FOR DEI AT OMNICOM, THE ONLY WAY IS “ALL THE WAY.”
We all read the same headlines.
“DEI Is Under Attack”
“The Corporate Rollback of DEI”
“The ‘Great Quieting’ of DEI in Corporate America”
What’s often missing from this narrative is what Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) experts and advocates know to be true. Creating a culture of inclusion that benefits employees, clients and communities is simply good business. DEI drives growth and provides a competitive advantage. High-diversity companies outpace low-diversity companies in average sales revenue by $750M. Companies with diverse executive teams outperform their peers in profitability by 39%. While debate abounds, Omnicom is clear by reaffirming our commitment and leaning into our leadership in DEI.
Embracing DEI as part of the corporate business model must start at the top of an organization – its board of directors. While progress has been made in boardroom diversity, significant work remains. A 2022 report from Deloitte and the Alliance for Board Diversity shows nearly 70 Fortune 100 companies had boards with less than 50% of members who are women and/or members of underrepresented racial and ethnic communities. Additionally, a new study from Ariel Investments, citing data from The Conference Board/ESUAGE, noted the share of new non-white directors fell from 45% to 36% from 2022 to 2023.
The benefits of increasing boardroom diversity go beyond being “the right thing to do.” McKinsey data shows a correlation between board diversity and financial performance. Companies in the top quartile of gender-board diversity financially outperform bottom quartile companies by 27%. For ethnic-board diversity, top quartile companies show a 13% advantage.
As we push for progress, I am inspired by organizations like 50/50 Women on Boards, a non-profit with the mission to accelerate gender balance and diversity on corporate boards. Their vision for women to hold 50% of corporate board seats and women of color to hold 20% of corporate board seats is a rallying cry. The Black Executive CMO Alliance, is another incredible organization driving awareness of the lack of diversity at the C-Suite and corporate board levels.
Our belief: actions speak louder than words. Omnicom’s commitment to diversity is reflected in our board of directors consisting of 10 independent or outside directors and our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John D. Wren. Our board includes seven women, four Black directors, and two Hispanic/ Latinx directors. Our Audit, Compensation and Finance Committees are chaired by female directors, and the chair of our Governance Committee is a member of the Black community.
“At Omnicom, we view diversity at our board level as part of a strategy that has delivered steady growth and performance,” said Leonard S. Coleman, Jr., Omnicom Board of Directors, Chairman of the Governance Committee and Member of the Compensation Committee. “Having a boardroom whose dimensions of diversity represent the consumers we serve makes our business stronger. In a competitive marketplace, it gives us a nucleus of directors that have strived to win throughout the course of their careers. Our shareholders appreciate our board diversity and the balance of perspectives we bring to navigating the opportunities that matter most to our organization.”
Our prioritization of DEI at the board level sets the tone for our commitment to nurturing a more inclusive and equitable environment across our organization. The fact is we are not new to this – we’re true to this.
Omnicom has had dedicated DEI leadership and investment for 15 years, brought to life through the Omnicom People Engagement Network (OPEN). Our OPEN team has grown from 25 diversity champions to more than 60 dedicated DEI professionals representing 19 countries, laying the groundwork for our current OPEN 2.0 global DEI strategy grounded in increased cross-functional collaboration to ensure DEI is embedded throughout our business.
Our approach is our differentiator. It enables us to adapt our DEI strategies to meet the evolving needs of our business. This involves: 1) direct CEO / CDIO reporting and alignment, 2) being the most resourced and experience DEI team in the advertising communications industry, 3) global ERG reach, 4) business-informed leadership with CDIOs who are advertising communications practitioners, 5) extensive thought leadership and event presence, and 6) the OPEN team’s direct engagement throughout the client life cycle.
For DEI at Omnicom, our diverse board sets the tone. Our OPEN team brings it home. Together, we are committed to taking our OPEN DEI strategy All The Way, relying on a mix of grit and intense focus to drive meaningful change for our organization and our industry. We challenge all corporations to do the same. We’ll be cheering for you when you do.
