Diversity -- One Step Back and Two Steps Forward

Since its inception this study has shown the strides the industry has made to increase gender and ethnic diversity Year after year we39ve been proud of the progress that39s been made while acknowledging our work was far from overYet this latest study has found that ethnic diversity took a step back after several years of progress The industry is now 308 percent ethnically diverse down from 323 percent a year agoThe 308 percent ethnic diversity of the advertisingmarketing industry tracks below the 422 percent diversity makeup of the total US population according to the 2020 US CensusThe study found that the overall ethnic skew of the industry is 103 percent Asian 95 percent HispanicLatino and 72 percent African AmericanBlack While Asian representation is high in the industry and skews higher than the US population ethnic diversity remains low for the African AmericanBlack and HispanicLatino segments when comparing it to the 2020 US CensusThis past year was challenging for diversity The US Supreme Court struck down racebased affirmative action in higher education There have been reports about the decline of chief diversity officer positions including their outright elimination in some cases The fears of an impending recession led some in Corporate America to reorganize which translated to workforce reductions throughout many industries Those reductions might have had the collateral damage of letting a disproportionate number of diverse marketers be a part of the downsizing This all resulted in a step back for diversity in the advertisingmarketing industry in 2023Yet there has been progress There is encouraging news with gains in ethnic diversity at senior levels There is 173 percent ethnic diversity in CMO positions up from 146 percent and the highest in the sixyear study period Furthermore CMOs are 599 percent female also the highest in the sixyear study periodRepresentation growth is an important initiative for the Society and Sustainability priority of the ANA Growth Agenda which provides a guide for the industry to leverage marketing as a sustainable growth driver A specific mandate for the Society and Sustainability working group is to achieve equal representation in the media and creative supply chain This includes marketers agencies production crews and media providers that create distribute and monetize advertising programs and content This means that at every link in the chain at every level we aspire to achieve equal gender representation and ethnic representation equal to the US population For ethnicity that means being as close to possible to the 42 percent diversity makeup of the US population Clearly there is more work to doEqual representation is not just the right thing to do it39s the smart thing to do With equal representation the industry can see greater creativity and innovation as well as increased access to opportunity which together lead to equity in income and wealth creation That leads to purchasing power which leads to market growthquotA Diversity Report for the AdvertisingMarketing Industryquot includes significant qualitative feedback to improve diversity Best practices for talent recruitment include setting goals for the number of ethnically diverse hires to match the population of customers having a diverse slate of candidates as well as diverse interview panels and partnering with outside organizations that have a diversity perspective such as HBCUsRetention is just as important as recruitment and possibly even more so Best practices for retention include senior leadership commitment to mentor and develop diverse employees employee resource groups to help make diverse employees feel more connected and continuously cultivating a culture of inclusion and belonging through consistent messaging about the importance and impact of DEIOne step back and two steps forward I am optimistic that 2024 will be a year where diversity in the advertisingmarketing industry takes two steps or more forwardClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageorgMyersBizNet

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Diversity -- One Step Back and Two Steps Forward

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Bill Duggan

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