY 25, 2018 4:12PM PT. That’s 1:12 ET. This might sound funny, but it’s not. Writing the article and delivering such an important post after lunch, on the Friday of a three day weekend ensured that the post would not be seen by many people. It also made sure that the article wouldn’t be shared and picked up on by Black media outlets.
- The fact that the article was posted so late in the afternoon and on the weekend of a holiday meant that other articles bumped this post from the front page and reduced the post to a byline without an image. I challenge anyone reading this post to go and find the Why the Footwear Industry Needs to Face Its Racial Diversity Problem article on the site. In the least they could have made such an important post a sticky.
- I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I will repeat it… It’s fine to have women editors as a source of diversity, but a guy like Sean Williams would be a perfect person to have on staff as a consultant/editor. He lives in New York and has a background which would lend depth and credibility to the Footwear News staff. He would also give them a true ear into the culture while preventing 40 under 40 lists from being crafted with just white people sitting at the table.
HOLD UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! REWWWIIIIINNNDDDDDD!!!!!!! (In my dancehall DJ voice)
Now that I have your attention. I was in the middle of #3 above and I decided to visit the Footwear News “About” page which only a few weeks ago was lily White. I have to commend the company on updating their page to reflect more diversity. Almost everything I wrote above, they’ve repaired and seemingly already had taken care of; which leads me to another question: Why was their original list so White?
If the staff was so diverse and has been, then they made a conscious decision to leave Black people off of the 40 Under 40 to celebrate people who look like the top tier of their own company. Which basically explains exactly what the problem is in the footwear industry. The people who are serving as the foot soldiers/grunts are pushed into the background on important matters which contributes to a host of other issues. If I was a kid of color interested in footwear journalism three weeks ago I wouldn’t have seen a black face on the about us page or in the top 40 of executives on Footwear News. This is the same at the top levels of Nike and adidas. One of the most important things in overcoming racism and workplace diversity issues is also the most simple thing to do, show the people who do the work. When people are aware of who is getting stuff done, then overlooking those people becomes blatant and easier to call out and fix.
YOU KNOW WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE?
They wrote an entire article delivering information on Jason Mayden, D’Wayne Edwards and other blacks and minorities, but they never acknowledged how they perpetuated the problem. The first part of this new article should have stated how they have taken an active role in giving their own editors a greater presence on the site. They also should add that they’ve taken a concerted effort to display a more diverse about page and that they challenge companies to follow their lead.
I definitely appreciate the post and I’m going to do my part to make sure people see it; even if Footwear News decided to bury it on a Friday afternoon of a three day weekend.
Source: Why the Footwear Industry Needs to Face Its Racial Diversity Problem
I just discovered this post which should be read by Jazerai Allen-Lord:
FILLING THE UNSPOKEN POC QUOTA
