#BreaktheBias IWD2022
I was asked by the team at OnRoad Research (the research team behind Nothing Beats A Londoner) what the theme of International Women’s Day 2022 meant to me…
What’s your full name? Hanna Dillon Chalmers
What pronouns do you use? she/her
Please use a couple of sentences to introduce yourself and your work… I run a research collective called CultureStudio having worked as a researcher since university. I worked at the BBC and Universal Music for several years before turning agency side and then setting up my collective in 2020. I feel privileged to do the work that I do and love being a researcher, as much now, as ever.
The theme for International Women’s Day 2022 is ‘Break the Bias’… Share with us what this phrase means to you…
'Break the Bias' as a theme remains so necessary and has been a central thread in my work throughout my career. And whilst the political and cultural landscape has been upended in the last five years, shining a light on bias and how it continues to impact so negatively on the lives of women is as important now, as ever. We have seen incredible shifts in the optics of brands and organisations, and genuine efforts to reduce inequalities by not resorting to crude stereotypes. But too often still, the hard data reveals stark differences in how women succeed/thrive/survive in parenthood, in marriage, in work, in pay, in ageing.
What has been incredible to witness though, is how the language of the 'academy' of feminism (and importantly intersectional feminism) has become mainstream. Who would ever have predicted a day when we'd see definitions of critical race theory in the Daily Mail? Or when the untimely death of feminist academic bell hooks was so widely mourned in mainstream media? It's a remarkable (incredible) achievement of those academics, theorists and activists of the generation that came before me that they were able to articulate so powerfully how, and why, everyday culture, be it language, media discourse or brand imagery, help to perpetuate bias and cement existing power structures that continue to harm women and all underrepresented groups.
No reasonable person would agree that bias against, or for, a human based on their gender/race/age/sexuality is desirable and yet we are in the middle of a huge backlash (the so called 'culture war') where some of those who have traditionally held power, don't particularly want to relinquish it! Whether these groups will admit it or not, this wish to maintain the status quo lies at the heart of a rejection of pluralist and inclusive values that benefit women. It's an absolutely fascinating moment to be a researcher and those of us who specialise in cultural insight are more in demand than ever before helping brands and organisations navigate a highly complex territory.
Diversity of perspective, of lived experience is completely vital to me in terms of both in terms of who I want to hang out with but also the people I want to work with. We need to be constantly challenged in the inherent biases we all possess. It's what makes my job so endlessly interesting and enjoyable.
