Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access (DEIA) In Communication: Critically Assessing Research and Practice Agendas

In recent years, global sociological scholarship has reckoned with the opportunities and challenges of diversity, equity, inclusion and access (DEIA) in communication (including traditional news media, social media, political communication, health settings, and organisations). In some respects, DEIA agendas can be read as an historical achievement arising from social movements that have worked to highlight structural inequity as a public concern, while creating opportunities for lived expertise to inform efforts to address entrenched practices of structural exclusion. Critical scholarship, however, has illuminated notable limitations and complexities that impede meaningful DEIA work; especially amid growing global backlash that has sought to reframe DEIA as a ‘woke’ agenda.

This open session will bring together scholars working on a range of DEIA research concerns to reflect on the contested (and sometimes contradictory) spaces in which DEIA initiatives are developed; including how these are experienced, understood, and resisted in the current political and economic climate. Selected papers will grapple with historical and contemporary debate surrounding DEIA in various communicative contexts, focusing on critical approaches to understand and respond to these challenges. These approaches may include, but are not limited to, racial capitalism, settler colonialism, and intersectionality. We will also showcase perspectives on the role of communication in dismantling structural exclusion through improved representation of – and engagement with – those charged with ‘being the diversity’ (such as multicultural, Indigenous, Disabled, ageing, and LGBTQIA+ communities).