Ethnic and female representation among employees at ANA (Association of National Advertisers) member companies is the highest it’s been since the ANA began tracking DEI levels in 2018, according to a report conducted by the ANA and its Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing (AIMM).
The study, “A Diversity Report for the Advertising/Marketing Industry,” also revealed that the marketing industry continues to skew largely female, including top marketing industry executives.
The study marks the fifth annual iteration of the report, which tracks the gender and ethnic diversity of ANA member companies and recommends steps to improve diversity.
The report 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 81 ANA member companies, representing 19,966 marketers.
- ANA Overall Membership: Gender and ethnic diversity of the overall ANA membership, representing 32,623 individuals who provided gender identity and 29,194 who provided ethnic diversity information.
- ANA Member CMOs: Gender and ethnic diversity of the CMO/CMO-equivalent at 931 ANA member client-side marketers.
Ethnic diversity
In the two studies that analyze the broader ANA membership, ethnic diversity overall is the highest it’s been in the five-year history of the report. However, both are behind the 42.2 percent ethnic diversity of the U.S. general population, per the 2020 Census.
- 32.3 percent ethnically diverse per the ANA Diversity Benchmark (as compared to 29.4% in 2018, the first year of the study. That declined to 27.6% in 2019, reached 28.5% in 2020 and 30.8% in 2021).
- 29.1 percent ethnically diverse per the analysis of the ANA Overall Membership (as compared to 26% in 2018, then down to 25% the following year, back up to 26% in 2020 and 27.2% in 2021).
Senior level
The report revealed that 27.4 percent of senior-level executives are ethnically diverse per the ANA Diversity Benchmark (defined as “the highest level within the marketing team, likely 5 to 10 percent of total”). Meanwhile, 14.6 percent of CMOs were ethnically diverse, per the analysis of the CMO/CMO-equivalent at ANA client-side marketer member companies.
The study showed that ethnic diversity at the senior level is the second highest it’s ever been in the ANA Diversity Benchmark study and highest ever per the analysis of ANA Member CMOs. Despite some modest progress, ethnic diversity at the senior level lags far behind the ethnic diversity of the U.S. general population.
The first year of the report, the Diversity Benchmark was at 26.2%, then 25.4% in 2019, 26.4% in 2020 and 28.5% in 2021. That latter figure decreased to 27.4% this year.
ANA Member CMOs stood at 13% in 2018, 12% in both 2019 and ‘20, and 13.7% last year. It rose to the aforementioned 14.6% in 2022.
Ethnic diversity by specific segment
The industry is 7.2 percent African American/Black, 10.2 percent Asian, and 10.9 percent Hispanic/Latino. African American/Black and Hispanic/Latino both increased notably between 2021 and 2022, yet representation for both is still significantly lower than their proportion of the U.S. population (per the ANA Diversity Benchmark)
African American/Black rose from 6.6% in 2021 to 7.2% in 2022. Both fall short of the 12.1% African American/Black population per the U.S. Census.
The Asian tally declined from 11.7% in 2021 to 10.2% in ‘22. Both, though, are above the U.S. Census figure of 5.9%.
Hispanic/Latino increased from 8.9% in 2021 to 10.9% in ‘22. Both figures are below the 18.7% reported in the U.S. Census.
Gender diversity
In the two studies of the broader ANA membership, female representation overall is the highest it’s been in the five-year history of the report.
- 67.5 percent female / 32.4 percent male / 0.1 percent non-Binary per the ANA Board of Directors and Select Member Companies Diversity Benchmark
- 68.3 percent female / 31.6 percent male / 0.1 percent non-Binary per the analysis of the ANA Overall Membership
Senior level women
Female representation at the senior level is the second highest it’s ever been in the ANA Diversity Benchmark study and highest ever per the analysis of ANA Member CMOs.
- 55.6 percent female per the ANA Diversity Benchmark (defined as “the highest level within the marketing team, likely 5 to 10 percent of total”). This was exceeded only in 2020 with 56.2%.
- 57.3 percent female per the analysis of the CMO/CMO-equivalent at ANA client-side marketer member companies
There was significant qualitative feedback provided by participants in the Diversity Benchmark study on action steps to improve diversity within the marketing department, including talent recruitment, talent retention, and external engagement.
A copy of the full report can be accessed here.
