IPG's Michael Roth Expands the Diversity Agenda. To Be Honored During CES.

quotThere39s a great deal of research that indicates we are doing better as an industry with gender in management and the executive levelsquot Roth commentedamp160amp160quotBut inclusivity which means the intention of including traditionally marginalized or excluded groups extends beyond women to people of color LGBT disabled and other groups along with embracing diversity of views diversity of experience and skills amp160Inclusion is our ultimate challenge in business and society amp160Aside from being right it39s a positive business casequot he emphasizes amp160View Roth39s She Runs It talk on diversity quotWe started our efforts over a decade ago but now many of our clients are demanding that the teams representing them are diverse amp160In a recent major pitch all the executives sitting at the table from the client were female amp160Imagine if our team was all male amp160We must have a diverse organization in fact some RFPs demand it and government work requires itquotRoth points out that the same issues apply to IPG39s media partners amp160quotThe insights and content from media owners need to reflect what we are looking forquot he says amp160quotThe same rules apply amp160Investors demand it alsoquotWhile working with the AAF Gardner39s early work with clients such as Bob Wheling at PampampG amp160Phil Guarascio at General Motors and Andrea Alstrup at Johnson ampamp Johnson who had corporate commitments to inclusion that they believed should also be reflected at their agencies led her to recognize the business value of advancing diversity for reasons beyond its moral and human importance amp160quotThe leadership of our industry needs to walk the talk when we embarked on our strategy at IPG many executives39 first response was to share the organizations they belonged to and contributed toquot she recalls amp160quotThat39s great but we require accountability and taking specific actions for moving the needle within their business groupsquotRoth agrees amp160quotWe are continuing our work with women and expanding our focus on people of colorquot he notes amp160quotFortytwo percent of our agencies39 executives are female while black women represent only one percent of that leadership level for our industry amp160It39s clear we have much further to go and we are continuing to hold our leaders accountable for workforce goals for people of color amp160The industry overall has had a leaky pipeline on retaining people of color that we39re addressing inside IPG amp160We39ve launched a strategic effort to provide tools and a framework for narrowing these gapsquotquotYou have to do that proactivelyquot Gardner points out amp160quotWe are focusing on addressing issues like creating pathways for sponsorship of people of color amp160Unless leaders take people of color under their wings we will not see the kind of progress we would likequot amp160IPG has sponsored research focused on disrupting perceptions of bias which Roth describes as quotan assessment of how bias can creep into the retention and advancement of people amp160What can make the biggest difference in retention and advancement is personal involvement of people in leadership roles amp160We39re doing a lot more coaching and advocacy by those in positions of power and influence amp160One of our programs includes an element that involves identifying team members who have high potential mapping out a personal game plan for going forwardamp160and connecting them with senior executives who are good mentorsquotquotYou need topdown accountability for meeting objectivesquot Roth declares amp160quotAccountability filters down with executive incentives dependent on meeting benchmarks for success it has teeth amp160I always believe in moving the needle with clear targetsquot amp160He points to a success record with threequarters of the first group in the program receiving promotions and another 15 making moves to get more experienceRoth credits his passion for inclusion to his parents39 decision to stay in Brooklyn as it was diversifying and as many of their neighbors moved amp160quotI grew up in an environment that was inclusivequot he explains amp160quotThe neighborhood was changing and my parents chose to stay amp160Inclusion was part of my daily life and it still is amp160When I joined IPG I saw all white male executives amp160It was clear IPG and the industry had to do something amp160We39re communicating with consumers and we need to be representative of those consumers amp160Diversity and inclusion is a corporate responsibilityquotThe Advancing Diversity Honors event presents a networking opportunity for the advertising and media community to join hands in solidarity and support for diversity and inclusion amp160The event is being hosted at CES to share best practices and clearly communicate to the tech community the importance our industry places on diversity amp160For more information and to register visit ces18comClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

IPG's Michael Roth Expands the Diversity Agenda. To Be Honored During CES.

Author

Publish date

Channel

Archived in

Jack Myers

"About That with Carl Mayer": Involved Media Connected Audience Fall 2024 Report (Episode 5) - By Carl Mayer

More Videos:

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

IPG's Michael Roth Expands the Diversity Agenda. To Be Honored During CES.

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Jack Myers

Stay in the know with more from MediaVillage

"About That with Carl Mayer": Involved Media Connected Audience Fall 2024 Report (Episode 5) - By Carl Mayer

Cookies