ANA/AIMM Diversity Report Summed Up in 4 Charts

November 17, 2020

By Bill Duggan

For the third consecutive year, ANA and AIMM (the Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing) are releasing “A Diversity Report for the Advertising/Marketing Industry.”

The report is based on three surveys:

1. Gender and ethnic diversity of the CMO/CMO-equivalent at 870 ANA member client-side marketer company members
2. Gender and ethnic diversity of the overall ANA membership
3. Gender and ethnic diversity among the U.S.-based marketing departments of 40 ANA board and other client-side member companies

Four charts sum up our findings.

 

Gender: CMOs/Senior Level

According to the report based on the ANA member CMOs and equivalents, 52 percent of the top marketer positions are female. Among the 40 ANA board of directors and other member companies, the gender skew is 56 percent female at the senior level. Further, the female skew increased in each year of the study in both reports.

 

Gender: Overall

The ANA overall membership is 67 percent female. The gender identity for the marketing departments among the 40 participating ANA board and other member companies is 63 percent female. These numbers are consistent in all three years of the study.

 

Ethnicity: CMO/Senior Level

The report based on the ANA member CMOs and equivalents found only 12 percent of the top marketer positions are ethnically diverse. Among the 40 ANA board of directors and other member companies, at the senior level (representing 5-10 percent of marketing department staff), 27 percent are ethnically diverse. These numbers are virtually unchanged over the three years.

 

Ethnicity: Overall

The ANA overall membership is 26 percent ethnically diverse. The ethnicity in the marketing departments among the 40 participating ANA board and other member companies overall is 29 percent diverse. These numbers are virtually unchanged over the three years.

In summary, ANA client-side marketers continue to make significant progress in achieving gender equality among CMOs. However, there has been little headway made in improving ethnic diversity among CMOs or among the overall ANA membership. Ethnic diversity among marketers is well below the 40 percent diversity in the general population. Representation for African American/Black and Hispanic/Latino marketers is particularly lacking in our industry.

The report provides action steps that have helped marketers improve diversity within the marketing department as well as case studies from General Mills and Mastercard.

Finally, we intend to convene regular forums to discuss and improve diversity.

Much more in the report.