The World Federation of Advertisers released results of the 2023 Global DEI Census, which look remarkably similar to findings of any related survey conducted over the last century.
The data displayed high acknowledgement of industry efforts, but no progress on diversity, equity, and inclusion. In short, people hear the industry talk the talk—yet don’t see anyone walk the walk.
While not specifically probed by the poll, it’s likely that crumbs, heat shields, and performative PR continue to rise—although other sources report that DE&I budgets and Human Heat Shields have taken a hit.
It’s almost insulting how the survey listed age, gender, and family status as “the greatest forms of discrimination.” This demonstrates that in Adland, White men and White women dominate, define, and dictate the DE&I discussion. Indeed, it would have been interesting to learn the racial and ethnic breakdowns of respondents.
The World Federation of Advertisers included quotes delivered by various “leaders” whose opinions ranged from pollyannaish to cultural cluelessness to outright ignorance.
Analyzing the 2023 Global DEI Census details can probably be summarized in a single sentence: The worldwide industry is poisoned by systemic racism.
Wave II of Global DEI Census shows high recognition of industry efforts, but no improvement on inclusion
Despite one in two saying things are improving, inclusion scores remain the same as in 2021. The greatest forms of discrimination are still on basis of age, gender and care-giving status. Disabled respondents report the worst lived experiences.
Nearly one in seven members of the global marketing industry say they would leave our industry on the back of a lack of diversity, equity and inclusion, according to responses to the 2023 Global DEI Census.
The picture is even worse among certain groups, with 16% of women (almost 1 in 6), 17% of LGBQ+ (1 in 6), 22% of ethnic minorities (more than 1 in 5) and 24% of disabled respondents (almost 1 in 4), say they are likely to leave. Younger professionals (25-34 years) and caregivers are also slightly more likely to leave than the global average (18% vs 14%).
The overall one in seven figure remains the same as that found by the first Global Census on DEI in 2021, despite all the efforts that companies have made to increase diversity, retain talent and improve their appeal to potential employees around the world.
Those efforts are recognised, however, with nearly three in four (72%) respondents globally acknowledging industry attempts to improve the lived experiences of key groups. The numbers vary widely by country though peaking in Canada (87%), the USA (87%) and Singapore (86%), but are significantly lower in Japan (49%), Slovenia (51%) and Poland (54%).
Half the respondents to the survey (50%) said things have improved but three in ten (30%) said things were the same as in 2021. Again, responses varied by country. Seven in ten agreed that things had improved in Spain (70%) and Brazil (69%), but only three in ten agreed in Sweden (30%), Japan (32%) and Poland (32%). In the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), 9% respondents said things had got worse. Globally, those in senior positions were more likely to report that things have improved (58%) compared with managers (49%) and junior staff (42%).
The overall level of inclusion, calculated on the basis of answers to questions about a respondent’s sense of well-being, an absence of discrimination and a presence of negative behaviours was almost identical to 2021. The global DEI inclusion index was 64% last time (69% for men and 61% for women) and this year it is 63%, and still 69% for men and 61% for women. For LGBQ+ respondents, the Index has fallen two points from 60% to 58%.
The three countries to record the biggest improvements were New Zealand (up 10 percentage points to 71%), South Africa (up seven points to 61%) and Ireland (up six points to 68%), while the biggest three declines were recorded in Hong Kong SAR (down six points to 61%), The Gulf Cooperation Council (down four points to 57%) and the Netherlands (down four points to 63%).
The most common forms of discrimination reported are still around age, gender and family status. 41% of women, 42% of parents and 39% of caregivers feel that family responsibilities hinder one’s career. 12% of 18-24 year-olds and 17% of 55-64 years said they personally experienced age discrimination compared to an overall global average of 8%.
Women, LGBQ+, ethnic minority and disabled respondents still have worse experiences than their counterparts. Men reported living better work experiences (69%) than women (61%). Disabled respondents reported living the worst work experiences (45% versus 67% non-disabled). Women, disabled and ethnic minority respondents are all more likely to say they are unfairly spoken over (30% of women versus 21% men, 39% of disabled versus 25% non-disabled and 30% for ethnic minority respondents respectively versus 26% for ethnic majority respondents), undervalued compared to colleagues of equal competence (31% for women versus 23% men, 42% for disabled versus 26% for non-disabled, 33% for ethnic minorities versus 26% for their majority counterparts), bullied or made to feel uncomfortable in the workplace.
The results are based on nearly 13k responses from 91 countries, providing a detailed insight into people’s lived experiences from across the industry globally. The initiative is supported by a coalition of 10 global marketing and advertising organisations – WFA, VoxComm, Campaign, Kantar, Advertising Week, Cannes Lions, Effie Worldwide, IAA, Global Web Index (GWI) and Adweek – as well as more than 160 organisations at a local level making it the marketing industry’s single biggest collaboration to date. It is also backed by leading companies from across the marketing and advertising ecosystem, including Bayer, BP, Danone, Diageo, Dentsu, The Estée Lauder Companies, Haleon, Havas, KraftHeinz, L’Oréal, McCann, Meta, Philips, Reckitt, Sanofi and WPP.
Women and ethnic minorities also report being under-represented in senior positions. Analysing function by gender, women are more likely to be in marketing/PR and account management. Female respondents are dominant in junior positions (64% W vs 36% M) and male respondents are twice as likely to be in C-Suite positions (21% M vs 11% W). 36% of women who took parental leave in the last five years think it has put them at a disadvantage in their career compared with 8% of men.
