The Global DEI Census 2023

Main Findings

Nearly one in seven members of the global marketing industry say they would leave our industry on the back of a lack of diversity, equity and inclusion, according to responses to the 2023 Global DEI Census.

The picture is even worse among certain groups, with 16% of women (almost 1 in 6), 17% of LGBQ+ (1 in 6), 22% of ethnic minorities (more than 1 in 5) and 24% of disabled respondents (almost 1 in 4) say they are likely to leave. Younger professionals (25-34 years) and caregivers are also slightly more likely to leave than the global average (18% vs 14%).

The overall one in 1 in 7 figure remains the same as that found by the first Global Census on DEI in 2021 despite all the efforts that companies have made to increase diversity, retain talent and improve their appeal to potential employees around the world.

Other key findings include:

➡ LGBQ+ respondents report worse lived experiences at work than their heterosexual counterparts

➡ The number of disabled respondents has improved compared to 2021 (10% vs 7%) and is closer to the global benchmark of 15%

➡ 27% of respondents agree that “my work is having a negative physical impact on health and mental health

The Global DEI Census 2023

From March 15 to April 30 2023, the marketing industry came together to support the Global DEI Census, the first and only independent global survey of its kind. After a first successful census in 2021, this new edition shed some light on the evolution of how individuals perceive inclusion and discrimination in our field. The results composed a roadmap to tackle these matters in groups like WFA’s DEI task force, in which EACA is also participating.

The initiative represented the biggest ever global cross-country collaboration between WFA, VoxComm, EACA, Campaign, Kantar, Advertising Week, Cannes Lions, Effie Worldwide, IAA, Global Web Index (GWI) as well as major global companies including L’Oréal, Phillips and Danone and agency groups. The participating EACA members in this edition were the European markets Finland, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden and Turkey and the agency holding groups WPP, McCann, Havas and dentsu.

Hearing your views was a critical step to making our sector more diverse and inclusive. This was vital because many industry efforts have been strained or delayed by the unique pressures of the pandemic, to such a point that, in 2021, one in seven people working in marketing said they would likely leave their company or the industry.

Resources

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