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ADVERTISING IS FAILING BLACK PROFESSIONALS
An Op-Ed by Do What Matters CEO and Founder, Dr. Lauren Tucker.
As the advertising industry grapples with its own reflection in the wake of societal reckonings and cultural awakenings, the disparity between opportunity and reality for Black professionals remains glaringly evident.
READ MOREDO WHAT MATTERS’ LAUREN TUCKER IS HELPING CEOS MANAGE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
The founder and CEO is among Ad Age’s Leading Women 2023
READ MOREAdAge: New Talent Agency Aims to Help Black Creatives Find Jobs
READ MOREAdAge: Ad Agencies Face Succession Hurdles – Inside the Challenges in Promoting Employees
READ MOREDo What Matters Names Cara Gray as Chief Marketing Officer
Do What Matters, an inclusion management consultancy designed to help companies go beyond DEI by implementing transformative talent management solutions, announced that Cara Gray has been appointed Chief Marketing Officer, the latest in executive leadership at the firm. Gray previously ran Instagram for Real, a broad-based hyperlocal digital marketing agency for real estate brokers, commercial realtors, construction companies and design firms, as its Founder. She has been working as a Content Producer and Inclusion Management Consultant with Do What Matters since early 2021 and will now work directly with Do What Matters CEO, Lauren Tucker, the maverick known for fearlessly disrupting cultural homogeneity in the advertising and technology world through her firm’s unique brand of inclusive talent management.
READ MOREMarTech Salary and Career: The meritocracy myth vs. the real gender pay gap
“There are a number of things that the tech industry needs to do to at least minimize this inequity,” said Dr. Tucker. “One of them is better hiring and advancement and promotion policies that follow the best practices. Those practices are out there and they’ve been out there for a long time. The challenge is we don’t follow best practices.”
READ MORECNN: ‘Tone deaf’ corporations facing backlash for Juneteenth themed products
Lauren Tucker, an inclusive leadership consultant, said major corporations are not giving Juneteenth the thought, research and care it deserves.
READ MOREFast Company: 5 tips that will help you hang on to your talented Black employees
DEI professional Lauren Tucker, PhD, explains exactly how you should reframe, revise, recalibrate, rethink, and reexamine the question about retaining Black talent.
READ MOREBusiness Insider: 13 top consultants and experts helping advertisers address their longstanding diversity problems
Insider identified 13 leading DEI experts and consultants that top agencies and marketers including Procter & Gamble, T-Mobile, and WPP are turning to to improve their cultures and diversify their staff.
READ MOREAdAge: Uncomfortable Conversations: How One DEI Consultant is Pushing Agency CEOs for Real Change
Lauren Tucker’s Do What Matters has advised shops like The Martin Agency, Noble People and Periscope, as well as its parent Quad/Graphics.
This is part of a recurring series of Q&As called “Uncomfortable Conversations,” taking on the sometimes tough, but always necessary, discussions about inclusion in advertising. This series spotlights the many diverse voices that make up this industry—at all levels and in all disciplines—highlighting their personal experiences to illustrate the importance of inclusion and equity throughout the entire ecosystem.
READ MOREAdWeek: To Forge Its DEI Future, The Richards Group Partners with Leading Firm
The Richards Group engages Dr. Lauren Tucker to help build a more inclusive culture after agency founder Stan Richards’ racially insensitive remarks led to an exodus of clients and employees.
READ MOREEmployee Activism Is on the Rise. What Does That Mean for Companies?
In the wake of racial turmoil, a poll from Morning Consult last June revealed that 81% of respondents believed that their CEOs should ensure that their company’s hiring process was equitable. In the months since, employees have become more vocal about the changes they’d like to see. And with it has come an enormous pressure on C-level executives to respond not only accordingly, but empathetically.
According to Dr. Lauren Tucker, CEO of inclusion management consultancy Do What Matters, the first step that CEOs should take to ensure that these employees — or rather employees activists — are being heard is recognizing the generation they identify with. While baby boomers still make up a large portion of executives, many entry-level to mid-level employee activists are Gen Zers who are increasingly using social media to voice their concerns. They’re also workers who want to see substantive change.
READ MOREForbes: Diversity Equity and Inclusion Thought Leaders on What Companies Should Do to be Better in 2021
Implementing better Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practices across a company is not just socially and morally responsible, it affects the bottom line. Studies have shown the increased effectiveness of teams with greater diversity. If companies want to attract and retain top talent and compete in the 21st century they need to be better about fostering environments that promote inclusion.
Achieving that is possible. We must invest in change, question our preconceived notions, and take a perspective of empathy that can be uncomfortable at times. The benefits are worth it though. And there is help to be had from people who have spent their careers working on these issues.
READ MOREFox32 News: How Companies Can Leverage Employee Activism
Dr. Lauren Tucker, founder and CEO of Do What Matters, explains the dynamics of employee activism and the importance of workers standing up for their beliefs.
WATCH VIDEODo What Matters Names Robert Jackson as Chief Operating Officer
Do What Matters, an inclusion management consultancy designed to help marketing services agencies turn diversity into actions that increase creativity and drive growth, announced that Robert Jackson has been appointed Chief Operating Officer, the latest in executive leadership at the firm. Jackson previously ran RAJAA (Robert A. Jackson And Associates) as its Principal, and will now work directly with Do What Matters CEO, Lauren Tucker, the maverick known for fearlessly disrupting cultural homogeneity in the advertising world through her firm’s unique brand of inclusion management.
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