Announcing expansion of our entry level inclusion scheme “Foot in the Door”!

Anna Brent, our Global Head of DEI was able to share this exciting moment today:

“The advertising industry has historically been a haven for homogeneity and systematic under-representation. This is why I am so thrilled to share the latest expansion of our successful scheme.

As a global, independent creative agency, we have long felt that it is our responsibility to use our reach to drive positive change in the world. Through this new initiative we take another important step forward, offering internships to individuals from underrepresented backgrounds to help close the opportunity gap that still exists in the industry. By focusing these opportunities on those who identify as being from an underrepresented group, we aim to provide access to jobs to those with barriers to entry.

As an employer, we know that we have a sphere of influence in our industry. We can choose to use that for concrete change through policy or we can carry on working in a system that fundamentally doesn’t have a level playing field. We prefer to choose the former every time.

In 2015 we started offering work experience placements to students from The BRIT School, a leading creative arts school in Croydon that is free to attend. Through this work, we were inspired to formally create a ‘No Nepotism’ policy for all our work experience slots.

We also now run a ‘Foot in the Door’ artwork scheme which provides opportunities for young design students from underrepresented backgrounds to get their first paid work on their CV. We’ve been blown away by the talent and commitment that has emerged.

Three-month internships now form the third branch of our programme.

Increasing the diversity of the marketing and advertising industries is a win-win situation. More equitable workplaces mean that teams prosper in inclusive, open and stimulating environments. Work is produced with a greater set of influences, and in turn businesses improve their talent retention rates.

Following on from a marketing internship, we hope to develop this with similar positions in the creative and production teams. And excitingly, the programme is going global as we have also added a shadowing programme to Foot in the Door in our San Francisco office 🇺🇸.

We are very excited to meet people who offer a brighter future for the industry.