First-ever global DEI Census within the Marketing Industry

First-ever global DEI Census within the marketing industry reveals major challenges around family status, age, gender, ethnicity and disability in Canada

Canadian results from the first-ever Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Census of the global marketing industry have identified key challenges around ethnicity, disability, family status, age and gender.

Canada scores marginally better on the global Inclusion Index benchmark (67% vs 64%), with wide recognition from respondents that progress is being made. Eighty-one percent agree that their company is actively taking steps to be more diverse and inclusive, versus the global average of 60%. However, the survey did identify areas that require significant improvement.

For example, on Kantar’s Inclusion Index, which is generated by asking questions about people’s sense of belonging, the absence of discrimination and the presence of negative behaviour, men scored at 74% compared to women at only 64%.

How Kantar’s Inclusion Index is Generated

The global results are based on more than 10,000 responses from 27 markets around the world conducted from June through July 2021. In addition to demographics, the online survey identifies respondents’ sense of belonging, experience of discrimination and demeaning behaviour. In Canada, there were over 1,400 respondents from brands, agencies, publishers, media, tech, production, research and trade bodies/ industry associations.

The Canada report found strong evidence of pay gaps at almost every level of seniority for both gender and ethnicity, but markedly so at the junior levels. For ethnic minorities, the pay gap was 22% at the entry/junior level; for women at the same level it was twenty percent. Furthermore, the proportion of ethnic minorities that hold positions at senior levels is significantly low, coming in at a mere 22% of c-suite level executive positions, while 52% of entry/junior level positions are held by ethnic minorities.

Another striking opportunity for change in the marketing sector relates to people with disabilities. The lived experiences of that group is significantly poorer, with 17% of people with disabilities having faced discrimination on the basis of their disability. This cohort also reported feeling less of a sense of belonging than their counterparts without disabilities (51% compared to 76%).

The global research effort was led by the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) in close collaboration with agencies associations, EACA and Voxcomm, Cannes Lions, Advertising Week, Effies, GWI, Campaign, IAA and research firm, Kantar.

In Canada, the ACA was joined by a multitude of like-minded partners to drive industry participation in the survey, including the Association of Creative Communications Agencies (A2C), Ad Standards, Canadian Media Directors Council (CMDC), Grenier aux Nouvelles, the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada (IAB Canada), the Institute of Communication Agencies (ICA), Multicultural Marketing Alliance Canada (MMAC), Pride Advertising & Marketing and thinktv; and media partners, strategy, and Grenier aux Nouvelles.

The most common forms of discrimination were reported on the basis of age and family status. Forty percent of respondents believe that age can be a hindrance at their company, and this increases amongst older age groups. There is a similar picture with family status with 45% of those who have dependent children indicating they believe that family status hinders one’s career at their company.

The full global findings will be shared with participating markets later this month, and the full global overview with detailed analysis will be published later this year.

The markets that participated in the census were Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Greece, the Gulf Cooperation Council (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE), Hong Kong SAR, China, India, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the USA.

The results will feed into the work of the WFA Diversity and Inclusion Task Force as well as national action plans led by WFA national associations around the world. In Canada, the ACA will use the data to guide initiatives of its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.

The Canada report is available for download on the ACA website.

What Canadian leaders are saying about the report:

“With the data captured from this survey we now have a better understanding of areas for improvement that can be addressed in the short term and a benchmark with which we can measure our progress over time. Marketing executives can use these insights to enhance diversity and inclusion; from improving their hiring practices to eliminating bias from end to end of their marketing communications supply chains.”

- Ron Lund, President & CEO, Association of Canadian Advertisers

“We are committed to making progress on DE&I within the marketing industry to better reflect our country and our consumers. Positive intent needs to become positive action. This survey will help us identify key opportunities and, more importantly, give us an ability to measure our progress.”

- Esther Benzie, Vice President, Marketing, People, Culture & Brand, CIBC and Chair of the ACA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee

“Collective meaningful data is essential to evolve towards better inclusion, diversity and equity. Together, we will make a difference and the collaboration between all stakeholders in the international survey shows it. The A2C is already committed to a DEI policy and an action plan to continue the work that has started to support the industry.”

- Dominique Villeneuve, President and CEO, A2C

“Canada might have higher scores than global averages but there is serious work to be done for DEI improvement. This census gives us a solid baseline of the crucial areas that need to be tackled; improving upon pay inequities, ageism, potential churn and creating a stronger sense of belonging. Our industry can only benefit and be stronger with a collective commitment to DEI.”

