Third of Black employees likely to quit over lack of inclusion, All In Census reports

Nearly one-third of Black employees are likely to quit their jobs in advertising because the sector is not inclusive enough, the industry’s first All In Census has found.

The Census, which gathered 16,500 responses earlier this year from an estimated 100,000 people working in UK advertising roles, has provided the evidence for a series of action areas to make the industry more diverse and inclusive.

These are:

• improving the experience and representation of Black talent, the rapid adoption of the recently-launched BRiM framework;
• supporting disabled professionals, the immediate audit of websites across the industry to ensure full accessibility online; and
• encouraging talent from working-class backgrounds and the uptake of the Social Mobility Commission Toolkit for the Creative Industries.

The All In Report, which reveals the findings of the Census, was published today by the industry’s Inclusion Working Group, formed by the Advertising Association, IPA and ISBA.

Among the findings are:

• Just under a third (32%) of Black employees say they will leave the industry due to a lack of inclusion, compared to 27% for those of Asian origin, 14% for any ethnic minority, and 10% for White employees.
• 53% of women who took parental leave felt it disadvantaged their career while a 12% pay gap emerging from manager level onwards in career progression
• 12% of women have experienced sexual discrimination
• 38% feel able to report discrimination against others, dropping to 26% when reporting personal discrimination
• Just 1% of Black talent are in C-suite positions, compared to 3% representation in the general UK population
• Disabled talent are underrepresented (just 9% vs 20% working age population) with 22% likely to leave their organisation compared to the industry average of 9%
• People whose parents had professional backgrounds are significantly overrepresented (63% vs 37% national average)
• 28% of UK advertising professionals attending fee paying schools versus a national average of just 8%
• Nearly a third (31%) of the industry workforce reports feeling stressed or anxious

Kathryn Jacob, the CEO of Pearl & Dean and chair of the Inclusion Group, said: “It is now time for action. Our census results have provided the benchmark data we need and the way forward is clear. We urge all companies in our industry to engage with the All In Action Plan to help make rapid progress on these critical areas.

“Everyone deserves a workplace where they feel included and it is in our power to make that happen now. The benefits, social and economic, will be huge as we build our way out of the pandemic.”

The Inclusion Working Group will be publishing a further series of actions later this year as it continues to review the All In Census results. It also plans to run another Census in two years’ time.

The full results from the All In Report and Action Plan are available at the Inclusion Group’s All In Hub.