How agencies are working to be more accountable for diversity, equity and inclusion goals

By Jessica Davies

Every brand marketer and agency claims to want more in the way of diversity, equity and inclusion. Even during the pandemic, as companies struggled to keep business on track, they continued to vow to build a more representative workforce.

But what are some of the real, concrete ways the advertising community has made recent progress in its long-envisioned goal?

It’s easy to get agencies to talk about their DE&I initiatives. It is an altogether different task to persuade them to share the numbers — actual results of their diversity efforts vis-à-vis human resources.

Cheil Worldwide agency McKinney is determined to be more transparent. The Durham, N.C.-based shop, which works with brands like Samsung and Little Caesars, has for years made DE&I a top priority, establishing a partnership with North Carolina Central University to teach and mentor aspiring ad professionals, creating a DE&I team that encompasses members of management, and launching a program called Chroma with the goal of supporting multicultural employees and contributing to diversity education inside the company. It also became an inaugural sponsor of One School, a free portfolio program for Black creatives.

But for the very first time last year, the agency publicly revealed the gender, race and ethnic makeup of its entire workforce, in an effort to be more accountable.

“McKinney made a true investment to promote Black talent in the industry,” said Chandra Guinn, the agency’s executive director of DE&I, a newly created position. Guinn joined McKinney last month from Duke University, where she was director of the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture. In joining the company, she said, “Every industry needs to have a light shined on it. And advertising crosses industries and has the potential to reach far and wide, to support and contribute to and to elevate our consciousness around the questions of equity and justice.”

Josh Wand, founder, and CEO of New York-based ForceBrands, a recruitment agency serving brand marketers like The Coca-Cola Co. and General Mills, said more companies are seeking specialists in DE&I “to help them remodel their businesses to create a better environment,” including the recruitment of diverse professionals early in their careers. “It’s a long time coming,” he said. “Companies really need to systemically change and create an infrastructure that better allows for diversity and inclusion. It’s been proven that if you build an inclusive workforce, the probability of your having a more successful company is much higher.”

“It’s different this time,” added Jenn Gottlieb, global president of the healthcare marketing agency W2O Group. “There is [a] meaningful and positive change to fight racial inequality.” Corporations of every size have expressed solidarity with those protesting the killing of George Floyd, by donating to social justice efforts and taking greater steps to make their workplaces more inclusive, she pointed out.

W2O, with clients including Radius Health and Lupin Pharmaceuticals, has worked to imbed DE&I across all its operations, setting diversity targets and sharing metrics. Its efforts include supporting groups like the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the LGBTQ Freedom Fund, building …read more

Source:: Digiday