|
When systemic workforce issues attract the attention of the news media, who bears responsibility? A new study shows that more often than not, the onus is placed on individuals, mostly people of color. Race Forward published the results of a three-year project analyzing media coverage of workers in the technology and healthcare sectors and surfacing implicit bias in reporter storytelling.
"Beyond Training and the 'Skills Gap': Research and Recommendations for Racially Equitable Communications in Workforce Development analyzes media coverage and compares the frequency of stories with individualist framing vs. systemic framing. Our research reveals that more often than not, an individualist framing centers the responsibility of employment outcomes—from hiring, to retention, to career progress, to earnings, etc.—almost entirely on individual initiative and work ethic.
The report looks to storytelling with systemic framing as a fairer and more just solution to this problem.
"Systemic framing, by contrast, uses language and stories that substantively cover the lack of resources underlying the skills gap and the disparities we see in employment outcomes. These resources include education, transportation, social network access, and others that are often place-based. Ideally, systemic framing addresses the role of employer discrimination and inequitable policies and practices, whether carried out intentionally or not."
While the report focuses on media coverage of the healthcare and technology sectors, it offers a new lens through which we can begin looking at the way we talk about all areas of employment, the allocation of resources, and equitable workforce development.
On Wednesday, October 9th, at 2:00PM EST, Race Forward is hosting a webinar to take a deeper dive into the research and the report, and to discuss organizational practice recommendations. Register for the webinar today!
| 
