When I started within the industry, I was very conscious that I was part of the minority: the handful of women working in a male-dominated recruitment role, the less than handful not to go to university and usually the only black woman sitting within HR teams. I was often the only person in the room providing that bridge between the people goals of a business and individual talent through a DE&I lens. One of my strongest memories of that time was going to events like WACL Gather and others, surrounded by brilliant senior women talking about the importance of representation, how to navigate imposter syndrome and ways to address limiting beliefs. These moments filled me with enormous courage, the passion to make a difference and the conviction to leave an indelible mark.

Fast forward 10 years and the same conversations are still happening. Of course, there has been a rise in calls to action to make a difference, in response to the worrying amount of global and UK tragic incidents. Adland’s open letter calling for solidarity in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and Black Out Tuesday were two events that signalled awareness and a commitment to allyship for many, whilst also highlighting what many more knew to be true – diversity, equity and inclusion is no longer optional and within our industry, we have the power to help drive change systemically.

What the stats say

From the McKinsey: Diversity Matters Even More 2023 report, the Advertising Association All In 2023 census to the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) 2023 census, the stats are crystal clear – whilst the needle is slowly moving, now is not the time to step back or deprioritise diversity as a metric or inclusive practices. Quite the opposite, the correlation between hiring from a diverse talent pool and embedding inclusive behaviours where people are engaged, trained, uplifted and actively involved in decision-making processes has been proven and leads to more profitable business. According to the McKinsey study, penalties for low diversity are intensifying, an example of that being companies with over 30% representation of women on exec teams financially outperform those with less. 

This stat focuses on women at a leadership level, but what about ethnicity, age and those from different socio-economic backgrounds? What about people with different physical and cognitive abilities? Let’s also look at the implications of the opposite, as according to the recent WFA census, almost one in seven global marketing and advertising people say they would potentially leave the industry due to a lack of diversity, equity and inclusion. What are the implications of those potential departures to the companies they work for? The clients they service and the culture of the organisations? What does this say to junior talent coming through who have been told their employer puts their people first?

You can’t have D without I

Diversity without inclusion is like hiring a mix of talent, without the infrastructure to fully support the talent you’ve invested in – in fact, that’s exactly what it is. Inclusion in the workplace creates a culture which ambassadors psychological safety, encourages connections and learning opportunities and champions different perspectives. According to Korn Ferry, ‘Inclusive teams make better decisions 87% of the time.’ 

There is a trend in some employers focussing on BAME hiring at the junior level, and whilst to a certain degree this will contribute to change, let’s consider the inclusion aspects. Do they see themselves reflected at a senior level? Do they see themselves and others like them reflected in team and client meetings? How will those cohorts of incredible talent feel they truly belong and can be themselves? More to the point, how do they see those big bold DE&I commitments in action?

Beyond the moral imperative, we also need to look at the legal and ethical implications for companies that do not lead with inclusion, such as discrimination and exclusion issues. According to the All In 2023 census, ‘Black and Asian respondents were more likely than any other minority group to have personally experienced discrimination at their current company at 14% and 11% respectively. These were followed by Muslims and Women as the next most likely to experience discrimination – both 9%.’

Future-facing employment

Facing toward the future, we know the world of work is changing alongside developments in technology, hybrid working being the new normal and the rise in more purpose-led careers linked to protecting our planet. At Responsible Resourcing Agency, we ambassador a clear purpose as we work with clients who put their people first from hiring to onboarding and retaining, and it’s similar with our candidates, they come to us because beyond the 9-5, they want their career to strategically align with their values. 

Despite the ‘go woke, go broke’ narrative, it’s become increasingly important in this competitive industry where top brands hire, restructure, fire and repeat the cycle, for employers to bring their people back to the heart of their business and think about what makes them an employer of choice. Operating through the lens of DE&I is a journey and many who are on that journey would agree that it's about progress, rather than perfection over time. It’s about embedding values and behaviours from the top down and incremental milestones that recognise that your business, similar to your clients will perform better as it’s reflective of the world around us.