Yes! You Still Need Diversity in Your Event Design
Including representation of different races, ethnicities, and cultural groups should be an important part of any conference design. However, there are other ways to design an inclusive event environment and overall guest experience by considering the following attendee needs:
Ability - According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Hearing Loss Association of America, 48% of Americans have some type of hearing impairment. So, in 2024, it should no longer be up for discussion whether or not to budget for making your event hearing-impaired friendly. Conference organizers can easily make two changes: first, ensure all videos have captioning; and, second, proactively provide a seating section for hearing-impaired individuals so that they can either read lips or visibly see the certified American Sign Language (ASL) translator.
Personality - In the 1920s, Carl Jung devised the terms introvert and extrovert to explain the differences between people’s personalities, which many focused on in large part due to the Myers-Briggs personality test. However, there was another personality type that Jung believed represented the majority of individuals–ambiverts, a balance between both personalities. For conference organizers interested in getting an investment/commitment of all learner types, including varied programming formats is essential. Some ideas are as follows: structured networking, mindfulness lounges, varied seating arrangements, and unstructured networking time. Relying on outdated formats of learning and agenda structures will communicate to attendees that you are not interested in their overall experience, but rather that you want them to assimilate to what you have designed. Simply put, tone-deaf planning doesn’t work.
Financially - There is a desire for professionals to learn at every stage of their career and, yet, we find that conference organizers are struggling to gain the interest of emerging/new professionals in meaningful ways. I encourage conference organizers to consider a financial model that emerging professionals can actually afford through sponsorships or arranging for larger companies to offer scholarships to a designated number of guests. Also, once they commit to attend, there needs to be a dedicated effort to welcome, guide, and support emerging professionals throughout their entire conference experience.
In our view, many people feel ‘over’ diversity, equity, and inclusion because they have focused exclusively on racial, gender, and cultural diversity. While efforts for racial diversity should absolutely continue and a program should no longer ever be all white, male, and over 50, as you design your events, you are encouraged to broaden your perspective of diversity, equity, and inclusion to think about who is not in the room; consider why, and curate an event where all are truly welcome.
p.s. Don’t forget to follow along with our journey via IG @belajoyful.
