Why Marketers of Color Are Quitting Their Jobs

Ample research has documented the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) for business. We know that marketing organizations and creative agencies with diverse workforces enjoy better business performance, innovation, creativity, and decreased attrition and related hiring costs. Yet three years since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, a period marked by ambitious DEI pledges and hiring, the advertising community has taken a step back. Even in the current job market, many marketers of color are voluntarily leaving their jobs. The impact of retention in the ad industry here specifically is twofold. Retention of historically excluded talent signals that a company has found ways to help these marketers grow professionally while feeling supported and advocated. From a business standpoint, the cost of retention is minimal in comparison to recruitment that requires financial and emotional investment into talent who are not already committed to company goals. “Ignoring this potential groundswell for success and instead choosing complacency or inaction would contribute to deteriorated relationships, further disruption and harmful setbacks in the workplace,” said Joanna Jenkins, consultant for DEI consultancy Cardinal Change and associate dean, Moore College. Jenkins also participated in Adcolor's 2022 State of the Workplace study. “Long-standing issues combined with watershed events of 2020 and public commitments to progress have ignited an unwavering desire for actionable results among employees and audiences within the marketing industry ecosystem." A closer look at the situation reveals three major reasons for the growing DEI retention problem. Vague job descriptions and advancement opportunities According to Adcolor’s 2022 State of the Workplace Study: Retention Outlook Through a DE&I Lens, one of the major factors that leads to attrition among marketers from underrepresented communities is “subjectivity and ambiguity.” BIPOC talent is being hired in DEI leadership positions without clear business goals and KPIs. Their roles and responsibilities—and their opportunities for advancement—are too vague. Other research studies bear this out. In his dissertation "Rebranding Diversity: Colorblind Racism Inside The U.S. Advertising Industry," researcher Christopher Boulton describes advancement possibilities for people of color as “loose and subjective.” With unclear goals for their positions and no support structure in place, many managers of color feel the need to leave. More than half of marketers (52%) have changed career direction or industry due to issues of mobility and/or career growth opportunities, according to a 2021 study with the Harris Poll and Hue, a culture and community platform with a mission to amplify BIPOC voices and pave paths. Unaddressed emotional burdens Earlier this year, Hue released its State of Inequity 2023 report. Among the findings: BIPOC talent is twice as likely to consider leaving their employers because of an emotional burden related to their race at work. Indigenous Americans are three times as likely. “Employee resource groups (ERGs) are beneficial when the company sets their own diversity goals and uses these groups to help support their goals,” said Netta Dobbins, CEO of Mimconnect, an online platform that assists professionals of color in navigating their careers in marketing and tech. “Oftentimes, like in 2020, when companies created ERGs for folks to talk to each other, it was not as effective.” According to Mallick, the amount of pressure on these ERG groups is sometimes “putting pain on display,” as they are experiencing generational trauma. This is where allyship plays an important role. How BECA Is Paving the Way for Future Black Marketing Leaders “Talent in marginalized communities is being hurt and harmed right now. It goes back to empathy; do we have an understanding for what our teams are going through? If not, there is a disconnect,” said Mallick. Remote and hybrid work made meaningful personal interaction difficult, impacting ERG groups and DEI programs broadly. And many companies have not come up with alternatives to connecting employees and giving them a meaningful voice in company initiatives. Over-mentoring and under-sponsoring Understanding the difference between sponsorship and mentorship is key to ensuring that members of historically underrepresented communities are fully supported in their careers. Mentorship means helping a protégé, while sponsorship means spending one’s social capital and using one’s influence to advocate for a protégé. As Adcolor stated in its study, “While a mentor’s role may be passive, a sponsor’s role is anything but.” Sponsorship is a systemic action companies can take to elevate marketers of color, yet many don’t. Most historically excluded individuals do not have sponsors and are unlikely to acquire one in the future. A Harvard Business Review study of sponsorship among Black women found that Black women had a harder time obtaining and retaining sponsorship compared to their white, male counterparts. “Typically, you don’t see people actively take an interest past a mentorship program [or] really thinking strategically on how to get people to the next level,” Mallick said. The future of the workforce In general, the labor market’s advocacy for supporting DEI initiatives is not one that will go away anytime soon, as today's employees not only support it—they require it. In the Indeed and Glassdoor Workplace Trends 2023 study, 72% of workers ages 18-34 said they would consider turning down a job offer or leaving a company if they did not think that their manager supported DEI initiatives. “The labor market has cooled down a bit from a year ago, and demographics mean that it’s still going to be tight, and so employers need to think about things like remote work, benefits, well-being and DEI initiatives to attract and retain talent moving forward,” said Cory Stahle, an Indeed economist who worked on the study. For the ad industry specifically, it would be strategic for employers to focus equally on retention and recruitment. Research shows that although DEI efforts have been pushed to the back seat, they should really be in the driver’s seat.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Why Marketers of Color Are Quitting Their Jobs

Lack of support and advocacy are among the top reasons companies are alienating diverse talent

Luz Corona

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Luz Corona