An annual study from People of Colour in Advertising and Marketing (POCAM) has found that BIPOC professionals in Canada’s advertising and marketing industry have a more negative perception of how inclusive and diverse their workplaces are now compared to 2022.

“The Canadian BIPOC Advertising & Marketing Study,” the 2023 edition of POCAM’s annual study, examines diversity in the marketing sector and the barriers that BIPOC professionals face. The report comprises 274 online surveys with BIPOC professionals conducted between December 2023 and January of this year.

The study found that 14% of BIPOC workers believe race relations are good in Canada, down from the 18% in 2022. As well, 87% say that there is discrimination against Indigenous people, while 86% of respondents agree that anti-Asian discrimination exists in Canada, with the same percentage agreeing that there is discrimination against Black people as well.

Compared to POCAM data from previous years, a lower percentage of BIPOC professionals believe that the industry is making progress toward inclusion. In POCAM’s latest study, 67% of workers say businesses are taking positive steps to focus on the inclusion and promotion of BIPOC people, down from 72% of respondents in 2022.

“We are seeing many in the industry express their concerns that the progress that was achieved over the past few years is beginning to slowly erode away,” Plus Company VP of customer success Ken Gamage says. Gamage led the study with MLSE VP of partnership development and strategy Julian Franklin.

Around 64% of respondents working in majority-white agencies believe there is racial bias in their workplace, and 82% of those working in majority BIPOC organizations say their company is taking positive steps to focus on inclusion and promotion. Perceptions also vary between Canadian-born and non-Canadian-born workers, according to the study, with 65% of respondents who were born in Canada agreeing that racial bias exists at their workplace, compared to just 46% among those not born in Canada saying the same.. Meanwhile, 62% of Canadians report that their workplace has been more diverse and inclusive during their tenure, with 60% of non-Canadians saying the same.

But it is not only the perception of BIPOC professionals that has changed – data from the report showed that they have become more on-guard in their workplace (84% this year vs. 77% in 2022). This could be attributed to an increase in the number of discriminatory situations. Almost 54% report they have experienced discrimination from a colleague, compared to 46% in 2022. As well, 78% have experienced a microaggression from a co-worker in advertising (up from 69% in 2022), while 32% have been victims of harassment in the workplace (up from 26% in 2022).

The survey also revealed that 45% of respondents say there has been a decline in hiring BIPOC professionals in senior positions in the past 12 months (48% in 2022). The study also shows that 28% say companies installed unconscious bias training in 2023 (down from 33% in 2022), and 41% say they instituted DEI policies in 2023 (45% in 2022), while 27% report having a mentor or sponsor in their workplace who is also BIPOC (up from 24% in 2022).

Photo via Unsplash