Though there are some positive, year-over-year changes in diversity and inclusion across Canada’s ad sector, only 18% of BIPOC professionals indicate that they believe race relations are good in Canada – a figure that is even worse when looking specifically at feedback from BIPOC women.

This is one of several key findings in People of Colour in Canadian and Advertising and Marketing’s (POCAM) third annual Visible and Vocal study, the only industry study authored by, for and about BIPOC professionals. In its presentation of the study available on its website, the industry association reveals that though diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts have been undertaken by many agencies across the profession, little has meaningfully changed for BIPOC professionals in the sector.

This is especially true for BIPOC women, with 1.8 times as many of them believing that there is racial bias in their workplace when compared to their male counterparts – a “shocking stat” to Aleena Mazhar, a member of the organization’s steering committee and senior VP, managing director and partner at Fuse Create.

“As a team, we’ve talked a lot about intersectionality,” she tells strategy. “But when you look at the impact BIPOC women are feeling, that is staggering to me. We talk about women’s experience as it relates to the industry, but there is still inequity in places, and when you see that statistic it shows how much more work we have to do. We would like to dive into that more.”

Foreign-born professionals also have a more pronounced negative lived experience in the Canadian ad sector, the study finds, with 53% of those not born in the country agreeing that their workplace has become more diverse, equitable and inclusive during their tenure – a 12% difference versus those born in Canada (65%). In addition, 5% fewer professionals born outside the country agree that the leaders at their agency are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce.

“When you think of efforts that are celebrating diversity, those folks who are newer to the country don’t feel they’re being celebrated,” explains Ken Gamage, a member of POCAM, co-lead on the Visible and Vocal study, and VP of analytics, insights and strategy at Cossette. “When you see that BIPOC people are being celebrated, it often is the ones who were born here who are more able to code switch.”

Still, the study – which surveyed 218 respondents at the end of 2022 – does show some positive shifts relative to previous years. One particularly encouraging statistic relates to executive presence for BIPOC professionals, with an 8% increase year-over-year.

“We are seeing some slight positive changes, especially when you look at increased executive presence, which was quite a big challenge even a few years ago,” explains Mazhar. “That has always been an area where, when you talk to the leaders of organizations, there’s a constant conversation about how it’s challenging to hire at senior versus junior levels. As an executive in this category, I’d like to see that statistic grow even further.”

Outward displays of discrimination are also down 14% year over year, according to the study, though they remain quite high, Mazhar says.

Even still, there remain some concerns about whether these changes will be real and long-lasting, or if they’re simply performative and will fade over time, Gamage says. Those concerns are particularly pronounced when examining formal DEI efforts undertaken by organizations in the sector.

“When you think of the context of last year’s study with the George Floyd murder and anti-Indigenous and anti-Asian hate crimes on the rise, whether that has changed or not there was a news cycle as the backdrop and there was an installation of all of these programs and institutions. If you look at the survey, that’s taken a step back,” he explains. “There’s a concern about the continuity of those efforts. A lot of agencies may have started those programs up but not followed through into the quarters and years ahead.”

Overall, “these year-over-year patterns are very interesting. You can see an industry that is trying to get there, but as we all know, it takes a lot of time,” notes Mazhar. “I’ll be curious to see how this survey continues to evolve over the next five years.”