UK ad industry unveils results of All In Census 2023

ISBA together with Advertising Association and the IPA have revealed the findings of the second All In Census during the All In Summit in London on May 11.

“All In” is an industry-wide survey of UK advertising’s workforce launched in 2021 to improve representation and inclusion in the industry and create a workplace where everyone feels they belong.

Conducted in March in collaboration with Kantar, the 2023 survey collected nearly 19,000 responses from advertising and marketing professionals who anonymously shared their experiences in the workplace. It shows some progress has been made with respondents indicating a sense of belonging up 2 percentage points (ppts) to 71% and a presence of negative behaviour down 1 ppts to 15%, with an All In Inclusion Index score of 69%, up 2 ppts compared to 2021. It highlighted several areas where more efforts are needed.

Key findings include:

• 55% of women who responded feel that parental leave has negatively impacted their career progression. 29% of women believe that gender hinders career progression.
• Levels of discrimination, bullying and harassment of ethnic minorities are lower in 2023 than in 2021. 11% of respondents from an ethnic minority had personally experienced racial discrimination at their current company.
• 17% of respondents indicated that they are currently providing care to a family member, with 30% over 45 years old. 41% of carers stated that their company is very supportive.
• 76% of respondents with a disability feel supported by their company, a slight increase from 2021 (72%).
• 46% of LGB+ respondents are more likely to be affected by stress or anxiety than the industry average (33%), as well as mental health conditions (29% vs 12%).
• Of the 33% who reported experiencing stress or anxiety, 14% said it was primarily work-related. Work-related stress is higher for disabled talent (22%).
• 21% of respondents are likely to leave their company in the next 12 months due to better opportunities/salary elsewhere (71%), poor work-life balance (26%) or a career change (19%).

What is new in the 2023 survey is respondents were asked questions relating to menopause and the workplace, as well as questions on hybrid working. 56% of respondents believe their company would benefit from menopause awareness training, with 25% of women saying they would not feel comfortable approaching their manager about menopause symptoms.

The results will shape the All In Action Plan that was developed using data from the 2021 survey. It highlights nine actions aimed to improve workplace representation and experiences, supported and adopted by All In Champions composed of more than 100 organisations across the industry.

Find out more about the All In 2023 findings and action plan at advertisingallin.co.uk.