Hashtags don’t come with a paycheck
Disrupting Workplace Ageism
How can we dismantle stereotypes on ageist workplace ideas? This series features stories of professionals defying expectations and takes a hard look at what the research reveals about real-world ageism in the workplace.
April Reign started a movement with a tweet. Her hashtag challenged the entertainment industry.
“As a teenager in the ’80s, I didn't see a lot of Black women with white-collar professions in my community. On TV, I watched Claire Huxtable make being a lawyer look exciting, glamorous, and important. I liked that idea. My mother had a law degree but never practiced. I became a lawyer and practiced for almost 20 years. But it wasn’t a job I found fulfilling.
“Little did I know that tweeting #OscarsSoWhite from my family room one January morning would be the catalyst for me to take a leap and do something completely different. I found what I’d been looking for, but didn't know exactly what that was.
“After people around the world started talking about the lack of diversity surrounding the Academy Awards and journalists reached out to me, I knew that I had to pivot: how can I make this new reality into a sustainable occupation? I didn’t plan for this. And hashtags don’t come with a paycheck.
“The internet has allowed people a lot more freedom to create jobs and titles for themselves. So at 44, I began a new career. I relied, in part, on the gravitas that comes with being a former attorney and used that as my entry point as someone who has transformative ideas about structural change within the entertainment industry.
“Today, I’m a strategic consultant on issues of DEI and representation for the entertainment industry. I work behind the scenes with corporations, brands, and studios who want to be intentional and authentic about promoting a product, a TV show, or a film, but don’t know how. I engage in conversations about how to address a particular demographic or a community.
“The work goes beyond the Oscars. The work is impressing upon those in the entertainment industry that change must happen at the very top. It is the executives who give the green light with respect to what kind of movies and TV shows get made.
“I hope in 10 years, #OscarsSoWhite becomes a moot point because we see sustained inclusion and representation both in front of and behind the camera. With respect to my professional future, I am going to let things flow and remain open to what’s to come. I am continuing to chase joy.”