Advertising Council Australia (ACA) CEO Tony Hale, following trending discussions around gender diversity this week, said it is "immensely disappointing" that the industry still needs to have this discussion.
"It has long been established that diversity and inclusion have been ongoing challenges for Australian advertising and if we are to ensure the long-term prosperity of the industry, we all have a role to create change. And that means everyone," Hale said.
For two years the ACA has led the Create Space DE&I program which addresses key issues of inequality, exclusion and underrepresentation.
The Create Space Census, a program to measure diversity and inclusion across Australia’s advertising industry, findings highlight deficiencies in ACA’s own governance which resulted in the development of Member Rules, a new Code of Conduct, a Code of Ethics and the introduction of an Accreditation program.
This year’s Create Space update showed some progress in diversity metrics, but also showed how much work is yet to be done.
Women in senior management has increased from 22% in 2017 to 42% in 2023.
Although underrepresentation persists in senior creative positions, the balance is improving.
"In light of this week’s discussions, it is worth stating that there is gender balance across ACA’s Board, AWARD Council, AWARD School applicants and winners, AWARD Creative Leadership delegates, AWARD Award and Effie judges, and almost every program that ACA runs," Hale said.
"Not because we work hard to achieve parity but because the best candidates naturally emerge.
"To continue the momentum, we all have to celebrate and shine a light on the success stories of our incredibly diverse talent to inspire the next generation of leaders.
"While we still have a long way to go, the only way to overcome discrimination and lack of inclusivity is to create an industry culture that simply does not tolerate it.
"We are a better industry than this. If we are truly committed to equity, it is incumbent on individuals and businesses to only align with those who share and represent their values."
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