I sat on writing this article for a week, then on the day I picked up a pen (slash opened a google doc on my laptop) I procrastinated and made excuses to make coffee, stare out of the window or play with the dog. Think he actually wanted a nap instead - poor pup. I realised why I was doing this.

Because I care so much about diversity and inclusion but I have always been so uncomfortable about speaking about it more openly and sharing my opinion. I know that sounds strange as people who have known and worked with me have seen me behave completely the opposite of that. But it’s true. I rarely join external panels and speak about DEI or write about DEI. Because what I am is a keen fixer of DEI.

I only realised this when I was forced to reflect on my contributions to diversity and inclusion by a question asked to me for a network for women. Then it dawned on me. I have been in service to the industry for 14 years. This is beyond my busy role as a Marketing Leader.

It all started when I was working at Thinkbox in my mid 20s and was volunteering for WACL events. It was my introduction to a room full of highly ambitious and brilliant women all aspiring to be leaders in the industry and being told how to do it by already incredibly accomplished women. It encouraged me to then set up the Futures Network with Laura Vipond, Cristina Loaiza, and Camilla Eden-Davies, which - overtime - has now become an energetic and flourishing network where women truly support women.

 During my time working with the leadership team I also created a series in Campaign called ‘Pass it On’ with Nicola Kemp to help more women have the opportunity to contribute opinions to a big ad mag where usually their bosses would be seen. Then I went on to set up a partnership with The Drum to recognise the top 25 women that have shaped the digital industry - an area which desperately needed more female leaders to be seen.

Fast forward to my time at Pinterest, I saw there was no women@ group for women in Europe. I didn’t need to add more on my plate given the scale of my role but I knew the women in EMEA needed a place for them. And so, I created that space for them that was safe and positive, forming the first group for Europe and invited multiple women across several countries to come together to plan and strategize and bring some momentum to the region.

After handing the baton on, I moved on to be Exec Sponsor of the global group. I’ve also created and produced a podcast dedicated to increasing a chance of more diverse people joining our industry and also joined Speakers for School to do talks for students.

So, why am I telling you all this?

Because I have been in service to the industry for 14 years and sometimes it can be exhausting. Especially so  when you look back at all this work and know the needle moves at snail's pace and has had an even bigger knock back due to industry-wide layoffs. As a business person I love ROI.  We’ve all read the data on why it matters time and time again. In case you haven't, here's a snapshot of the 2023 data points you should know by Leanin.org and McKinsey, that is also seen through people of colour lens.

It’s not about ethics, it's business critical. It's not about fun events in the office with pizza, it’s about fostering and creating belonging where everyone matters. Investing in DEI is not about lip service to shareholders, it's a sound strategy to growth. Deloitte research has shown that innovation revenues accelerated by 83% for organisations practising an authentically diverse culture, while the likelihood of bankruptcy is reduced by 20% if a woman is on the board

So when I was thinking about ROI, I started to think about the clash the DEI now has with older white men. How they don’t feel seen or heard. They absolutely should. Inclusion is about everyone and representation of everyone matters, but whilst we celebrate big moments like International Women’s Day or think about our everyday practise at work, I cannot help but think about Ali Wong’s frustrated outrage ‘BE A BETTER WHITE GUY’. Don’t complain, do the work!

Like Ali, I can name a number of brilliant white men that do the work and get seen and support women. Pete Markey from Boots, Richard Robinson from Xeim, Ehud Ben Haim from LinkedIn Israel, Tony Miller formerly WW, Mike White from Lively Worldwide, Bob Huseby from Truesearch, Gideon Spanier from Campaign, Matt Sheckner from Advertising Week and so many more that I won’t list because I’m already over my word count.

My point here is that we need all men to support equality.  But allyship is not just booking a ticket to the occasional WACL dinner (which is great and important - so keep doing it). It’s also being the person that volunteers their time to hold the mic and run around with it at the company’s women conference - which Ehud did at Pinterest’s Women’s Conference. These events always tend to be created, run by and attended by women and they shouldn’t be.

Back to ROI, we can’t progress without the right type of allyship from men - especially white men that still hold all the power in media and tech. There is so much yet to be done notwithstanding intersectionality in diversity that requires many groups to overlap. We need more LGBTQ+ communities represented and people that are older as well as younger.

Our jobs are to market to society and yet society is not represented in our industry. So with so much work yet to be done, we cannot approach it with a narrow view or think that someone else is sorting it out.  Older white men need to now see themselves as the enablers of change not the blockers of it.

So, I’ve been in service to the industry for 14 years so far and my question is, are you?