Ad agencies commit to funding abortion access for employees

In this issue of DEI in Marketing:

Agencies adjust policies and examine gender equity initiatives in the wake of the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion indicating the likely reversal of Roe v. Wade.
How to prevent burnout among agency DEI staff.
The role of anonymous social media accounts in highlighting sexual harassment within the advertising industry – and whether it affects change.
Adjustments to organizations’ disability policies in the face of long COVID.
FCB focuses on diversity goals in the coming year.

Agencies commit to funding abortion access for employees

The emergence of a Supreme Court draft opinion indicating the majority of justices will vote to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade precedent protecting women’s right to abortion in the US has prompted quick reaction from the ad industry.

Expanding healthcare benefits to fund abortion access
IPG, Publicis and WPP all committed to funding any necessary travel for employees who will need to travel to seek abortions. A memo from WPP CEO Mark Read read, in part: “We don’t know the full details or impact of these potential changes in reproductive rights yet, but we do know we want our people to have the same health coverage regardless of where they live.”

PR agency Bospar offered relocation compensation for all employees based in Texas, where abortion is illegal after six weeks of pregnancy, reported AdAge. Marketing company Alembic Technologies will cover any medical travel an employee “personally deems serious and needed,” saying employees do not have to disclose details. And agency Big Spaceship shared quotes and stories on its Instagram page from agency employees who have received abortions.

In contrast, PR firm Zeno (part of Edelman Holdings) privately advised its clients to not release any communications around abortion, saying it could hurt their business in red states. Zeno’s clients include high-profile companies such as Coca-Cola, Netflix, Starbucks, AT&T, Corona, Pizza Hut, Astra Zeneca, Kia Motors, Prudential, and Hershey’s.

Impact on gender disparity

Industry leaders noted the implications the overturning of Roe v. Wade could have on gender disparity within advertising. Amy Small, EVP, creative at Media Cause, wrote this week for Campaign on how reduced access to abortion will magnify gender inequalities in the industry. The media and marketing industry has lost 10% of its female employees, mostly due to lack of childcare, including COVID-related school and daycare closures. Small argues that if lack of access to childcare is already contributing to female employee attrition, the situation will only worsen in a future where women do not have the option to terminate their pregnancies. Several organizations are also adjusting their policies around the expectation that more employees may have no choice but to carry a pregnancy to term; these adjustments include enhancing parental leave and providing more predictable work hours.

Get involved: Meryl Draper, CEO of Quirk, is putting together a volunteer group of ad industry talent to deploy pro bono work to organizations who may need it most in the coming weeks.

Who takes care of the people taking care of DEI?

The work of making a company truly diverse, equitable, and inclusive is far too heavy for one employee or a small group of employees to bear, reports Digiday in an article examining the limits of the Chief Diversity Officer concept.

It’s been an ongoing matter of debate in the industry, which has seen a rush to appoint diversity leads, often without giving them the appropriate amount of resources to make in impact. Last year, Jai Tedeschi, VP and Global Executive Director of Culture and Operations at the R/GA agency, spoke about the importance of operationalizing DEI initiatives.

It’s not just people with DEI in their job descriptions who are burning out due to the emotional burden of DEI work, reports Worklife. Churn is exceptionally high among agencies’ social media managers, who are often responsible for creating company responses to social unrest and events such as the murder of George Floyd. These employees are then tasked with addressing the hateful comments people post in response, along with the inherent expectation of being “always on the clock.”

Some key takeaways for agencies looking to reduce burnout among these groups:

The person tasked with heading DEI practices at an organization needs to report directly to the CEO, not to a head of HR or a Chief People/Employee Experience Officer. Direct connection to the C-suite will give the point person and/or their department enhanced access to resources, funds, and support.
The person tasked with heading DEI practices at an organization needs to report directly to the CEO, not to a head of HR or a Chief People/Employee Experience Officer. Direct connection to the C-suite will give the point person and/or their department enhanced access to resources, funds, and support.
Chief Diversity Officers and equivalents need to be able to enact policies and tie management’s compensation to hard numbers and data around DEI initiatives.
DEI practices need to be everyone’s job at an organization, similar to how many agencies used to have a dedicated person/department to oversee digital operations, but now digital adaptation is part of everyone’s job expectations.
DEI efforts need to be focused on white people, but should not be reliant on people of color to brainstorm or initiate.
Infusing DEI into culture and operations, as opposed to a specific DEI department, can be beneficial in that DEI initiatives can become part of education and transparency efforts at an organization.
All DEI initiatives should be tracked the same way sales and other initiatives are: with a timeframe, checkpoints, milestones, KPIs, and support guidance.
Agencies should have support systems for roles like social media managers, including culturally appropriate trauma counseling, facilitating more direct conversations between social media managers and C-suite officials, and the use of algorithms to automatically spot and remove toxic social media comments.

Are anonymous social media accounts the right way to address sexual harassment?

Last week the anonymous Instagram account Balance Ton Agency (translates to “Balance Your Agency”), which describes itself as dedicated to reporting “abuse in advertising,” posted allegations that led to an investigation at the Havas advertising agency, per AdWeek. The account, which has over 338,000 followers, posted a series of allegations of inappropriate behavior perpetrated by two Havas executives, referred to as “JC” and “CC.” Havas announced its CEO Julien Carette and creative director Christophe Coffre will temporarily step down as an internal investigation is conducted.

The situation is reminiscent of a similar social media-driven movement in 2018, when the @dietmadisonave Instagram account listed men in the media industry who have been accused of sexually inappropriate actions, as reported by the New York Times. One of the men accused in the account’s posts, Ralph Watson, was ultimately fired from his position as chief creative officer at the ad agency Crispin Porter Borgusky, and subsequently sued the account for defamation, per CNBC.

Next step in DEI initiatives: policies on long COVID

Charter reports that companies are ldeveloping workplace procedures to address the struggles of employees with long COVID. Long COVID, loosely defined as COVID symptoms that last for weeks or months beyond the initial illness, may already be preventing 15% of employees from returning to the workforce. Because long COVID is an emerging condition, it can be difficult to recognize, define, and diagnose, meaning that some employees suffering from the condition may have an impacted job performance without an official diagnosis. Some potential ways to address long COVID include:

Creating a culture where employees feel comfortable speaking up about their needs and advocating for themselves, even without formal documentation.
Reducing employee hours, allowing for flexible schedules, and even initiating temporary leaves of absence during periods of intense symptoms.
Modifying employees’ non-essential job duties, allowing for additional breaks during the day, and understanding that productivity may be lower for some time.
Recognizing and accommodating two of the most common long COVID symptoms: brain fog and an inability to focus.

Diversity goals at FCB

Campaign reports that the FCB agency has identified DEI initiatives as a major growth area and a focus for the company moving forward. In keeping with industry trends (as covered in last week’s newsletter), FCB’s current employee data reflects disparities between the representation of women and POC employees on its staff, and the representation of those groups in leadership positions. However, FCB has created a structured inclusion initiative with goals to diversify its overall workforce and leadership representation, along with an emphasis on creating a more equitable culture and producing work that reflects a diversity of viewpoints. The agency reports it will continue to invest in DEI projects moving forward, including an “Upstream Inclusion Practice,” which will focus on working with clients to create more inclusive messaging.