The Data
We considered three categories of diversity in each agency: (1) the number of women, (2) the number of non-white individuals, and (3) the number of non-white women. There are other important aspects of diversity not explored here (e.g., sexual orientation, political beliefs), but we started with gender and race because they are most likely inferable from pictures on agency websites.
Using photos to infer gender or race might be problematic, but this approach is reliable to the degree that individuals – in this case, our coders – can make reliable judgments about these characteristics on a random subset of data. We achieved this agreement with human coders (see Our Approach).
We want this to be a living project. If you cannot find your agency on the list, please contact us and we will add you after analyzing the data. If you find your agency on the list and believe we have made a mistake, show us the data and we will fix it.
The figures below are density plots. They are similar to histograms, but use a continuous curve estimated from the data to show the distribution of values.
Women
Approximately 33% of agencies have at most 25% women employees.
Non-White individuals
Only 9% of agencies have over 50% non-white employees.
Non-white women
Only 1.1% of agencies have over 50% non-white women employees.
These data signal an opportunity for the advertising industry to reflect on representation, equity, and inclusion in agencies. There is an opportunity to reflect and act on how to better serve the people who work in advertising and how to better serve the people who see and hear advertising messages. This is an opportunity to use data as a prompt to listen to talented voices that have yet to be heard.
Location
Allen Hall
Eugene, OR 97401
University of Oregon