Industry inclusivity makes creative and commercial sense
Recently I attended a panel at the BVE entitled ‘Inclusivity in Creative Industries’. A first for me on both fronts: speaking at an industry event in this way, and sharing views on a topic that has had much debate across all sectors.
Diversity should be seen as an opportunity as well as a responsibility.
And it’s needed. We should continue to challenge ourselves as leaders in advertising to recruit diverse minds. Fundamentally, diversity is good for business: a diverse workforce is going to be better at speaking to a broader audience, a win-win for brands and marketers. Inclusivity also has a positive impact on creativity and innovation.
End of?
Well, not quite...
The latest IPA census shows that that there is a slight drop in female leaders and in people from non-white backgrounds (compared to a few years ago) in member agencies. So there is more to do to ensure inclusivity in marketing happens. Of course it isn’t only about gender and ethnicity, but a broad spectrum of factors, including social mobility, sexual orientation and neurodiversity. Organisations such as Creative Equals and Grey’s Diversity Task Force are on a mission to drive change here on a practical level for companies. Their approach is one to be admired – setting standards, charters for change and various programmes to identify where inclusivity maybe lacking. And this is great, as long as this is received with a progressive response and action.
In my opinion, true change will happen when inclusivity is present at C-suite level and when business leaders and decision-makers see its benefits rather than seeing it as a tick-box exercise. It needs to become inherent within the values, purpose and mindset of each company in ad-land. While it’s important for agency culture to revolve around a vision or some form of shared ethos, this shouldn’t mean we default to recruiting a workforce with similar experiences and backgrounds to achieve this.
People from various walks of life shouldn’t be put off pursuing roles in marketing either. Maybe it’s the fact that I come from a family of determined Jamaican women, but I’d say perseverance and a decent attitude always goes a long way. I give this advice to rising stars, but it applies at any career stage. Equally, in my career I have seen the benefits of having mentors from similar and different walks of life in senior positions in agency-world. And having inspirational role models like Karen Blackett – WPP’s first UK country manager, reinforce the message that there are opportunities to be taken, if you truly want them and have the talent to match.
And that’s the crucial point: talent. Talent comes in all shapes, genders and backgrounds – add as you see fit. It’s giving talent in all its guises a chance, a space to learn, to flourish, to mature and to inspire. And to rub minds with alternative minds. When this happens the industry will no doubt have a new challenge, perhaps how to inspire the next generation of divergent minds – now that’s a panel I look forward to being on.
Louise King is head of content at Media Bounty
Content by The Drum Network member:
Media Bounty
We’re Media Bounty. And we’re working to become the UK’s leading ethical independent creative agency by 2026.
Our team delivers award-winning strategy,...