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Good morning, Marketers, where does diversity start in marketing?
My friend Chima Mmeje, an SEO content writer and strategist for SaaS and tech, tweeted this week asking why there were no Black in-house marketers. “What’s the barrier to entry?” she asked.
We’ve written about the issue on Search Engine Land and MarTech. Here’s what we’ve found: When we talk about the career pipeline that leads to more diverse and inclusive leadership, it starts at the very beginning. The National Association of Colleges and Employers found that Black students are more likely to be in unpaid internships than their white peers – and that has a direct effect on diversity in the workforce.
“Many organizations use their internship programs to feed full-time hiring; consequently, looking at how they source and select interns is critical for those that are committed to diversifying their workforces,” said Shawn VanDerziel, NACE executive director. If you can’t afford to take an unpaid internship, then you’re already at a disadvantage in your career.
Not only is it harder for Black marketers to break into their careers of choice, but they are less likely to be promoted. Mercer, a human resources consulting firm, released data that showed only 12% of support and operations staff are Black (versus 64% white), and that number continually decreases as Black employees are not promoted to higher levels within companies. The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) in a 2020 report found that only 6% of its total members and 3% of the members who are CMOs are Black.
So what can we do? SearchPilot recently posted the results of their diversity and inclusion transparency report, which they commit to publishing each year. Dr. Lauren Tucker, founder of Do What Matters, told MarTech that inclusion comes first, “I call it ‘inclusion, equity and diversity.’ Diversity is the outcome of inclusion and equity.” Dr. Tucker says that while Chief Diversity Officers are great, they have to be funded and supported, and employee resources groups are often a great way to get started if your company isn’t big enough for a CDO.
Carolyn Lyden,
Director of Search Content
ETA deprecation, auto-generated remarketing lists and Audience Network updates in Microsoft Advertising
Beginning June 30, 2022, responsive search ads (RSAs) will be the only search ad type that can be created or edited in standard search campaigns, Microsoft Advertising announced in its October product updates on Tuesday.
