Marketing View Its Inclusivity as Higher than Other Sectors

The global marketing industry performs better than many other sectors, such as health and pharmaceuticals, education and professional services in terms of inclusion, an international piece of research has discovered. Preliminary results of “The Global DEI Census,” conducted by Kantar for the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) across 27 countries—including the U.S., South Africa, EMEA and Asia—also found that women's “lived experience” of the industry was poorer than men's and that there remains “strong evidence” of a gender pay gap, despite placing above other industries. The make-up of survey respondents saw men represent 41%, women 58% and gender non-conforming respondents 1%. Over two thirds (64%) of those surveyed said they felt the marketing industry "performs" better in terms of inclusivity than other industries measured by Kantar. This beat Health and Pharmaceuticals and Education—both of which scored 60% among respondents—Professional Services (59%) and Retail, Wholesale, Ecommerce (59%) respectively within the top five industries. 'Scratch beneath the surface and there is a myriad of stories of suffering,' said Gareth Rees, head of CX partnership services for Kantar's Insight Division. As part of Kantar’s Inclusion Index of questions around people’s sense of belonging, a global average of 64% of marketers said they felt the industry was inclusive, with Belgium ranking the highest with a score of 74%. Meanwhile, a sense of an absence of discrimination and negative behavior was cited by over two-thirds of men (69%) and 61% of women respondents. Having a family 'hinders women's careers' The most common discrimination identified was around family status and age, with 27% of respondents agreeing that their company did not treat employees with children fairly, while the same number said their company did not treat employees equally regardless of age. This was particularly true of women respondents, with 40% saying that having a family could hinder their careers. Common themes arise again and again; discrimination against caregivers and the old and the young, women and minorities living poorer work experiences.Gareth Rees, Kantar “The marketing industry shows itself to be relatively progressive at first glance. But scratch beneath the surface and there is a myriad of stories of suffering,” highlighted Gareth Rees, head of CX partnership services for the Insight Division of Kantar. “Common themes arise again and again; discrimination against caregivers and the old and the young, women and minorities living poorer work experiences and stark inequalities between cohorts and countries. This survey shines a light on those stories so that action can be taken to address them. There is a business and moral imperative to do so,” he added. New recruits' gender pay gap Another issue raised was that the gender pay gap was worst among new recruits to the industry—at 14% in the U.S. and 20% in Canada—while ethnic minorities were found to score lower when it came to their sense of belonging to their company. Of those surveyed in the U.S., 17% said they had faced discrimination due to their background. Diversity and Inclusion: What’s Changed and What Hasn’t The lack of diversity faced by the industry globally also continued to be a serious concern, with 17% of respondents saying they would likely leave their employer due to a lack of inclusion and 15% said they would exit the industry altogether. Only 7% of respondents said they had reported any health conditions to their employer over the last 12 months and more and, of those who are considered "disabled," 71% globally had reported experiencing mental and cognitive issues. Over half (59%) of those surveyed said they felt supported by their employer regarding their health issues. However, less than half (44%) said their companies were aware of their disabilities or impairments. Industry must do better Belinda Smith, CEO Americas for m/Six and global WFA diversity ambassador, said that while there were "positive takeaways," it was evident that many marketers did not feel the industry to be inclusive or welcoming enough. “Through some of our wider work with the WFA, we’ve been exploring the power of representative creative output and we know that that starts by listening to representative voices and having diverse opinions from our teams. "This first in-depth survey to look at both the diversity of our global industry and also how included people feel within it is a critical step towards moving us forwards—of course what we now need is continued and greater action to ensure the results are stronger when we next see them," she added. The initiative will run again in the spring of 2023 to measure the progress of the industry against this first set of results. Speaking to Adweek earlier this year during the Sustainability and DEI Summit, Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, said that at a corporate level she had witnessed "two steps forward, three steps back" when it came to the handling of inclusion. “Having a comprehensive approach from the onset is key. We have made tremendous progress, and there is a long road ahead of us, but there are really tactical ways to approach it.” A Letter to the Next Generation of Latinx Marketers: Don’t Dim to Fit In

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Marketing Believes It Is More Inclusive Than Other Industries

The WFA-led international survey involved over 10,000 marketers discussing gender pay and feelings of discrimination

Stephen Lepitak

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Stephen Lepitak