Multicultural representation is still falling short in marketing departments, according to a study from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and its Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing (AIMM) unit.
“Only 12% of CMOs and equivalents are diverse,” the study said. (For more, read WARC’s in-depth report: ANA/AIMM research addresses inability to attract diversity to marketing industry.)
That total – based on 820 of the ANA’s client-side members – actually marked a slight year-to-year decrease from 13% in 2018.
Drilling down into CMO-level representation, the study revealed that Hispanics/Latinos hold only 4% of positions, versus making up 18% of the entire US population.
Similarly, the analysis showed, African Americans/Blacks occupied just 3% of the survey group’s CMO offices, versus 14% of the population.
Asian Americans comprised 5% of the CMO group, lagging behind the cohort’s 6% share of the total US population.
Representation across entire marketing departments, according to the study, entitled “A Diversity Report for the Advertising/Marketing Industry”, also trails the national averages.
“The ethnicity in the marketing departments of participating companies overall was 70% non-Hispanic white” – compared with virtually the same (69%) dominance in 2018.
General-employee representation was 10% for Asian marketers, followed by 8% for Hispanic/Latino marketers, and only 7% for African American/Black marketers.
In terms of gender balance, the news was more positive, with women holding 52% of senior leadership roles, with men on 48%.
“All job levels skew female – senior level, mid-level upper end, mid-level lower end, entry-level professional, and admin/clerical/support,” the study said.
The data indicates that female representation within marketing teams “is now likely at an all-time high,” according to the ANA/AIMM study.
But with that new balance comes a “red flag” to consider: “Entry-level professional and mid-level lower end are both almost two-thirds female,” the study observed.
“It is important to point out that gender ‘equality’ means equal representation between men and women … The industry needs to understand why more young men are not entering, or remaining in, the marketing industry, and then take action.”
Sourced from WARC
