About this session

Thursday, 11:40 AM - 1:10 PM

Charting a New Course: Elevating Diversity and Inclusion in Children's Media

In recent years, the call for increased diversity, representation, and inclusion in children's media has become more urgent and pronounced. This push is driven by the recognition that all children, regardless of their background, can benefit from exposure to diverse and inclusive content. This roundtable aims to delve into this critical issue, exploring the various facets of diversity in children's media and the steps needed to ensure that all children see themselves reflected in the stories they watch and learn from.

Parents and teachers may sometimes face challenges in effectively teaching diversity, presenting an opportunity for children's media to fill this gap. Children learn primarily through visual cues, making it crucial to provide characters who look, sound, and act like them (Díaz-Wionczek., 2023). However, prior to 2017, only 42% of preschool TV characters are human (Russo Johnson et al., 2021), and just a third of those characters are of color. Despite these challenges, there have been notable examples of progress in children's media, with shows like Dora the Explorer, Rosie's Rules, Molly of Denali, and Alma's Way effectively embedding authentic cultural representation in their storytelling and involving community members in their production.

To foster healthy racial learning, children's media should prioritize visual representation of diversity, incorporate culturally authentic stories, diversify behind-the-scenes teams, and intentionally promote children's racial learning. It's a collective responsibility involving parents, caregivers, educators, and media creators to ensure that children become informed, inclusive, and adept at navigating issues of race and diversity.

Session moderator
Jessica Huancacuri, New York University

Panelists
Mariana Díaz-Wionczek, PhD, Adjunct Professor, New York University ; Executive Producer, 9 Story Media, United States
Susana Beltrán-Grimm, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Purdue University ; Previously Early Childhood Director at PBS SoCal, United States
Makeda Mays Green, Senior Vice President, Digital and Cultural Consumer Insights at Nickelodeon, Canada
Medha Tare, PhD, Senior Director of Research, Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, United States

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