For the third consecutive year, IPG sponsored the 3% Conference. This year, we were the exclusive partner of the Manbassador Track.
Michael Roth, IPG’s Chairman & CEO, kicked off the Manbassador Track to a standing-room only audience. Roth shared his belief that getting more women into leadership positions benefits everyone. He stressed that as an industry however, we must also work to increase the participation rates for people of color.
“At IPG, women make up 24% of executive and management positions in creative departments across our U.S. agencies, well above the reported industry norm of 11%. IPG is glad to be leading on this issue, but there’s obviously still a lot of progress that we need to make. And to get there, we have to have men engaged in the conversation and to be part of the solution,” said Roth.
Research consistently shows that teams with broad experiences and inclusive cultures are more creative. Specifically, companies with the highest representation of women in leadership roles financially outperform companies with lower representation.
That’s why IPG has a long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusion, making significant investments in partnerships with groups like 3% Conference, as well as developing our programs for the IPG network. And it’s working.
The participation of women in management positions at IPG continues to outperform the U.S. ad industry and the general market overall, with 54% of our management positions held by women, versus 51% for the U.S. ad industry and 38% in the overall U.S. workforce.
Michael added, “Hiring amazing women in our creative departments doesn’t hurt either.” Just this year, FCB hired Susan Credle as Global Chief Creative Officer and Liz Taylor as Chief Creative Officer in its Chicago office; R/GA hired AJ Hassan (who created the award-winning “Like a Girl” campaign) to run the creative department at R/GA Chicago; and Campbell Ewald appointed Jo Shoesmith Chief Creative Officer, making her the agency’s first female to hold that title in that agency’s 105-year history.”
For more information about the 3% Conference, please visit: http://www.3percentconf.com/.