Are you ready to hear the truth? Those attending the industry’s first-ever event specifically focusing on Black women certainly were.
The ADVERTISING Club of New York and Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG) hosted the industry’s first-ever event specifically focusing on Black women on March 27. THEIR TRUTH: The Summit on Black Women in Advertising, Marketing and Media is part of the I’mPART program, a diversity initiative of The ADVERTISING Club of New York, and was hosted at The Paley Center.
The event shed light on recent workforce composition numbers, fostered discussion and encouraged the industry to course correct the number of Black women in leadership positions.
“Through our I’mPART programs, The ADVERTISING Club has made a commitment to diversifying our industry,” explained Gina Grillo, President and CEO of The ADVERTISING Club of New York. “With that in mind, it’s important to keep an eye on the numbers and ensure progress is being made across the board. Shining a light on this “truth” is the only way we can keep the industry moving forward.”
Statistics show that among major demographic groups, Black women have the lowest upward mobility, and are underrepresented on corporate boards. They make up 1% of ad industry executives in the U.S., where there are 93 Black women executives out of a total of 8,734 executives in the industry, according to the EEOC.
The event also featured THEIR TRUTH, a panel of Black women industry trailblazers, moderated by Joy Reid from MSNBC. The panel included Jocelyn Carter-Miller, President, TechEdVentures and SoulTranSync and IPG Board Member; Pam El, EVP, Chief Marketing Officer, NBA; Vita Harris, EVP, Chief Strategy Officer, FCB; Jeanine D. Liburd, EVP of Marketing, Corporate Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility, BET Networks; Lisa Price, SVP, Founder & Creative Director, Carol’s Daughter and Carol H. Williams, CEO and Chief Creative Officer, Carol H. Williams Advertising (CHWA).
There are 40 percent of women in leadership roles but only 1% of them are Black, shared Michael Roth, CEO of Interpublic.
“Frankly, it’s not only embarrassing as an industry but it’s also a lost opportunity,” he said addressing the crowd. “This is just the start. When we do our Cannes breakfast this year, we are going to focus on the connectivity of gender ethnicity as a global culture because that is what we have to do as an industry.”
“And frankly if the industry isn’t going to do it, we are going to do it at IPG and we are going to use it as a competitive advantage,” Roth added.
The conversation throughout the evening included personal experiences, plans on next steps, and offered hope for those looking to see diversity in the ad industry.
Heide Gardner, the Senior Vice President, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer of the Interpublic Group concluded the evening by adapting the “Say Her Name” movement to mention a few trailblazers who have fought their way to leadership positions including Donna Pedro, Vida Cornelious, Deborah Lee, Tiffany Warren, Allyson Hugley and more.
