DEI
Diversity, Equity + Inclusion
OUR DEI COMMITMENT
At Allison+Partners, we know systems of power, privilege and oppression inform how we engage in society, and we recognize these same systems influence our working environment. For us, cultivating an equity-driven workplace and agency requires individual and collective accountability for the environments we influence and create. It is our belief an equity-minded organization requires we acknowledge the barriers individuals with marginalized identities face and ensure our approach to building a sense of belonging is humanistic. Therefore, we see our DEI efforts and commitments as a responsibility and extension of care to our staff and colleagues.4
OUR APPROACH TO EQUITY
Our equity-minded environment hinges on accountability. Individually, we work to increase our awareness of systems of power, privilege, and oppression, facilitate difficult conversations, and change our default behaviors to be more equitable. Collectively, we embed leadership into every DEI initiative, we include members across the agency from every rank, and we use data to make decisions and measure impact.
We believe advocacy and listening to the voices of our staff is critical to our work. As such, we function under a global DEI structure that ensures staff voices are heard and as a leadership team, we respond in fruitful ways that empower their voices and facilitate a sense of belonging within our agency.
In addition, our equity-minded work requires we take context-specific actions regarding DEI. As a global agency, we believe DEI initiatives should account for their regional contexts. Therefore, we have established a DEI Committee for each of our regions to ensure we implement our strategic intentions in ways that have impact for the region.
We have a storied history of functioning with limited diversity and recognize that our current efforts to recruit, interview and hire candidates with minoritized and marginalized identities needs to be reimagined. To increase access to our agency we will assess and rethink recruitment, hiring, and interviewing efforts.
We have fallen short in recognizing the various ways people can perform, lead, collaborate, and exist within the agency. We are committed to cultivating a more equitable environment where our staff is validated, empowered, and can develop a sense of belonging. To cultivate such futurity, we will facilitate internal learning, develop individual and collective accountability, and shift our culture towards equity-minded practices.
We believe a sense of belonging is cultivated in environments where individuals with minoritized and marginalized identities are validated and can clearly imagine their future careers within A+P. We recognize that our approach places the onus on individuals to communicate and seek out their own opportunities within the agency, and we want to work towards creating a two-way street. As such, we are taking on more responsibility as an agency to develop a more equitable evaluation process, demystify unspoken norms, and actively work to develop career paths for all.
As a global agency, we’ve had the pleasure to secure some of the biggest brands as clients. We want to ensure that we are working to build an equitable environment for our staff and illuminate the importance DEI in our work and the experiences our staff have with clients. As such we are imagining actions to embed our internal DEI commitments into our client relationships and the work we produce for them.
We have a storied history of giving back to local and global communities, and we recognize that our staff have passions and seek to make an impact. Therefore, we seek to empower our staff to give back to communities and organizations that they resonate with and to do so, we are developing new partnerships and identifying effective modes of action to be a partner of change with local and global communities.
Our current internal data collection approach is limited. Because of these gaps, we are missing critical data that can better measure the impact of our DEI efforts, the lived experiences of our staff, and our ability to communicate accessible results to the agency. To facilitate a more equitable agency we are establishing new metrics and approaches to measure our impact to hold ourselves accountable and paint a clearer picture of the areas of growth we have as an agency.
We’re proud to partner with organizations that advance our commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive workforce, including:
Critical to our efforts to do great work is ensuring we consider a diversity of perspectives and cultural nuances when developing and distributing content that has the potential to reach millions. Our employee-led Content Review Board is composed of people with diverse backgrounds across identity, experience, geography, and thought. The group reviews client work and agency marketing content with a close eye on inclusivity, risk, and cultural sensitivity using a research and insights-based methodology. Through this process of vetting and sharing of perspectives, the Content Review Board fosters both inclusive and representative content development and a greater cultural knowledge base throughout the agency.
JOIN THE A+P COMMUNITY
At Allison+Partners, we see things differently. We celebrate diversity and are committed to providing an inclusive environment for our employees. We do not tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind and are committed towards building an agency where everyone is welcome, and every voice is heard. We are proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer.
