The marketing and advertising industries are steadily becoming more ethnically diverse, though some segments are still significantly underrepresented in senior-level positions, according to recent research from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and the Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing (AIMM).
The report was based on data from the marketing/advertising departments (all client-side) of 81 ANA member companies based in the US, representing 19,966 marketers in total.
Some 32.3% of marketers at the companies that provided data are ethnically diverse, up from 29.4% in 2018.
The marketing/advertising departments examined are 7.2% African American/Black, 10.2% Asian, and 10.9% Hispanic/ Latino.
Although the share of African American/Black and Hispanic/Latino marketers has increased steadily over time, representation for both is still significantly lower than their proportion of the US population (12.1% and 18.7%, respectively). The share of Asian marketers is significantly higher than their proportion of the US population (5.9%).
As for ethnicity by job level, African American/Black and Hispanic/Latino marketers are represented most at the admin level and least at the senior level.
Some 27.4% of senior marketers are ethnically diverse compared with 34.2% of entry-level professionals.
About the research: The report was based on data from the marketing/advertising departments (all client-side) of 81 ANA member companies based in the US, representing 19,966 marketers in total.