Additionally, nearly half of respondents still feel that promotion or hiring decisions can be discriminatory with only 55% agreeing with the statement “Senior management does not discriminate when it comes to hiring or career advancements of those that report into them”. This drops to 52% for women, 51% for ethnic minorities, 49% for LGBQ+ and just 43% for disabled respondents. The 2023 number represents a slight improvement on the 51% scored on the same question in 2021, but Japan is currently the worse scoring market with just 34% agreeing.
Key groups are also less likely to agree that there are people like them in senior positions in their company, highlighting a lack of role models. Women’s scores are three points down on men with 58% agreeing, ethnic minority respondents are 13 points down on ethnic majority at just 48%, LGBQ+ respondents are 13 points down on heterosexual respondents at 47%, while disabled respondents show the biggest gap of all, 16 points down on non-disabled at 46%.
Mental health is also an important concern with 42% respondents saying they feel stressed and anxious at work. This peaks in Italy at 52%, which coincidentally is also the market with the lowest percentage of respondents agreeing that their company is open about mental health issues (31%). The Netherlands (26%) report the lowest percentage of respondents who are stressed or anxious at work. Overall, one in two say their company is open about mental health issues, with the Philippines scoring best at 67%.
Other key findings include:
• LGBQ+ respondents report worse lived experiences at work than their heterosexual counterparts, with an Inclusion Index score of 58% for LGBQ+ vs 65% for heterosexuals.
• The number of disabled respondents has improved compared to 2021 (10% vs 7%) and is closer to the global benchmark of 15%. Their responses, however, suggest that they are having a tough time with an inclusion index score of 45% compared to 67% for non-disabled respondents.
• 27% of respondents agree that “my work is having a negative physical impact on health and mental health”. Mental health worries peak at 40% in Poland with 42% in Poland also noting the impact on their physical health. Brazil is the best place for physical health, with only 18% agreeing that work has a negative impact while Finland is the best place for mental health, with just 17% citing it as a concern.
Census organisers are now busy delivering country specific reports, which will be used to update country-specific action plans and focus resources on the most pressing local challenges.
The findings will also be analysed by members of the WFA DEI Task Force, so that global organisations can ensure that they are best targeting their resources appropriately in order to address key challenges, and manage and retain much-needed talent.
“We should see this as glass half empty – and half full. We are not greatly surprised to see no measurable change across the global industry in just two years, because the challenges are so deep-rooted and systemic in society. They take time to address and overcome. But the first step is building awareness of the problem. We may not have meaningfully moved the needle globally, but industry efforts are increasingly visible. Now is the time to double down and stay the course because ultimately our efforts will be rewarded with more diverse, equitable and inclusive workplaces where the best talent will flock”, said Stephan Loerke, WFA CEO.
“First, I want to thank to every single person who has contributed to the Census. Thanks to you, we can see that progress is being acknowledged, which means we are going in the right direction. However, the ongoing discrimination faced by women, LGBQ+, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities shows that there is still a long way to go. These revealing figures are a vital opportunity for our industry – we must respond with purposeful action, weaving diversity and inclusion into the very heart of our organizations, to create a nurturing environment where each person is embraced, valued, and empowered”, said Tamara Daltroff, EACA CEO and VoxComm President.
“At its best, advertising can be a positive force for change, but we must live the values we ‘sell’. These results don’t illustrate the change we hope to see. As the WFA’s strategic partner for sustainability and inclusion and the home of The Inclusion Index, Kantar calls on the marketing community, once again, to move beyond rhetoric and take the positive steps needed to create a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment for all our colleagues”, said Ed Gemmell, Global Corporate Affairs Director at Kantar.
"The results of this most recent Global DEI Census show how vital this project continues to be. Without an ongoing concerted campaign to shine a light on this topic, we risk falling into the trap of thinking that progress (although maybe too slow) is somehow baked-in and inevitable. It simply isn't. Any progress is hard won and requires monumental levels of effort year in year out. Campaign continues to be proud of our association with this huge project. Thank you to WFA and all other partners”, said Jessica MacDermot, Global Portfolio Director at Haymarket Media Group.
“As marketers, we have the power to make a difference by actively working towards creating a more equitable and inclusive world, and addressing critical issues. Let's transform concern into meaningful action and work together towards a brighter, more inclusive future”, said Ruth Mortimer, Global President, Advertising Week.
"This data reinforces the need for organisations to align DEI more closely to their business strategy. An industry underpinned by inclusive practice is possible if we work together and commit to consistent actions whilst holding ourselves accountable. We all want to see a fairer world without discrimination, and, if we accelerate equitable outcomes for the historically marginalised, we can work towards achieving that objective", said Frank Starling, VP Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, LIONS.
“There’s not a lack of people recognising the importance of DEI in the industry, it’s about the level of action needed to really impact change. And this is something we see as a trend in global data with important topics people clearly care deeply about, such as DEI and climate change. What’s challenging is converting that concern to the work and change needed across the industry and beyond to make a difference. And this includes each and every one of us adapting and being willing to take part in that change”, said Jason Mander, Chief Research Officer GWI.
About the 2023 Global DEI Census
The results are based on nearly 13k responses from 91 countries, providing a detailed insight into people’s lived experiences from across our industry globally. Responses were completed between March 15 and April 30 via an online questionnaire. The sample includes 63% women, 37% men, which reflects a slight skew in the industry towards women (major agency holding groups report higher proportion of women over men with WPP, Dentsu and Havas all reporting a higher proportion of women over men – 56%, 53%, 57% women, respectively).
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