Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in B2B Marketing

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By Susan Guerrero, Chief Operations Officer, Stein IAS

By Susan Guerrero, Chief Operations Officer, Stein IAS

There is an undoubted lack of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in B2B marketing (and marketing in general). There also are a lot of pressures and uncertainty in the industry these days. Talent acquisition pressures. Now, economic pressures and the first blush of staff reductions. And all of this in a post-pandemic world that had already been filled with “ways of working” pressures.

With progress having been made to address DEI challenges, but with so much progress yet to be made, now is not the time to backslide, pressures aside. Now is the time to double down on collective DEI initiatives, so we don’t lose our urgency and momentum.

As a B2B marketer of some 25 years, I firmly believe that having a diverse team in an inclusive environment facilitates agility, innovation and productivity. Therefore, it’s incumbent on agencies and brands to act, and act now. So, what can be done to tackle DEI in B2B?

It all starts with an inclusive, accepting culture. You can have diversity, but if you don’t have the culture to support diversity and facilitate inclusion and equity then you won’t be able to retain the diverse talent you’re bringing in. It’s imperative that companies create an inclusive culture: simply put, a safe environment where all feel included and an environment devoid of bias and discrimination.

How can you create exactly that? It’s key that agencies and brands openly and honestly review the entire employee experience, from talent recruitment through to departure. Establish what the moments that matter are for your people throughout the employee experience and do everything you can to create moments with positive impact. Fail to do so and make no mistake, negative experiences will last long in the memory.

When it comes to talent recruitment, you need to ensure that you’re creating a diverse pipeline, employing individuals across a multitude of cultures and experiences. Give those individuals equal opportunities to have a voice in the business. After all, you aren’t going to drive your business forward by persevering with a cookie cutter approach to recruitment.

You also need to ensure that all of your people have equal opportunities for training and education that you as a business invest in. You need to ensure all of your people have equal opportunities to become leaders. When it comes to leadership, gender and ethnic diversity is invaluable. But it’s not just about different gender or ethnicity, it’s also about diversity of thinking and background. Whether in B2B or any other professional field, diversity is a golden thread across the very best leadership teams.

Make sure that every employee has equity in the workplace. Equality provides fairness for all employees including opportunities, trainings, resources and so on. Equity looks at the person and their specific needs, levelling the playing field. It’s not a one size fits all approach. Each employee starts at a different place and has different needs. Having an equitable workplace removes those barriers to success and creates a workplace where opportunities are fair and equal. For example, think about an employee with a disability or a religious or cultural consideration. Equity removes those as barriers by providing the individual with the resources, technology and accommodations they need to thrive.

Drastic changes to ways of working, growing economic pressures, staff reductions and more, mean that many organizations may face tough times. As a result, some may “dial down” their commitment to DEI. At Stein IAS we’re not letting up. In fact, we’re taking things up a notch or two. In particular, we’re building and investing in direct relationships with schools that are culturally aligned with us and with our DEI objectives. The goal? To support students wanting to explore the multitude of disciplines that a career in B2B marketing offers and, in turn, helps us build diverse future talent pipeline for the agency.

For example, through our sponsorship of the Association of National Advertisers’ (ANA) Educational Foundation (AEF), we have proudly partnered with Saint Peter’s University in Jersey City, New Jersey. Not only will we be supporting students throughout their academic projects and tasking them with our own, but we’ll be providing them with access to exclusive ANA content and our own people to have them understand the opportunity a career in B2B presents.

In good times and particularly in turbulent times, the marketing industry needs to step up its game to address the lack of DEI in B2B.