Inclusive Leadership Wins Despite Growing Pushback

In a moment of growing societal division, a new report from the Canadian Marketing Association (CMA) underscores the enduring power and necessity of equity, diversity, and inclusion (ED&I) in Canadian marketing workplaces. The 2025 edition of EDI in Canadian Marketing: Positive Progress and Persistent Challenges, released in collaboration with strategy, reveals a sector caught in the crosscurrents of progress and polarization.

A Divided Landscape: Support vs. Resistance

While two-thirds (66%) of marketers continue to endorse ED&I initiatives, nearly 58% have witnessed pushback, a sharp reminder that inclusion efforts face growing scrutiny. This resistance shows up in passive non-participation, budget freezes, and derailed policies.

Yet, despite the noise, a powerful 93% of marketers agree that diverse teams generate better ideas and solutions, pointing to a resounding business case for inclusion.

“Pushback may be getting louder, but the data clearly show that most marketers still believe in inclusion,” said Barry Alexander, Chief Marketing and Diversity Officer at the CMA. “This is not the time to retreat. It’s a chance to re-engage and educate.”

Polarization: A New Workplace Hazard

The CMA report warns that polarization now affects 76% of marketers, with rising tensions over identity, values, and beliefs. The result? More self-censorship, less collaboration, and strained team dynamics.

However, companies with diverse leadership teams offer a protective effect. Employees in these organizations are more empowered to speak up with the share of respondents feeling safe to voice concerns nearly doubling since 2024.

Identity-Based Hostility on the Rise

For the first time, the CMA study tracked identity-based hostility. The findings are troubling:

• 1 in 3 marketers witnessed hostility toward colleagues based on identity (race, gender, religion, sexuality).
• 19% reported smear campaigns, 12% witnessed vandalism, and 12% saw physical threats.

These actions don’t just harm individuals, they corrode culture, morale, and trust across entire organizations.

Leadership Diversity Makes the Difference

Across five years of CMA studies, one insight stands tall: diverse leadership is the strongest predictor of inclusion, engagement, and retention.

In 2025:

• Organizations with diversified leadership saw only 28% disengagement due to discrimination, compared to 68% elsewhere.
• 93% of employees in these workplaces feel included, versus just 39% in non-diverse environments.
• Microaggressions, exclusion, and overt hostility were significantly lower.

Despite this, only 28% of organizations report having well-diversified senior teams though that’s up from 21% in 2024.

Marginalized Women and Older Marketers Face Unique Barriers

The report sheds light on groups being left behind:

• Marginalized women saw a seven-point drop in inclusion, now at just 57%.
• Ageism persists, with 51% acknowledging workplace acceptance of age-based bias.
• Alarmingly, belief that people over 55 “shouldn’t be in marketing” jumped by nearly 20 points, a view ironically most common among Boomers themselves.

These patterns disrupt mentorship, stifle creativity, and block the knowledge transfer essential for resilient marketing organizations.

What Comes Next? A Call to Action

As the conversation around ED&I becomes more politically charged, the CMA encourages marketers to double down, not back off. By tying inclusion efforts to clear performance metrics, communicating intent with clarity, and ensuring diversity at the top, organizations can build cultures where every voice is valued and every idea has space to grow.

“Canada’s success story is written in many languages and lived in every community,” Alexander noted. “When our boardrooms mirror that reality, marketers create campaigns that resonate, drive growth, and strengthen the social fabric.”