- Jani Yates, President & CEO, Ad Standards

“As the only organization representing multicultural agencies and media organizations in the industry, it was heartening to participate in this proof of concept initiative, which gave our membership an opportunity to lend their voice and become part of a global initiative. While the break-up of data on the responses between organizations in the ‘mainstream’ advertising and marketing business and those working in the specialized ‘multicultural and DE&I’ space were not available, we were encouraged to observe alignment in most of the criteria. Making the Canadian market a more inclusive place is the raison d’etre of the agencies in the membership of MMAC and these responses indicate that we are certainly getting there.”

- Ishan Ghosh, Secretary, Multicultural Marketing Alliance Canada

“This is important work, and we were happy to collaborate with the ACA and other associations equally passionate about this topic. Canada appears to be heading in the right direction with 81% of respondents believing that their company is actively taking steps to be more diverse and inclusive, while understanding that there’s still more work to do. We look forward to seeing concrete changes in our industry here in Canada and around the world, and will continue to do our part in working hard to affect change in the digital advertising sector.”

- Sonia Carreno, President, IAB Canada

The Association of Canadian Advertisers (ACA) is the indispensable advocate and thought leader for Canadian marketers, and the champion of a transparent and accountable marketplace. A national, not-for-profit association, it speaks on behalf of more than 200 companies and divisions. www.acaweb.ca

The A2C is the voice of more than 80 agencies in Quebec of different sizes, configurations, and specialties, but all with one thing in common: a commitment to creative communications. Its members generate more than 80% of the industry’s revenues in Quebec and contribute to the success of companies here and abroad. Our passion is reflected in various initiatives that aim to guide these companies and in this way we aim to ensure vitality and excellence within the entire industry. For more information, visit a2c.quebec/en.

Ad Standards (ASC) is the self-regulatory body for Canada’s advertising industry. Through member support and cooperative industry initiatives, we build public confidence in advertising by helping ensure ads, in all media, are truthful, fair and accurate. We administer the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards, which sets criteria for acceptable advertising, and provide a mechanism for adjudicating and resolving consumer complaints and competitive disputes. We also review advertising creative and offer consultative services to help ensure compliance with relevant laws and regulatory guidelines. Our collaborative relationships with Canadian regulators and global self-regulatory organizations provide a diversity of valuable insights, which inform our initiatives and goals. adstandards.ca/

For more than 25 years, Grenier aux nouvelles has been the hub of information for everything related to communications and marketing in Quebec. www.grenier.qc.ca/

Canadian Media Directors Council is an association of Canadian media agencies that stand together to ensure a fair and progressive marketplace on behalf of our clients, agencies and partners. CMDC members account for approximately 96% of the total media ad spend transacted annually in Canada. In 2020, that was over $10 billion invested in the Canadian economy, Canadian jobs, and the communications infrastructure. www.cmdc.ca

Established in 1997, The Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada (IAB Canada) is the national voice and thought leader of the Canadian interactive marketing and advertising industry. We are the only trade association exclusively dedicated to the development and promotion of the digital marketing and advertising sector in Canada. As a not-for-profit association, IAB Canada represents over 250 of Canada’s most well-known Advertisers, Agencies, Media Companies, Service Providers, Educational Institutions and Government Associations. Our members represent a diverse range of stakeholders in the rapidly growing Canadian digital marketing and advertising sector, and include numerous small and medium sized enterprises. iabcanada.com/

Institute of Communications Agencies (ICA) has been the recognized, not-for-profit association for Canadian advertising, marketing, media, and public relations agencies since 1905. ICA’s mission is to Amplify, Protect and Transform the agency sector through advocacy, awards, community, consultancy, insight, networking, research and training. ICA membership and board of directors represent some of the most recognized and influential businesses in our industry, both in Canada and internationally. Learn more at www.theica.ca

Multicultural Marketing Alliance Canada (MMAC) is the official association of the multicultural marketing, advertising and communications industry in Canada. It is a national, non-profit organization and it was founded by Canada’s leading multicultural marketing agencies in order to champion multicultural communications in Canada. mmacanada.ca

Pride in Advertising & Marketing (Pride AM) was launched in 2015, as the first LGBTQ+ body for the marketing and brand communications industries. A voluntary and not-for-profit organization, it is our aim to improve the experience, support and representation of LGBTQ+ people both within the industry and beyond. prideam.org

strategy™ uncovers and shares the “bold vision, brand new ideas” of Canada’s national marketing community. We deliver on this tagline via our daily news platforms, strategy magazine and strategy events. strategyonline.ca/

thinktv is a marketing and research association dedicated to the advancement of commercial television. thinktv works with the marketing community to help advertisers get the best out of television in all its forms. thinktv is supported by its member companies who together represent more than 95% of commercial television advertising revenue in Canada. thinktv.ca