When Diversity Becomes Nothing but Data Points…
It has become increasingly popular to speak of — as well as to brag about — diversity in an institution, any institution really. Indeed, numbers of researches have proven the same thing: diversity — let it be racial, gender, age, sexual orientation, or whatever — is good for business, just as good as double-digit profit margins. However, it seems just as hard to achieve, too.
Otherwise, universities wouldn’t have to photoshop minority students’ faces onto their admission brochures; companies wouldn’t have to exclaim that they are “Equal Opportunity Employers (EOE)” on their websites; and The 3% Conference, an initiative “championing creative female talent and leadership” in the advertising industry, wouldn’t have existed either.
So what is the matter?
In a recent panel “How to Succeed In Advertising [according to the women who already have]” at Boston University, Hill Holliday CEO Karen Kaplan, Arnold Worldwide Global President Pam Hamlin, and Mullen President Kristen Cavallo gather together sharing their struggles and successes, views on glass ceilings for women and gender diversity in the workplace, and expectations and advice for the future generation of ad men and women.
On the subject of diversity, Hamlin first acknowledged that successful businesses all need diversity, as “great ideas come from diverse points of view.” Cavallo then pointed out that achieving diversity isn’t just about new hires but also retention. She emphasized that agencies shall create an encouraging environment under which minority talents are comfortable working in. Kaplan also voiced in that achieving diversity is about changing the organizational culture, which happens very slowly.
Their points are well supported by Harvard Business Review’s John Rice. Noted in his work, most of all companies are well aware of the significance of diversity and have put in much effort in attempting to achieve diversity. However, many focus rather on the physical “outcomes” of their diversity initiatives — the number of mentoring programs, event sponsorships, or résumés collected—than the gradual change culturally. He also cleared up the myth around the significance that “a series of diversity and inclusion seminars” or “one high-profile minority hire” have on diversity. In addition, Rice opposed the idea of measuring the “results” of the diversity efforts in terms of data points and calling them successful. He recommended companies to strategically consider the look of success in the future and then build programs and initiatives based on the vision, and eventually track the progress accordingly.
Such point was agreed by Hamlin. She, in the reception following the panel, acknowledged the differences that programs and initiatives like Multicultural Advertising Intern Program (MAIP) of American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A), Marcus Graham Project, ADCOLOR and the 3% Conference have made to the diversity of the advertising industry, but she also agreed that those are hardly enough. At the end, Hamlin expressed her vision of future offices of Arnold Worldwide resembling the diverse societies in which they operate. She then discussed in detail about how Arnold Worldwide and the industry are working together developing programs that provide support to minority talents as they are in school (both high school and college), as they start at the workplace and as they further advance on the ladder.
Hamlin’s vision surely is a noble ambition. We shall wait and see!
