Spotlight on Diversity: Bryony Bouyer of Hasbro

February 17, 2020 |Hasbro-Bryony-Bouyer Toy News Tuesday editors recently had the opportunity to chat with Bryony Bouyer, senior vice president of diversity and inclusions & multi-cultural strategies at Hasbro. Bouyer also serves on The Toy Association’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee. TNT discusses with Bouyer her role in helping build Hasbro’s D&I initiatives and the steps other companies can take to do the same.

Why was it important to you to join The Toy Association’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee?

Bouyer: At Hasbro, we believe that supporting all people and promoting inclusion across our business and society makes the world a better place for all. And we know that the more inclusive we are as a company, the stronger our business will be around the world.

Hasbro’s Diversity and Inclusion Executive Steering Committee is deeply committed to our CSR goals and recognizes that having commercially minded, passionate, and diverse points of view on the committee is a key component of our success.

Internally, Hasbro has positioned diversity and inclusion as a central piece of its global CSR goals.

What steps has Hasbro taken to ensure inclusion and diversity in the workplace, and can you discuss your role as the company’s first SVP of diversity and inclusion & multi-cultural strategies?

Bouyer: Hasbro’s diversity and inclusion strategy is focused on three areas:

  • Our Employees – Promoting a culture of inclusion in which our employees feel valued, respected, and engaged and where their differences, skills, and experiences are embraced.

  • Our Supply Chain – Positively impacting the lives and well-being of workers in our supply chain, including women, who represent the vast majority of factory workers making our products.

  • Our Brands and Storytelling – Building our brands globally through inclusive and expansive play and entertainment experiences, which reflect the diverse backgrounds and interests of our consumers, including children, families, and fans.

Over the last few years, we have deployed multiple complementary actions against the strategies above which include:

  • The expansion of our Employees Networks, a group of over 700 “voluntary leaders” who are passionately driving initiatives that drive employee engagement.

  • The launch of Unconscious Bias workshops to ensure that we value and leverage differences to achieve superior results

  • With the face of the U.S. workforce and consumer base drastically changing, it is a strategic imperative to acquire, develop, and retain diverse top talent from all backgrounds. Therefore, to ensure that the talent we interview reflects the face of our consumer base, we strive for a 50 percent diverse candidate slate for all open positions in the U.S.

While I am the first senior vice president of diversity and inclusion & multicultural strategies, Hasbro has been building its D&I initiatives through multiple stakeholders in the organization over the last several years. The development of this role is a clear sign of the strong commitment from our leadership and underscores Hasbro’s commitment and focus on diversity and inclusion.

What are some ways companies can best measure how they reach their D&I goals?

Bouyer: I think it’s important for companies to have public goals around diversity and inclusion. Hasbro does have specific public goals around representation for women globally, minorities in the U.S., and also around our culture. All of these are measured on a consistent basis.

What do you see as some of the challenges companies still face in opening C-Suite doors to women and minorities? What ways do you think toy/youth products companies can better work together to remedy this?

Bouyer: We know that in countries like the U.S., the multi-cultural population for kids under 18 will grow to approximately 50 percent of the population in 2020. We also know that while there are many “Universal Truths” across all cultures, there are nuances for each culture that we must understand in order to effectively reach and engage these audiences. This presents a significant opportunity for brands and content providers to expand their workforce to reflect that diverse customer-base consistently and effectively.

On the last committee call, you mentioned the challenge to hire for capability vs. experience and rising from that in teaching the basics of the industry. Can you expand on this?

Bouyer: Companies must be willing to look for talent outside the industry to achieve workforce representation that reflects the population that we all serve. Focusing on an employee’s ability to transfer skills from different industries and job function vs. their specific functional and industry experience is key to the continued diversification of all of our businesses.

How can a more diverse workforce help bring more authenticity and relevancy to today’s consumers through product and content?

Bouyer: At Hasbro, we continue to build our brands globally through inclusive and expansive play and entertainment experiences, which reflect the diverse backgrounds and interests of our consumers. A diverse workforce ensures that we apply the broadest lens possible throughout our entire process (consumer insights, content, product and marketing, retail execution, etc).

Toy Fair Diversity & Inclusion Panel

Bouyer will also be part of a panel next week at Toy Fair New York, “Diversity & Inclusion: More Than Checking Off a Box.” The session is a collaboration between The Toy Association, Licensing International and Women in Toys, Licensing, & Entertainment (WIT). It will take place Monday, February 24 at 11:30 a.m. (Hall 1E, Room 1E11), where members of the children’s entertainment community will share best practices for fostering diversity, inclusion, and belonging in the workplace. Panelists will include Bryony Bouyer of Hasbro, Jamie Stevens of Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Shawn Smith of Warner Bros. Naz Amarchi-Cuevas of SYBO Games will moderate.

This interview is part of an ongoing series that spotlights committee members of The Toy Association’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee. This committee was formed to build awareness of and provide best practices for creating diversity within toy companies’ missions, workforce, products, and content development. Previously featured committee members include LEGO's Mark Moynihan, Walmart's Anne Marie Kehoe, and Mattel's Kim Culmone. To learn more about the ongoing work of The Toy Association’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee, click here.