Adweek published a report titled, “WPP Hires Adrianne Smith as First Global Director of Inclusion and Diversity.” So, the White holding company that planned to dump 2,500 employees through 2021 decides to bring on a Chief Diversity Officer…? And why would the global enterprise boasting to have staffers that “represent perhaps the most diverse example of diversity of any single organisation” need someone to handle inclusion and diversity?
Mostly I feel bad for her, because any career trajectory of hopes of making change she had now dies.
ReplyDeleteInstead, like every other diversity figurehead at every other holding company, there's a high possibility she'll just be used as a heat shield to deflect any real diversity.
She won't have hiring power, just the ability to host brown bag diversity lunches now and then.
She won't get money to make real changes, just a travel budget to attend diversity conferences for photo ops and a budget of $100 for an intern to make clip art ads in Essence for Black History Month.
She won't get to oversee any real business, just serve as host at diversity matchmaking events that result in zero contracts for POC.
And photos all of the above will be prominently featured in the WPP annual report, despite no increase in diversity of any kind actually happening.