Come March 15th, every advertising and marketing services professional working in the UK will be asked to partake in the industry wide All In Census. 

The All in Census, led by the Advertising Association, the IPA and ISBA, will see people spend around 15 minutes sharing census-style data in a confidential study conducted by Kantar.

The first All In Census took place during the March 2021 lockdown and was supported by over 16,000 people working in UK advertising and marketing services across brands, agencies, media owners and tech companies. The data built a detailed understanding of the industry’s make-up and helped shape the All In Action Plan, a series of nine actions which companies across the industry are encouraged to implement.

“Our goal with the next All In Census is to secure participation from as many people working in UK advertising as possible. The more data we can gather, the better we can inform the industry’s understanding of itself and its many different dimensions.” explained Kathryn Jacob, Chair, All In Working Group and CEO, Pearl & Dean. 

The first census found that nearly a third (32%) of Black respondents reported that they are likely to leave the industry due to a lack of inclusion and/or discrimination experienced. 10 times more women than men believed parental leave negatively impacted their career progression. And just 4% of respondents were aged 55-64 compared to 17% of the UK working population. Building upon some of these key findings, an action plan was created to combat discrimintation within the industry and create a more inclusive, progressive workforce.

The nine All In actions are as follows:

1.     Improve the experience and representation of Black Talent. Adopt the BRiM Framework.

2.     Improve the experience and representation of Disabled Talent. Audit and update your company website to ensure it is accessible to all.

3.     Improve the experience and representation of Talent from Working Class backgrounds. Adopt the social mobility toolkit.

4.     Improve the experience and representation of women. Take the Flexible First checklist.

5.     Improve the experience and representation of Asian talent. Start by using our guide developed by the All In Asian Working Group.

6.     Improve the experience and representation of Older Talent. Implementing our Shared Experiences policy.

7.     Support the Mental Health of our colleagues. Donate and signpost to NABS.

8.     Improve the experience of our LGTBQ+ Talent. Welcome the use of gender pronouns in your organisation.

9.     Improve the experience of Disabled Talent in the workplace. Use the BDF Accessible Premises checklist. 

So far 83 companies have become All In Champions, meaning that they have provided evidence that they have put the All In Actions into practice. A second wave of All In Champion companies will be announced at the advertising industry’s summit, LEAD 2023, on January 25.