(Georgette Taylor, host of the podcast, “The Doll World” and co- creator of the first plus size fashion dolls, Big Beautiful Dolls, has written a very cogent comment to this article. Although this was published in 2020, I thought it time to bring it back. Make sure you read the comments at the end.)
……
It’s not that the door isn’t open. It’s not even visible.
……
Here is how you know that there are not many African-Americans working in the toy industry. When you do see someone who is Black, you notice it.
When it comes to race and the toy industry, the lack of African-Americans in the toy industry is very much the elephant in the room. This lack of representation, of course, raises the question: Why? After all, its 2020 and the modern toy industry has been around for well over one hundred years.
One reason we don’t see many Black faces is that many people, and that includes African-Americans, simply don’t think about the toy industry as a career opportunity. How many of you have found that when asked what you do for a living and respond with “I work in the toy industry,” get this two-step response?
1. That must be fun.
2. How did you do that? (Meaning how did you get a job in the toy industry).
Getting a job is, of course, not magic. What concerns me is the absence of a simple understanding of how to get a job in the industry leads me to believe that we, as an industry, do not do enough to promote career opportunities. It’s not that the door isn’t open. It’s not even visible.
I think one thing we as individuals, individual companies and an industry can do is to conduct outreach to historically Black colleges and universities to recruit and talk to students about the toy industry as a career path. By reaching out to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, we will not just be opening the door but assisting Black graduates in realizing there is a door.
That is just a first step, but it is at least a step.
There are over 100 Historically Black Colleges and Universities. We can’t be everywhere, but we could begin with these ten highly-rated institutions of Higher learning.
| Howard University | Washington | DC |
| Xavier University of Louisiana | New Orleans | Louisiana |
| Hampton University | Hampton | Virginia |
| Morehouse College | Atlanta | Georgia |
| Tuskegee University | Tuskegee | Alabama |
| Clark Atlanta University | Atlanta | Georgia |
| Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University | Tallahassee | Florida |
| North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University | Greensboro | North Carolina |
| North Carolina Central University | Durham | North Carolina |
| Southern University and A&M College | Baton Rouge | Louisiana |
See a full list by visiting https://hbculifestyle.com/list-of-hbcu-schools/
I totally agree that there is certainly not enough sharing and or knowledge being shared about jobs and careers in the Toy Industry and or the doll industry. Being in these positions allow for making changes and representation with toys that our children play with each and everyday. To have Black people in many positions helps to assure their is representation is being created in images that support, honor and showcase who we are. I host a podcast, In The Doll World and I was the co- creator of the first plus size fashion dolls, called Big Beautiful Dolls over 20 years ago and as African American women in the doll space, it was very evident there were not many of us in that space, and i am reach out to guest today, there maybe more black designers in the doll space but the toy space is still very little and it truly is a lucrative business. So yes i do believe there should be a course and our major added to the curriculum in HBCU’s there is a vastness of positions within that industry.
I completely agree with this tactic and can be expanded to the larger People of Color (POC) community such as Hispanic/Latino population.