Almost 75% of creative leadership roles are held by men, according to the latest IPA Census.

The 2024 Census revealed there is still a long way to go to smash the glass ceiling in creative leadership roles. If who makes the work shapes the work, then when it comes to the crucial Executive Creative Director, Head of Creative Department and Creative Director positions, it is still predominantly men making that work.

The Census revealed that the number of women in the C-suite has increased year-on-year. Women account for 39.9% of individuals in C-suite roles, up from 37.9% in 2023. Women occupy 39% of C-suite roles in creative and other non-media agencies, up from 38% in 2023, and 41% in their media agency counterparts, up from 37.7% in 2023.

Meanwhile, the overall level of ethnic diversity in member agencies increases marginally. 23.9% of employees are from a non-white background, up from the 23.3% reported in 2023. In creative agencies, 22.6% of employees are from a non-white background, up from 21.6% in 2023, while in media agencies the figure is slightly higher, at 26% up from 25.5% in 2023.

By gender, men account for 43.6% of the total employed base while females account for 55.6%. The number of males working in member agencies decreased year-on-year from an estimated 11,883 in 2023 to 11,676 in 2024, while the number of females increased from 14,557 to 14,888 over the same time period.

A widening pay gap

The Census revealed  a 19.7% gender pay gap in favour of men over women. The size of the gender pay gap has increased from the 15.2% reported in 2023.

The ethnicity pay gap has also increased to 31%, up from 21.6% in 2023. A statistic which reflects the lower levels of ethnic representation at senior levels and an increased level of representation at junior levels.

Leila Siddiqi, Director of Diversity and Inclusion at the IPA, explained: “This year’s Census findings show that there continues to be a lack of progress in terms of the progression and remuneration of ethnically diverse talent, and the remuneration of women. The pay gap is one of the measures we can use to tell us whether or not the efforts we are making in this area are having a tangible impact. It may be that extra attention needs to be given to the areas of fair pay, ensuring equal opportunity and reward for all.”

Paul Bainsfair, Director General of the IPA, added: “It is good to see that, despite tough trading conditions for UK plc, the overall number of employees working within IPA agencies has continued to grow this year and that staff turnover has reduced considerably. It is also welcome news that the percentage of women in C-suite positions also continues its positive trajectory, and that the proportion of women and people from a non-white background entering the business is strong.”

He continued: “We are, however, seeing that there are areas where more focus could be applied to improve the diversity and inclusivity of our business; particularly with regard to ensuring the progression of people from non-white backgrounds and women up the ladder, which will in turn help to reduce the ethnicity and gender pay gaps.” 

From the ‘great resignation’ to a reset

In the wake of the so-called ‘Great Resignation’, the annual census revealed a decline in staff turnover. Total staff turnover over the 12 months leading up to 1 September 2024 was an estimated 24.1%, down from 31.2% in 2023 and down from 29.7% to 21.2% after redundancies were excluded.

Total staff turnover in creative and other non-media agencies was an estimated 24.9%, down from 31.5% in 2023 and down from 29.3% to 20.8% after redundancies were excluded. The census has also tracked open roles for the first time revealing that despite economic headwinds, there are currently 1,149 open vacancies within the IPA agency base with 561 jobs available in creative agencies and 588 in media agencies.

Siddiqi added: “The data also shows us that overall staff turnover has fallen year-on-year. This could potentially result in higher levels of trust and loyalty in the workplace if there is more of a two-way conversation between employers and staff about preferred ways of working.”

Yet the market turbulence of 2024 was reflected in the Census. Redundancies, as a percentage of total departures, accounted for 12.1% of employee departures, up from 4.9% in 2023.

Closing the flexibility gap

The research shows that the vast majority of agencies are continuing to use hybrid-working methods. While the report's commentary notes that ‘the most common pattern of working is still evolving’, the hybrid working approaches continue to dominate. Just 5% of agencies require staff to come into the office 4 days a week. The percentage of agencies adopting a 3-day office/2-day home approach has increased from 54.8% to 66.1%, while the percentage adopting a 2-day office/3-day remote pattern has fallen from 27.0% to 16.5%. 

A declining percentage of agencies (7.4%) were retaining a fully flexible approach to the working week. Although up from 1.7% in 2023, only 2.5% of agencies indicated that employees were in the office five days a week.

While return to office mandates have dominated New Year headlines, flexible working continues to rise up the industry agenda. In addition to providing employees the opportunity to work from home or to work part-time, 65.3% of agencies indicated that they offer employees the option to work flexible hours, 43.8% offer the opportunity for employees to work compressed hours. While 22.3% offer the ability to job share and 20.7% offer the opportunity for employees to work staggered hours.

The leadership gap

The data reveals significant gender disparities across senior roles. The biggest discrepancy is within creative roles, followed by digital leadership roles, which are also heavily dominated by men. Men hold over 70% of Chief Digital Officer, Head of Digital and Data Director roles. While 66% of data leadership roles are also held by men.

Two leadership roles are dominated by women, HR leadership, which is 81% female and Client Services, which is 64% women. While New Business leadership roles, which are the engine of growth in the creative industries, are 54% women. 

At a C-suite level, the percentage of individuals from a non-white background account for 10.5% of roles, down marginally on the 11.0% reported in 2023. This remains below the IPA target of 15.0% set in 2017.

While the 2024 Census underlines slow progress, it continues to set a benchmark for the industry to ‘measure what we treasure’. In the midst of shifting working structures, continuing to measure the impact on diverse talent will be crucial to driving momentum and meaningful change to close the leadership gap. 

As Siddiqi explains: “Bold leaders who have the foresight to be transparent and galvanise their teams to take an inclusive approach after taking a good look at what their data is telling them are likely to emerge as trailblazers with future-ready agencies.”