Apr 07, 2021 Beth Monaghan
Inkhouse has made a commitment to be transparent about diversity, equity and inclusion. It’s an important piece of holding ourselves, and our industry, accountable. Less than a year ago we made our numbers public for the first time, and today we’re providing an update.
April 2021 Data:
- Racial diversity breakdown: 17% overall, up from 10% in June 2020 (our EEOC breakdown:
- 83% White 17% BIPOC
- 83% White
- 6% Black
- 4% Hispanic
- 4% Two or more races
- 3% Asian
- Number of current BIPOC employees in manager roles: 5, up from 0 in June 2020.
- Note: This does not include LGBTQIA+ data because the EEOC doesn’t track it. (This could change due to a recent Supreme Court decision. Views vary on the best approach and we are watching this closely).
I’m also pleased to announce that we’ve named an in-house DE&I ambassador: Senior Visual Designer Jackson Stewart (he/they). Jackson has taught me a lot about gender identity and I’m excited for him to help us build our culture. He is a champion for equality inside and out of the office. Their approach starts from a place of curiosity and grace, which makes them so well-suited for this role.
Inkhouse’s DE&I action plan has evolved since we first published it last June. Our program is rooted in our 11 company values, which guide our intentions and our actions.
Equality is a human imperative, but it is also a business imperative—in PR, we can’t communicate effectively to our clients’ audiences if we don’t understand them. Stories are how we understand each other. Even in narratives that bear no resemblance to our lives, we find pieces of ourselves. At Inkhouse we’re leaning on storytelling to help us build our community because it’s part of our DNA. Our second annual employee-authored essay contest — this year, we are focused on the theme of “Resilience” — is designed to do just that. We’ll be publishing a book later this year.
We want to be a place where we can all come as we are, make honest mistakes, and build what our agency will look like together. I’m looking forward to sharing more about what that future looks like next spring.
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