ANA Report Shows Ethnic Diversity among Marketers Declining

ANA’s study “A Diversity Report for the Advertising/Marketing Industry,” revealed that ethnic representation among marketers declined substantially from 32.3% in 2022 to 30.8% in 2023. This was a sharp reversal from the previous three years where ethnic diversity increased from 27.6% in 2019 to 32.3% in 2022.

The study also noted some important positive findings:

· The marketer community continues to skew largely female, with female representation at the senior leadership level being its highest in the six-year history of the study.

· There was a breakthrough increase in diversity among CMOs, with a strong increase among senior marketing roles.

“It is clear that our long-term focus on DEIB must not waver,” said Bob Liodice, CEO, ANA. “Representation growth is not only the right thing to pursue, it is an important platform for marketers to drive business and brand growth. The findings in this report should embolden our community to double down on diversity and to ensure that it remains a critical human resource strategy for all. Our AIMM and SeeHer operating divisions are committed to working with the entire industry to ensure fair representation.”

The study tracks the gender and ethnic diversity of ANA member companies and recommends steps they can take to improve diversity. It consists of three surveys designed to provide a broad understanding of diversity at ANA member companies:

• ANA Board of Directors and Select Member Companies Diversity Benchmark: Gender and ethnic diversity among the U.S.-based marketing departments of 88 client-side marketer ANA member companies, representing 19,949 marketers. This survey is done at a single, recent point in time – on June 30, 2023, for this year’s study, or as close to that date as possible – providing a real-time metric.
• ANA Overall Membership: Gender and ethnic diversity of the overall ANA membership, representing approximately 1,600 companies and 31,116 individuals who provided gender identity and 27,572 who provided ethnic diversity information. This survey is based on a three-year rolling average for the period between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2023.
• ANA Member CMOs: Gender and ethnic diversity of the CMO/CMO-equivalent at 936 client-side marketer company members.

The study also uncovered:

Hispanic/Latino Representation Declined Leading to Decreased Ethnic Diversity

The study found that the 30.8% ethnic diversity of the advertising/marketing industry tracks below the 42.2% diversity makeup of the total U.S. population, according to the 2020 U.S. Census.

When looking at diverse segments, the data from the ANA board of directors and select member companies found that the overall ethnic skew of the marketing/advertising industry is 10.3% Asian, 9.5% Hispanic/Latino, and 7.2% African American/Black. While Asian representation is high and skews higher than the U.S. population (10.3% in the industry vs. 5.92% of the U.S. population), ethnic diversity remains low for the African American/Black and Hispanic/Latino segments in proportion to the U.S. population.  

African American/Black representation in the industry remained steady compared to 2022, but is not proportional to U.S. total population (7.2% in the industry vs. 12.05% of the U.S. population). And despite Hispanics/Latinos making up 18.73% of the total U.S. population, Hispanic/Latino representation in the advertising/marketing industry was at 9.5% in 2023, a decrease from 10.9% in 2022.

“The findings from this study shed light on the current state of DEI in the industry and confirm that we must do more to recruit, attract and retain diverse talent,” said Gilbert Dávila, co-founder, AIMM. “It is our collective responsibility to ensure that the industry fosters a diverse workforce so that we drive more authentic connections with consumers, foster more creativity and innovation, and ultimately spur business growth.”

Diversity in Senior Level Positions Increased

In the study of ANA board of directors and select member companies, the ethnic diversity of senior level marketing positions increased to 27.9%, the second highest percentage of ethnic diversity over the six-year study period. In the study of ANA member CMOs, there was 17.3% ethnic diversity in CMO positions, up from 14.6%, also the highest in the six-year study period.

Female Representation Remains High

Female representation at the senior leadership level is 57.7% according to the ANA board of directors and select member companies’ diversity benchmark and 59.9% in the analysis of the ANA member CMOs. Both are at the highest levels in the six-year history of the study.

The study found that, once again, women comprise the majority of the marketing industry’s workforce at 67.2% according to the ANA board of directors and select member companies diversity benchmark and at 69.5% in the analysis of the ANA overall membership. Per the former study, the gender of entry-level professional talent is also majority female (68.9%).

“Women continue to be drawn to and engaged in the advertising/marketing industry, as the results show they comprise the majority of the industry’s workforce,” said Christine Guilfoyle, president, SeeHer. “While other industries struggle to recruit and retain female talent, the advertising/marketing industry has successfully attracted women, making up the majority of both entry-level professionals and senior leaders. The industry must continue this progress and make all genders feel valued, respected, and fairly treated through inclusive business practices.”

“A Diversity Report for the Advertising/Marketing Industry” includes significant qualitative feedback provided by participants in the Diversity Benchmark study on steps and challenges to improve diversity within the marketing department, including talent recruitment, talent retention, external engagement and more. A copy of the full study can be accessed here.