ACA releases Create Space Report & Action Plan; hope to ‘encourage’ agencies for change
The Advertising Council Australia (ACA) has released the findings of its Create Space Report & Action Plan – an extensive look into diversity, inclusion and workplace behaviour in the Australian advertising industry.
In line with this morning’s webinar, CEO Tony Hale and national head of engagement Hannah Sturrock joined the Mumbrellacast to discuss the report and plan, which was devised after its census received 2652 responses, building a comprehensive overview of the Australian industry.
The ACA’s Hannah Sturrock and Tony Hale appeared on the Mumbrellcast today
The report is a collaboration with global insights agency Kantar and was prompted after looking at a similar study in the UK, All In, completed also with Kantar.
“We realised when you see the extent of the data on that, we just didn’t have an accurate picture in Australia, and we didn’t want to look at one or two issues, we wanted to have a holistic viewpoint. So we came to the conclusion pretty quickly that the best way to do it,” Hale said on this week’s Mumbrellacast.
Key findings from the report included:
- Industry’s Inclusion Index Score, a global benchmark, sits well above national average, slightly below UK and global advertising industries
- 75% of respondents feel a strong sense of belonging to their company and 90% feel that they are a valued part of their direct team
- Inclusion Score drops significantly for marginalised groups
- 20% of respondents and 1 in 4 female middle managers are likely to leave the ad industry based on their experience of discrimination or lack of inclusion
- 8% of women vs 3% of men have experienced sexual harassment at work in last 12 months
- 58% of respondents affected by mental or physical health condition, 23% by ongoing stress
- One in four women have felt bullied or undermined in the workplace
- Microaggressions experienced by almost 50% of respondents
Following the findings in the report, the ACA said it is adopting a “suite of measures to address harassment in the workplace”, which are outlined in the Create (SAFE) Space Toolkit and 6-Point Action Plan.
On getting buy-in across the industry, and having agencies subscribe to the action plan moving forward, Hale said on the podcast that the ACA, alongside most industry organisations legislative.
“You can’t dictate to any member exactly what they do, but what you can do is you can appeal to them in a number of ways and you could set up methods to encourage them to do so.”
“The vast majority of members have got the resources and they’re already well down the track with all of these sort of things. It’s not new to them,” he continued. “A lot of them are doing these things in any case, but when you’re in an industry organization, it’s not all about the big ones, it’s about the independents that may not have the resources in-house to enable them to get there.”
“So in order to encourage them to do it, what you try and do is break the back of it. You try and say, ‘here’s what needs to be done’ and develop some step-by-step guides, give them toolkits, give them resources, give them education, provide all of these things so they’re a lot simpler.”
Hale said he hopes this will enable all members to address some of the key issues, and that with a “great deal of camaraderie in the industry”, there will be support amongst members and competitors to follow the track.
One other action he said the ACA is taking is building an accreditation program, which will be in place from 2023. This program will roll out minimum standards in the industry for agencies that will have to have accreditation.
“It’s very difficult to do that unless you provide the tools and resources in the first place.”
The report’s data shows that women in advertising are six times more likely than men to experience gender discrimination, 58% of advertising professionals live with a physical or mental health condition, and one-fifth of employees are likely to leave the industry based on their experiences of discrimination and exclusion.
Further, people with disabilities are twice as likely to be made to feel uncomfortable in the workplace, those who identify as Asian are almost three times more likely to experience discrimination and negative behaviour at work, and 23% of people feel anxious at work due to identifying as LGBTQI+.
“I think we are taking the approach of how do we build up,” Sturrock added. “So as Tony said, we can’t really set minimum standards unless we’re investing in building up the awareness and the consciousness, and the focus on really helping people that understand that.
“I’ve worked in independent agencies for most of my career and there are not a lot of resources going around who are just focused on HR, people, and culture stuff. You are stretched so thinly.”
ACA D&I committee chair and president of WWP, Australia & New Zealand, Rose Herceg said: “The results of the Create Space Census are in. Organisations across the industry now have a comprehensive guide to ensure their workplaces are welcoming and inclusive of everyone.”
“Many companies have their established policies on DEI. Adopting recommendations from the Create Space Report and Action Plan will help to accelerate progress in the most critical areas.”
You can read the full report here.
Listen to the full discussion with Tony Hale and Hannah Sturrock below.
Got a tip?
Calum Jaspan was news editor at Mumbrella, based in Melbourne. He was also the producer and host of the Mumbrellacast. He left Mumbrella in May 2023.
Linkedin
topics
ACA
Advertising Council Australia
Create Space
Hannah Sturrock
Mumbrellacast
Rose Herceg
Tony Hale
This was a fantastic session.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope that Agency leaders give the initiatives and statistics presented the consideration they deserve and take action.
Many agencies *THINK* they are progressive and provide exceptional policies when in fact, they don’t. Lip service.
From my observation, there’s still a long way to go to providing safe, inclusive and equitable environments.
User ID not verified.
Have your say