The Independent Media Agencies of Australia (IMAA) today launched its Diversity Council.
The council stands to educate and empower member agencies on the value of embracing diversity in an inclusive workplace.
The Diversity Council will be chaired by The Media Store chief operating officer Jacquie Alley.
Alley will facilitate resources, training, and an array of initiatives for members. Leadership training will be provided on the value of D&I to provide a platform for support and collaboration between members.
The four key pillars of the Diversity Council are: cultural diversity, age, and gender, LGBTQI+, followed by ability and accessibility.
The underlying goal is to provide education, agency engagement and to increase employee satisfaction of being valued and treated respectfully regardless of age, cultural background, sexual orientation, gender, or disability.
Alley: “Diversity & Inclusion is a deeply personal and emotive workplace topic. Our goal as the IMAA Diversity Council is to be respectful of this and to provide resources, training, and events to cater for member agencies, wherever they are on the journey.
"Alongside ten committed colleagues, our mission is to demonstrate the value of embracing a diverse and inclusive workplace with the goal of taking D&I from niche to normal within IMAA agencies.
"Ideally, over time, there is no need for such a Council as our industry embraces its wonderful differences, bound together by common goals. Indies are often known for their great cultures, so we have a solid foundation to build upon. We are excited to lead the way."
The Diversity Council will be led by Alley alongside 10 industry representatives\: The Media Store’s Aliya Hasan, Half Dome’s Tom Curtain, AFFINITY’s Angela Smith, Impetus's Janet Boey, Kaimera’s Stewart Gurney, MediaSmiths’ Angela Smith, In Marketing We Trust’s Selina Gough, Customedia’s Jacqui Ollevou, and the IMAA’s Sam Buchanan and Bec Coulson.
To mark International Women’s Day on March 8, IMAA will partner with JCDecaux to present an industry breakfast on March 9 featuring guest speaker Jelena Dokic, the former professional tennis player and author of Unbreakable.
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.