Plus, where D&I stands today
| | | | | First Things First | | May 29, 2020 | By Jess Zafarris |
| |
| At Adweek's Inaugural D&I Summit, Leaders Forge Ahead With Commitment to Equality | |
This has been a big week for diversity and inclusion at Adweek. We had a special-edition crossover episode of Yeah, That’s Probably an Ad in conjunction with our new audio magazine D&I TBD, in which we talked to industry leaders about their experiences and what needs to be done going forward. Earlier this week, we held our first Diversity and Inclusion Summit, with nearly 4,500 attendees and a dozen leaders from today's top brands and organizations sharing key insights into the state of D&I in the industry—from Reckitt Benckiser's Cynthia Chen and Petco's Tariq Hassan to ADCOLOR and Omnicom's Tiffany R. Warren. From the discussion, several major themes emerged about the pandemic and the challenges ahead for D&I: Companies must not abandon diversity efforts amid the pandemic. The Female Quotient's Shelley Zalis and Facebook's Antonio Lucio emphasized that going back to "normal" won't cut it, and that this is an opportunity for more diverse teams to help accelerate companies' transition into a post-pandemic world.Representation in advertising makes a difference. GLAAD's Sarah Kate Ellis and P&G's Marc Pritchard highlighted a study by the two organizations showing that LGBTQ people are more culturally accepted when they are authentically represented in advertising.Talk won't cut it anymore. Citing recent incidents and violence against people of color in the news lately, several speakers—perhaps most memorably Bozoma Saint John—powerfully charged the audience with the importance of action and leveraging D&I as a tenet of every aspect of business development.Dig Deeper: Explore more key takeaways from the summit. Experience the entire summit: You can watch all of the sessions from the Adweek Diversity and Inclusion Summit here. Diversity and Inclusion Action ItemsMarcel Marcondes recommended these three next steps for companies looking to advance D&I. (In the coming days we'll highlight more of these practical action items in First Things First.)More of Today's Top News and Highlights3% Conference Goes Virtual With 3-Day Event in JulyWPP Forms Pact With ‘Kid Tech’ Platform SuperAwesomeThis Experimental Adobe Feature Lets Online Shoppers Virtually Try on Clothes With AIHyundai and Tastemade Are Producing a Digital Series About Road TripsAllbirds and Adidas Team Up to Reduce the Footwear Industry’s Carbon FootprintFormer Netflix Exec Tara Duncan Named Freeform PresidentDisney+ and Hulu Among Streamers Increasing TV Advertising During QuarantineADCOLOR Cancels 2020 Gathering, Will Host Virtual Conference in SeptemberHow WSJ and Barron’s Group Grew Their Digital Ad Business Despite the Pandemic | | | |
| |
| |
|
|
|
Link