When Protests Met Business: OPEN Up Client Summit
What does it mean for DE&I and social justice to collide? In the first OPEN UP Client Summit hosted by Omnicom and sparks & honey, Emily K. Graham, Chief Equity & Impact Officer at Omnicom, explained that before the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, DE&I was a metric of concern only for HR. The Black Lives Matter movement catalyzed DE&I to, instead, become intensely integrated with every operational aspect of businesses. This collision is permanent and connects to multiple Elements of Culture, from Blurred Responsibility to Long View. Mary Moulton Putman, VP of Marketing & Brand at GE Appliances, a Haier company, Michael Gonda, and Chief Communications Officer at McDonald's, and Michele Oliver at Mars, spoke with Terry Young, sparks & honey CEO and Emily Graham on how their organizations are implementing their company commitments one year later.
As suggested by Oliver, talking about the journey towards DEI may be a marketing phrase of the past. More and more business stakeholders see the lack of accountability implied when speaking about a journey; audiences expect results. Our newest Intelligence Report, The Equity Effect, dives deeper into accountable action as a cultural shift. Oliver’s thoughts, paired with writing from Harvard Business Review, highlight our Element of Culture, Culture-Centric. The business case for diversity does not persuade Gen Z; they want to work in environments that take a stand for them and with them.
Gonda of McDonald's reflected on the evolving social landscape of modern consumers as a historically non-political brand. "It's not enough to say 'we're not political.' People, employees, customers, stakeholders will ask, 'so what are you then?' You can't just be the absence of something. You have to be the presence of something else." McDonald's centers their brand activism in its own company values to define when they will speak out and to whom they will speak.
"We really believe that diversity is a fact, and inclusion is a choice," Putman said on the shift in approaching DE&I as transformational vs. transactional. This intersectional challenge of inclusion touches both internal company practices as well as outcomes for customers or clients. It’s multifaceted work that requires several lenses. "If you're looking at one strategy to wrap around the entire world… that undermines, quite frankly, the diversity of the world you are looking to advance," said Gonda.
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Phoebe is a Creative Marketing Intern at sparks & honey and a rising junior at Boston College studying finance and philosophy. Phoebe is also the creator and host of WIBcast, a podcast on all major platforms sharing the stories of inspiring women in business. Outside of school and work, she’s a full-time fitness enthusiast and part-time concert attendee.