The November issue: MoJ's racist fail and news to spread
COUNTDOWN, BUT NOT YET...
The last couple of months has been crazy busy at Creative Equals. We're just coming up for air, and suddenly it's December this week (can someone press pause please?).
We've welcomed several new clients ready for change, built out our team and celebrated four years of what 'returning' means with our Creative Comeback Alumni. In the spirit of knowing equity and inclusion are the legacies we bring, here's a round-up of things we're watching and doing to make a difference
NON-GENDERED UNIFORM CHOICES SAW JOB APPLICATIONS UP 100%
One for the win? Virgin Atlantic recently launched its 'See The World Differently' campaign to celebrate the removal of gendered uniform requirements at the airline. The campaign shows male cabin crew wearing skirts and female and nonbinary staff donning the airline's trouser suits, as the airline encourages staff to wear the uniform they feel identify with. CEO Shai Weiss recently revealed that job applications doubled since the organisation made gender-neutral policy changes and said their inclusive approach has given the airline an edge on recruitment. Though, to 'preserve the safety of their staff', this policy has been suspended for flights in and out of Qatar during the World Cup.
MoJ PRISON JOB AD BANNED FOR RACIAL STEREOTYPING
Did you see this? In the middle of Black History Month, the Ministry of Justice's (MoJ) paid-for Facebook ad was banned due to racial stereotyping. Yes, the Ministry of Justice's ad. It showed a Black inmate and a white officer, with "an imbalanced power dynamic", the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled. The ASA found the advert was "likely to cause serious offence on the grounds of race, by reinforcing negative stereotypes about Black men".
Non-inclusive brands risk backlash from consumers who feel marginalised by them. A survey by Adobe showed that more than 34% of adults said they stopped supporting brands they felt did not represent them. So, if the fear of backlash or 'getting it wrong' keeps your team awake at night and there's a campaign going out you'd like to 'check', our team is here. We run 'Inclusion Clinics' across global markets to make sure your work is inclusion-first, no tropes, saviourism or stereotypes.
If you’d like help with your ads, get in touch. We run inclusive marketing consult sessions to help our clients avoid faux pas like this.
HOW TO SHOW UP AFTER BLACK HISTORY MONTH
As Black History Month ended, Debbie Tembo, our Partnerships Director, reflected on the difference between lip service and true parity.
Plenty of organisations often announce measures and declare support for their Black, Asian and Multi-Ethnic employees and communities in October, only for these to fall by the wayside come November. In reality, very few organisations actually deliver the deep work needed to reach parity for Black, Asian and Multi-Ethnic people in Britain.
There are plenty of measures employers can take to accelerate meaningful change every day. Here are seven ways organisations can actually make a difference and avoid the pledges made in October, turning into lip service come November...
FOUR COMPELLING REASONS TO INTEGRATE DIVERSITY INTO THE RETHINK OF YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN
Economic inclusion matters. Here's why. In 2017, a UN Women study reported one-third of all privately owned businesses in the world are owned by women, yet women-owned businesses earn less than 1% of large corporate and government spend with suppliers.
What does this tell us? Firstly, women-owned businesses are disregarded in the global supply mix. Secondly, businesses are missing out on the significant value that women — as business leaders, employees, consumers, and entrepreneurs — bring. When we fund women, we fund the communities around them.
The truth is, suppliers are owned by those with a characteristic such as ethnicity, disability or sexual orientation, are widely excluded. That's why we work with large brands to look at their supply chains and track them year on year. Debbie Tembo wrote this for SupplyChainBrain (love the name).
Want to know more? Read on or get in touch at hello@creativeequals.org
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?
Lastly, something we're so proud of. This National Inclusion Week, we hosted our first IRL alumni event with the last four years of returners at the Diageo HQ with stellar speakers. Honestly, it was emotional - Bernadette, Thato, and Tejali (above) seen at the beginning of their stories in 2020 (watch THIS video) were present and it was pure joy to hear how their careers have gone from strength to, well, powerhouses.
It all began with a grant from the Government Equalities Office in 2018. Had the funding stopped there, it would have been a one-off program, but a chance meeting with Global Director, Beer, Grainne Wafer at WPP Stream (read the story here) meant we were able to create a sustainable programme with Diageo. Since, we've put over 200+ returners through the CE x D&AD training programme in India, UK and the US. Four out of five of them have gone on to gain employment. For some, it's been life-changing.
Our big news? #CreativeComeback is coming back to NYC next year.
Stay well, stay safe!
The CE Team