Adweek Reports How Holding-Company CEOs Are Addressing Racism Internally
As protesters across the country march against racism and police brutality, reports Adweek, many hope that advertising agencies will have their moment of reckoning by finally addressing racist systems and power structures—and enact change after decades of stagnation.
“It is appalling that in this industry, where we pride ourselves on being the most creative people on the planet, that we can’t mobilize a creative response to addressing the disparities of race inside the companies that we operate,” a senior agency employee told Adweek. “We’re using this moment to make some real demands from leadership, and the gift of the moment is that leadership is listening.”
Over the past few weeks, says Adweek, “holding company CEOs have sent memos to staff addressing the May 25 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. In these memos, they’ve largely pledged to hire more people of color at all levels and make working environments more inclusive and equitable.”
Of course, continued Adweek,”the argument is that talk is cheap, evidenced by many years of op-eds, conferences and initiatives that people feel have yielded little in the way of actual change. Advocates worry that if or when momentum for Black Lives Matter begins to subside, promises made by industry leaders will prove to be little more than meaningless platitudes.”
More here.
