UK Advertising Census Reveals Industry Views on Equality

According to an industry census, much of the U.K.’s advertising sector believe their companies are taking steps in the right direction when it comes to being more inclusive. However, there were continuing issues highlighted when it came to gender equality. The "All In Census" was founded as a collaboration between industry bodies the Advertising Association, the IPA and IBSA in a combined effort to improve the diversity of advertising both in its workforce and creative output. The census outcomes The Inclusion Working Group formed to steer that ambition, with the first initiative being an industry census that brought back over 16,000 responses from a single day sharing workplace experiences across advertising. That is just below 20% of the U.K. sector who answered anonymously. Highlighting one of the main focal points of the whole initiative was Kathryn Jacob, CEO of the advertising company Pearl & Dean and chair of the Inclusion Working Group. Jacob told Adweek “This is a system change that needs to happen ... we need to get our house in order, rather than just recruit more diversity." Of the respondents, 83% said they believed their company was “actively taking steps” to be more inclusive. However, there were areas where inclusivity was lacking, like Black talent holding just 1% of C-suite positions and disabled talent at just 9%. People whose parents held professional backgrounds were almost two-thirds of the sector at 64% (the national average being 37%). 20% of advertising professionals attended fee-paying schools (against the national average of 8%). We need to get our house in order, rather than just recruit more diversity.—Kathryn Jacob, CEO, Pearl & Dean Women were at a disadvantage, with over half (53%) stating they felt taking parental leave hurt their careers, with a 10% pay gap emerging at senior management and above. Meanwhile, 12% said they experienced sexual discrimination, but less than half (38%) felt able to report it. That fell to 26% when it came time to report personal discrimination. Sophia Durrani, head of strategic planning for the U.K government account at MG OMD and chief strategy officer for female advertising professionals at Bloom U.K., responded to the results saying that while she felt it was “reassuring” to see tangible action, it was clear that “systematic change” was needed. “Ours is an industry built upon understanding the nuances and differences across the population,” she continued. Durrani expressed how Bloom U.K. heard about negative experiences when companies focused on diversity quotas without considering how to support individuals to thrive. Another area of concern that increased during the pandemic restrictions focused on the mental wellbeing of staff. Nearly a third (31%) of respondents said they were stressed or anxious. What happens next? Post census, Jacobs revealed that other sector representatives had been in touch to understand how they can implement a similar initiative to understand concerns within their workforce. The World Federation of Advertisers will replicate the "All In Census" across 27 countries for two weeks between June 21 and July 2. “If we can create this change, just imagine the influence we will have on wider society, and also how strong we will be in that fight for talent,” she added. Jed Hallam, head of Mediabrands Content Studio U.K., welcomed the outcome. Hallam recently formed a forum called "Common People" to support and encourage more working-class talent in advertising. "We have to be more bullish," he added, stating that barriers must be "flattened" to allow entry to the industry. Some key actions following the census are improving the experience and representation of Black talent using the recently launched Black Representation in Marketing (BRiM) framework. An audit of websites across the industry to outline online accessibility to support disabled professionals and encourage talent from working-class backgrounds is a priority. A directory of inclusion initiatives across the U.K. was also created to detail how to recruit, support and develop talent. Diversity and Inclusion: What’s Changed and What Hasn’t

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

UK Advertising Census Reveals Industry Views on Equality

The 'All In Census' is a collaboration between the Advertising Association, the IPA and ISBA

The census outcomes

Stephen Lepitak

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The census outcomes

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Stephen Lepitak