Those who toil in the advertising industry in Australia feel a strong sense of belonging but many say they are likely to leave, according to a deep survey by the Advertising Council Australia in collaboration with insights agency Kantar.
The Create Space Census -- of 2600 working in and around the advertising industry during two weeks in December 2021 -- gives a view of how the industry looks, feels and behaves when it comes to diversity and inclusion, quantifying strengths and weaknesses.
One in five, and a quarter of all women, say they’re likely to leave the industry based on a lack of inclusion/discrimination. This compares to one in seven in the World Federation of Advertisers global census.
And the census found women are six times more likely than men to experience gender discrimination.
Almost half of respondents said they experienced at least one form of microaggression, such as being interrupted or talked over, or being told they were “too politically correct” or “too sensitive”.
One respondent, a woman, aged 35-44 years old: "The less our business feels like a corporate banking sector full of affluent white Australians, the richer, and the more impressive we will be as a company."
And another, a woman, aged 16-24 years old: “More women at the top. Please. I want someone to look up to.”
The comprehensive review into diversity and inclusion found:
- 75% of respondents feel a strong sense of belonging to their company and 90% feel that they are a valued part of their direct team.
- Inclusion Score drops significantly for marginalised groups.
- 20% of respondents and one in four female middle managers are likely to leave the ad industry based on their experience of discrimination or lack of inclusion.
- 8% of women versus 3% of men have experienced sexual harassment at work in last 12 months.
- 58% of respondents affected by mental or physical health condition, 23% by ongoing stress.
- Microaggressions experienced by almost 50% of respondents.
Mark Green, chair of the Advertising Council Australia: “Create Space has been in the making for some time - a long-term initiative dedicated to providing focus, guidance, accountability and recognition to trigger genuine change across the entire industry.
“Up until now, the industry has been missing the crucial data to identify, quantify and strategically address the various drivers behind under-representation and exclusion."
Advertising council CEO Tony Hale: “Create Space is brilliant. For the first time we have robust data to develop an industry-wide approach to diversity and inclusion.
“The data confirms that we are a diverse industry with the vast majority of people having a high sense of belonging and experiencing low levels of discrimination.
“Dig a little deeper and it becomes evident that it’s not the case for everyone. As an industry, we need to be inclusive of all people, not just the majority.”
The census reveals that Australia’s advertising industry is more inclusive than many other industries globally, ranked well above Australia’s national norm and on par with overseas advertising industries.
Three-quarters of ad industry professionals feel a strong sense of belonging to the organisation they work for and 90% feel that they are a valued part of their direct team, with junior staff registering the highest levels of inclusion.
However, advertising council national head of engagement Hannah Sturrock says inclusion does not extend to marginalised groups such as ethnic minorities, female and non-binary professionals, and others who experience negative behaviour and discrimination at work.
“Create Space is about overturning an embedded culture and it won’t be a quick fix, but if we address each issue identified in the census comprehensively and over time, the social and economic benefits for our industry will be significant in years to come,” she says.
The report’s topline data reveals that women in advertising are six times more likely than men to experience gender discrimination, 58% of advertising professionals live with a physical or mental health condition, and one-fifth of employees are likely to leave the industry based on their experiences of discrimination and exclusion.
Twice as many people with a disability have been made to feel uncomfortable in the workplace compared to those who are non-disabled (24% vs 12%), experience of discrimination and negative behaviour at work is almost three times higher for people who identify as Asian (31% vs 12%), and 23% of people feel anxious in their job due to identifying as LGBTQI+.
The advertising council’s calls to action include adopting a suite of measures to address harassment in the workplace, outlined in new Create (SAFE) Space Toolkit and 6-Point Action Plan; building better support systems for people with mental health conditions including becoming a Mental Health First Aid Skilled Workplace; and ensuring everyone understands the damaging impact of microaggressions in order to reduce their incidence, with resources designed to help identify, report and respond to everyday demeaning behaviour.
Rose Herceg, the advertising council’s D&I Committee chair and president of WPP, Australia & New Zealand, says the path is clear.
“The results of the Create Space Census are in. Organisations across the industry now have a comprehensive guide to ensure their workplaces are welcoming and inclusive of everyone,” she says.
“Many companies have their established policies on DEI. Adopting recommendations from the Create Space Report and Action Plan will help to accelerate progress in the most critical areas.”
Each Create Space action will be supported by online workshops that give people the opportunity to hear more about how to implement them in their workplace.
Further actions based on the Create Space Report findings, and co-created by industry working groups, will be released later this year, focusing on ethnicity, LGBTQI+ and disability. Actions linked to age, social mobility and neurodiversity will be announced in 2023.
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