Upon taking another look at the Digiday article on Chief Diversity Officers, the comments from 4As President and CEO Marla Kaplowitz warrant examination. Here are the excerpted quotes:
For Marla Kaplowitz, president and CEO of the 4A’s, the recent hirings point to agencies beginning to deliver on promises they made following last year’s protests.
“The real issue is race, ethnicity. This industry has not made progress and we have to be intentional,” Kaplowitz said. “These organizations have to signal change and they have to deliver action. That’s why you see the real shift in a good way in this past year.”
Agencies have taken big swings at diversifying talent, releasing annual workforce statistics and admitting where there’s work to be done. Each swing is vital and necessary to better reflect who this industry serves, said Kaplowitz.
“This country is composed of diverse people and backgrounds, and that’s what we should be embracing,” she said. “If you are in this business, you are meant to not only shape and influence culture, but to mirror it. And if you don’t actually have the people in your organization that can reflect society, then you’re not able to do that.”
In the future, Kaplowitz hopes the industry will move past the need for chief equity and diversity officers, and will instead have diversity and allyship embedded in company culture.
“It’s going to take a long time, but I don’t think anyone believed that a year ago we were going to have a quick fix in one year because this was a centuries long [problem] in terms of society,” she said. “But wouldn’t it be nice in 10 years if these roles just didn’t exist because we didn’t need to focus on it in the same way because we were all working in enlightened workplaces and communities?”
Perhaps Kaplowitz’s words were rearranged and presented out of context. Or maybe Kaplowitz is a culturally clueless cretin. Probably a combination of the two possibilities.
When Kaplowitz took her role in 2017, she gushed, “I think the 4As has done a tremendous job with diversity and I want to make sure that continues to grow…” Yet over four years later, she concedes, “This industry has not made progress [with racial and ethnic diversity] and we have to be intentional…” Gee, it could be argued that Kaplowitz is a patronizing politician—or an intentional liar. Probably both.
Most outrageous is Kaplowitz wondering, “But wouldn’t it be nice in 10 years if these [CDO] roles just didn’t exist because we didn’t need to focus on it in the same way because we were all working in enlightened workplaces and communities?” Gee, why not further the fantasy by suggesting the elimination of 4As heat shields like MAIP, Vanguard and Glass Ladder—as well as the termination of Simon Fenwick? Then take the ignorant notion to its logical extension by envisioning the end of multicultural marketing, Adland’s separate and unequal ghetto. Gee, perhaps Kaplowitz is a delusional dreamer—or just a fucking idiot. Probably both.
No comments:
Post a Comment