What History are we Making?

Today, Feb 1, 2022, marks the first day of Black History Month, an important time for us to commemorate the remarkable achievements, contributions, and impact that Black artists, activists, scientist, teachers, inventors, and others have had on our society and our world. It is a month of celebration and inspiration. Also, introspection.

Black History Month is an essential moment for us to consider not only what’s happened in the past, but also to ponder what we are doing today that will help define the future. During Black History Month 2032, what will we have achieved in a decade? I’ve been pondering this question ever since we released our fourth annual #Inclusive100 report in December.

The annual report provides a DEI snapshot of the marketing industry, and sadly the growth in representation of Black and Latinx employees was glacial. The number of Black people in our industry grew 5% in 2021 compared to 13% in 2020. The number of Latinx employees grew by 4% versus 13.1% the previous year. Even with two years of growth, those populations still only represent 4.5% and 6.6% of our industry respectively. Compared to 2020 Census numbers – 12.4% percent of the population is Black and 18.7% is Latinx – the distance between where we are and where we need to grow is dramatic.

Even though it’s obvious that the pandemic has negatively impacted employments overall, we need to do much better as an industry, and there are 50 companies who are totally committed to creating positive change.

They are the members of #Inclusive100, a consortium dedicated to using data, dialogue, and repeatable actions to move the needle on representation and inclusive culture. Leaders from these companies meet once every quarter to share ideas and initiatives that have proven successful. They confront head on the nagging challenges and obstacles that prevent greater inclusion and diversity in our workforces and workplaces.

At the heart of #Inclusive100 is the Seramount Inclusion Index, a measurement tool that enables participating companies to fully assess their current state and accurately gauge their progress. The index also surfaces practices and policies that the highest rated companies use to create inclusive organizations.

The 2022 Index is open now (until March 11), so if you want to use data, facts, and proven actions to make progress against your DEI goals, go to sherunsit.org, click on #Inclusive100, and get in touch with us to learn more about the index and the consortium.

We are making history. Let’s make it positive.