Music Academy of the West
Doing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Right
How Star Insights Helped Music Academy of the West Turn DEI into an Organization-Wide Decision-Making Lens
A World-Class Organization
The Music Academy of the West is committed to providing exceptional classical music education to the next generation of classically trained musicians. Their summer fellowship attracts students from all over the world and is widely recognized for providing world-class educational opportunities that are of the same caliber as such prestigious institutions as The Juilliard School.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) was not a new idea for Music Academy of the West. It was an ongoing and evolving concern because their diverse fellowship of students was not reflected in the composition of their board.
“I think everybody kind of acknowledges that classical music is notoriously bad about inclusion. Fortunately, our fellows are actually pretty diverse, so our DEI initiative wasn’t going to be an admissions and recruiting thing. We really identified that there’s a need to diversify the board, which is hard to do because we live in a small community.” – Mimi Do
However, when the George Floyd protests started in May 2020, the conversation around racism in the United States was brought to a head and the board felt that additional action was necessary.
Finding The Right Frame
The first step was to get an idea of where everyone in the organization stood on these issues and how Music Academy of the West defined DEI. Star Insights put together and facilitated several group forums where these questions could be addressed and concerns could be openly heard, in a manner that would meet each party’s needs.
Over the course of these discussions, what was clearly identified was that everyone within Music Academy of the West had a vested interest in the success of their fellows. The cornerstone of how Star Insights would facilitate the incorporation of a more DEI-centered philosophy into the day-to-day processes of this renowned institution would be to showcase how DEI would improve upon the existing success each and every fellow experiences during their time there.
“These conversations [about the success of their fellows] are the types of conversations that help the group understand that it’s not about them being racist people — which is what people always worry about in this context. It’s about positioning yourself in the marketplace in a way that makes sense for who you are as a brand and as an organization.” – Karlo Marcelo
The alignment of interests was established and the route toward organizational success through deeper, more meaningful DEI initiatives was set.
“It really was a delving into who we are, and then talking about ‘How do we see ourselves?’ Are we being equitable or not? They put it all in the frame of our fellows. ‘This is what our fellows need. This is what they want. This is the culture they’re inheriting.’ And even if some members didn’t entirely understand or agree with what was being said, they all understood that these changes were for the fellows. So we had 100% agreement that this was what we should be doing.”
Mimi Do
Vice President & CFO,
Music Academy of the West
A Deeper Conversation
Digging deeper into how auditions were conducted allowed for more nuance and a deeper understanding of DEI to be instilled in the organization. Looking at age, income, access to transportation and internet, and other factors that impact a person’s ability to attend a free, virtual audition allowed Music Academy of the West to start tackling DEI from different perspectives.
By broadening the conversation from being about “race and ethnicity” to a multitude of factors, Star Insights helped Music Academy of the West turn DEI into a lens through which they could make all of their decisions.
Departments like administration, finance, and facilities, which had previously wondered what they could contribute to DEI initiatives were suddenly finding places they could make small but meaningful changes, like adjusting bathroom signage and updating the way names were listed on certain forms.
“Right away, we saw staff members talk about specific tasks that they could change based on their understanding of DEI. For a department like facilities, which was like, ‘what can we do?’ Well, they realized they could change all the bathroom signs. They’re such small things, but they help advancement, and they help our staff feel empowered around these initiatives.”
Mimi Do
Vice President & CFO,
Music Academy of the West
The marketing department also started considering new and innovative ways to reach their ideal market, While HR updated hiring processes, including job descriptions, recruiting methods, and interview practices, to be more inclusive and draw from a wider pool of applicants.
By shifting perspective from understanding DEI as a training seminar employees had to attend to thinking about how each individual employee could create more inclusion and access in their job, Music Academy of the West was able to deeply integrate their values into their everyday operations.
Embodying DEI Every Day
For the Music Academy of the West, embodying their DEI values was about improving how they talk amongst themselves and creating a process for them to find their own answers.
By facilitating discussions and creating an environment where stakeholders could freely have these necessary and difficult conversations, Star Insights helped them develop and produce a plan that the entire organization agreed with and committed to implementing.
“I thought this was going to be something we would do over a year or two. And we did it in three months! And that’s a credit to Star Insights, that they were able to pull up these meetings of all these stakeholders, and then put together something that we’re still looking at and referring back to.”
Mimi Do
Vice President & CFO,
Music Academy of the West
The Music Academy of the West has continued to bring Star Insights back to facilitate discussions with their volunteer group and other stakeholders, continuing their dedication to applying a DEI lens to everything they do.
