Global Equity Taskforce Wants to Change the Beat of the Industry
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By Jason Dunn Sr., Executive Director, National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals & Co-Chair of the Global Equity Taskforce
In November 2020, Events Industry Council announced the creation of a Global Equity Taskforce. The Global Equity Taskforce was formed in response to a letter, or call to action, from some of the industry’s best and brightest black leaders. The letter questioned the moral compass of the industry and challenged association and DMO leadership to acknowledge the discriminatory practices within our profession. EIC was chosen as the facilitator of the global taskforce, due to its reach and unique access to other associations.
The Global Equity Taskforce had three aims:
1) Establish a group of facts that clearly and concisely identified discriminatory policies or practices that are universally agreed upon within the industry.
2) Compile and analyze these data points against the principles of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging before seeking to understand the intentionality of racism, or the intersectionality of the report’s findings, against the lived experiences expressed in the letter to the industry. Then, crystallize the data by formatting a benchmark that guides the industry within a structured framework in order to measure our progress in achieving authentic and systematic parity.
3) Enthusiastically assist associations with implementing innovative strategies that lead to transformative policies, that can be measured over time.
The Global Equity Taskforce isn’t naive. It’s not lost on us, the notion that we alone can’t change systematic racism. However, we do believe that our work will lift the veil and pierce the consciousness of the industry.
The journey to change will have its bumps and hills, but if we keep pushing, soon the road we are traveling down will become a path. There is an African proverb that says:
“When the drummers change their beats, the dancers must also change their steps.”
My ask of you today is to help us change the beat of the industry, so we can impact change in a meaningful way.
