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← Back to IdeasOgilvy Commits To Hiring 20 Women To Top Creative Roles by 2020
Another Cannes Lions is in full swing, the advertising, marketing, tech, and business worlds convening on the Croisette in a week-long celebration of creativity. And while Cannes continues to be a place for great work to be lauded, one look at the schedule is proof that the people behind that work is a hot topic of conversation. The past few years have seen numerous sessions focused on diversity and inclusion, and this year’s festival continues that trend.
While talk is good, action is better. The ad industry—and this is true of most industries—has had plenty of conversations about changing to face of its workforce to accurately reflect the world, but meaningful, tangible steps have often lagged too far behind.
Ogilvy announced this year at Cannes its intentions to take action on diversity, announcing a commitment to hire 20 women into senior creative roles by 2020.
“At the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, [Oglivy Chief Creative Officer] Tham Khai Meng…said in addition to the commitment to hire women into 20 ‘senior creative roles,’ the network is ‘going to be developing a pipeline for senior women of color globally and making key hires in the next 24 months,’ Adweek reported.
.@Ogilvy pledges to hire 20 senior female creatives globally by end of 2020. Obviously this is the right thing for us to do, but it also makes business sense. Diversity will improve the work. #CannesLions #OgilvyCannes #WomenCannes #WomenOfOgilvy https://t.co/9BdWtAdeqh
— Khai (@ThamKhaiMeng) June 19, 2018
Ogilvy is also determined to be accountable for its promise, which far too many organizations are unwilling to do. The agency has partnered with the 3% Movement, an advocacy group that focuses on gender balance in agencies, who will monitor the progress.
“We are big believers in metrics,” Khai said. “And the big reason we have to put our heart and our head and our gut to this and commit to this publicly is [that] we want this to be measured. That’s why we’re partnering with Kat (Gordon) and the 3% Movement.”
Read more on Ogilvy’s commitment at Campaign Live.