Cultural Sensitivity in Media and Messaging
Idea Engineering purposefully strives to produce campaigns and materials that exhibit a high degree of cultural sensitivity, reflective of our clients’ intentions. We believe that doing so is not only the right thing to do, but that cultural relevance drives buy-in and engagement with our target populations, thus achieving our clients’ strategic goals more effectively.
Such efforts are particularly important for historically underrepresented and underserved communities, who face higher barriers to accessing important information, resources, and services. For vulnerable populations such as these, it is essential to build a trusting relationship via culturally appropriate materials in order to establish effective communications.
Given that the efficacy and relevance of any particular messaging is not the same across all audiences, our strategy is to customize and localize materials as much and as often as possible. To do so, our creative process takes into account diverse perspectives and includes various levels of review and approval with pertinent parties. We collect input and feedback in numerous ways, including input sessions with community members, conversations with stakeholders, plus internal discussions with our diverse and experienced staff and collaborators.
Addressing the goal of destigmatizing and increasing access to important information, resources, and services, the communications materials we create feature people of diverse backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ages, and abilities. We endeavor to produce materials in the languages and literacy levels that are appropriate for our target audiences. We want our audiences to experience the stories we tell as stories about themselves, not stories being told about other people, and thus allow them to feel “on the inside” of the story, not viewing it from the outside. By this method, the audience connects to the message in a much more emotional and visceral way and is more likely to internalize the message than one delivered purely by way of intellectual reasoning.
Idea Engineering embraces and celebrates diversity, inclusivity, and equity. Our staff and leadership participate in regular cultural competence trainings and workshops covering topics such as implicit bias, cultural humility, health equity, and ethnic studies.
Policies
Equal Opportunity Employment
Idea Engineering is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate, exclude, or treat applicants differently on the basis of sex, gender identity, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, age, veteran status, or any other basis. This policy applies to all terms, conditions and privileges of employment, including recruitment, hiring, placement, compensation, promotion, discipline and termination.
Idea Engineering takes affirmative action to employ and advance in employment qualified applicants without discrimination on any basis. For more information, refer to the Equal Opportunity clause, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the affirmative action clause of the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (38 U.S.C. 4212).
All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to their membership in any of the protected categories listed in California Government Code section 12940.
Non-Harassment Policy / Non-Discrimination Policy
Consistent with its workplace policy of equal employment opportunity, the company prohibits and will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on race, color, religion, creed, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status or any other status protected by applicable law. Each individual has the right to work in a professional atmosphere that promotes equal employment opportunities and is free from discriminatory practices. Violations of this policy will not be tolerated.
Discrimination includes, but is not limited to: making any employment decision or employment related action on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, national origin, marital or veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law.
Harassment is generally defined as unwelcome verbal or non-verbal conduct, based upon a person’s protected characteristic, that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion toward the person because of the characteristic, and which affects the person’s employment opportunities or benefits, has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with the person’s work performance, or has the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment. Harassing conduct includes, but is not limited to: epithets; slurs or negative stereotyping; threatening, intimidating or hostile acts; denigrating jokes and display or circulation in the workplace of written or graphic material that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion toward an individual or group based on their protected characteristic.