The topic on that came up absolutely everywhere we went this week was diversity. How do agencies create it (both in their staff and in their work), how do they maintain it, what do you do when you see an attempt at diversity go horribly wrong, what does it even mean to be diverse anyway?
It makes sense that there’s a lot of discussion, but not many answers. It’s compounded by the fact that we’re not here to grill agencies on their diversity practices and nor should we be. But at the same time, as a young creative coming into the industry I want to make sure that I work somewhere that is legitimately interested in following up on lofty ideals. It’s a valid question, and definitely something I want to take into account when I’m looking about where I want to end up.

In the end, most of what I took away is about what I can do to make the ad world a better place: speak up when I see something problematic, use my privilege wisely by speaking up for others who may not be able to, and try to make sure that I, personally am creating a welcoming space. Sometimes, that’s all you can do. 

Going forward I’d love to see some more specific, practical answers about what agencies are doing to promote diversity. Things that go beyond mentioning that they try and create better culture. How do they do that? What, exactly, are their processes? I know that as an industry we can do better, and I want to believe that we’re on the right track, but the first step is to figure out what, exactly we can do to create, promote, and nurture diversity.

Jordan Blackburn | 5/11/19