Award-winning talent expert at Ketchum. E-sports/gaming marketing enthusiast. DEI Practioner, learning ambassador. Latina.
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In theory, the metaverse is a victory for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). It enables people from every walk of life—regardless of color, creed, sexual preference, nationality, political leaning, you name it—to interact with each other freely and openly in areas like gaming, wellness, fitness, fashion, shopping, social media … and I could go on and on with that list.
That’s the theory, at least. But in practice, there’s a flipside to consider: When constructed poorly, a metaverse platform serves as a conduit for promoting values and behavior that discourages people from actually being their true selves online. In many platforms across the metaverse, harassment, trolling, threats of violence, and exposure to pornography and radical hate speech are just a daily part of “being online.” Furthermore, while many metaverse platforms have made incredible strides at providing users with tools for expressing themselves in ways that reflect their personalities in real life, progress hasn’t always been steady.
This brings me to some questions: From a DEI standpoint, how can the metaverse manifest equality and belongingness in ways that ensure its users don’t feel threatened or ridiculed simply for being themselves (without bothering anyone else)? And how can we create a metaverse in such a way that all users feel like they have the ways and means (accurate hair color, skin color, fashion styles, etc.) to accurately represent themselves online?
Speaking as someone who’s passionate about gaming and the metaverse, I’ve found myself at times in weird, creepy interactions with fellow players who seem more focused on harassing women or calling random people slurs than actually playing the game. And it turns out I’m not alone. According to recent findings by Statista, online harassment in online gaming isn’t the exception; it’s the “new normal.” And in a recent study on Facebook’s VR Metaverse—one of the most popular platforms for virtual interaction—a team of researchers found that the platform was a haven for “abuse, harassment, racism and pornographic content.” The study warned that the metaverse “connects users not just to each other but to an array of predators, exposing them to potentially harmful content every seven minutes on average.”
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So there’s that problem. But there’s also another one: a lack of diversity for people who want to engage in the metaverse. Since I’m a gamer, I’ll give you an example from gaming of what I’m talking about. White males make up only 30% of the American population. But when it comes to representation in games, according to a report published this year by Diamond Lobby, a mere 8.3% had a non-white female main character in them. To borrow an expression from my kid, “That’s kinda cringe.”
Why? Because it risks personally invalidating a large number of otherwise eager players. As a famous study from 1976, Living with Television, put it: “Representation in the physical world signifies social existence; absence means symbolic annihilation.”
Here’s some good news: Gen Z, the most diverse generation in world history, isn’t having it. And the numbers are on Gen Z’s side, as is its growing purchasing power. In order to keep their audiences growing, companies in the metaverse need to account for the kind of diverse representation that Gen Z demands. It’s not “woke” so much as it’s Simple Economics 101 that just so happens—horror of horrors!—to be ethical and egalitarian. Change for the better isn’t just possible; it’s good for business.
While tech has been somewhat slow in response to the demands of its younger audience, there appears to be a growing acceptance—even among tech CEOs—to address diversity across the metaverse for its users, as well as the need to hire more people who are actually reflective of America’s real demographics.
While gaming remains non-representative, there are some major bright spots. According to the same Diamond Lobby study as above, 50% of the playable characters in the game Apex Legends are female and half are male, including one who is nonbinary; 6 out of the 17 main characters are LGBTQ and 50% of the playable characters are Black, Asian or non-white. Another good example is Fortnite, which has already made a name for itself among LGBTQ+ gamers by releasing new avatar skins for Pride Month. During Pride 2022, when Fortnite released a new custom skin for Chica, a massively popular Fortnite streamer who is Puerto Rican and bisexual, the reactions from fans were instantly and overwhelmingly positive.
That isn’t just progress; it’s a bold leap for mankind. Given the fact that Apex Legends is currently the third-most popular game online in the world (after PUBG and Minecraft), it’s also data-driven proof that investing in diversity is sound for business. It’s saying that “people who feel comfortable in their skin are welcome here.”
When it comes to DEI initiatives in tech, many companies are taking the necessary steps forward to redress imbalances in the metaverse. Facebook is now looking to spend $1 billion per year from “diverse suppliers,” including $100 million from “Black-owned businesses.” Meanwhile, Apple has launched its own $100 million initiative with a focus on promoting “education, economic equality, and criminal justice reform” for people of color. While that doesn’t address some of the underlying disparities—including disproportionate underrepresentation in STEM for Blacks, Latinos and women—it’s a bold start.
When done well, the metaverse has a huge potential for good. So long as you’ve got the connection speed (which a fast-growing portion of the world does), the metaverse enables you to span the distance between states, countries and continents in a virtual instant. While there are storms ahead, I remain convinced that DEI—both in real life and in the metaverse—will remain a powerful force for long-term positive change, no matter the day-to-day weather.
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Author: Julie Veloz, Forbes Councils Member
