The Things People Say

CBS aims to eliminate any possibility of perceived discrimination, and the source of this discrimination often is microinequities.

When it comes to inclusion and cultural differences, Tiffany Smith-Anoa’i, vice president of diversity and communications for CBS Broadcasting, has a motto she lives by. She preaches it in the workplace and at home to her 7-year-old daughter.

“Going out for sushi,” Smith-Anoa’i said, “isn’t celebrating diversity.”

According to Smith-Anoa’i, microinequities are making “assumptions with a strong stereotype base, where you judge people as a collective group instead of [as] individuals.” In this case, it would be going out for sushi and making a point to invite Japanese co-workers. It’s a mistake many adults in positions of influence and leadership make, despite being a concept that even a child knows is wrong.

“As my daughter would say, ‘Please don’t call people on their color. It might hurt their feelings,’” Smith-Anoa’i said.

In her role at CBS, Smith-Anoa’i said she spends a lot of time teaching her peers why certain words cannot be used in comedies, or if the network is airing historical programming, finding a consultant to make sure people and events are portrayed in the correct manner. If an actor is performing an accent, it must be done correctly, she said.

The overall goal is to eliminate any possibility of perceived discrimination, and the source of this discrimination often is microinequities.

“Perception becomes reality because it’s perpetuated so often,” Smith-Anoa’i said of the cultural perceptions that form stereotypes. “People don’t realize how strong stereotypes can be, but they can be so strong sometimes that they turn into fact.”

Smith-Anoa’i said she has developed a sense of the impact microinequities have because of discrimination she has experienced firsthand — from being told she didn’t sound black or look black after meeting someone for the first time, to co-workers wanting to touch her hair simply because it was different.

Then there’s the story of a black film director from her neighborhood who Smith-Anoa’i also worked with at Nike. After the director was featured in the Los Angeles Times, she was discussing the article with some current co-workers when one of them asked, “How do you know him? Did you guys grow up in the hood together?”