Actions Speak Louder than Corporate Pledges

Remember black out Tuesday? Remember how many corporations and nonprofits hopped on that bandwagon, pledging to do better with racial equality? Those were some inspiring times! We even published a piece on what we’d commit to at Media Cause. Fast forward a full six months – what actions have companies all actually taken?

Well, some really nice person on the internet compiled the list of Fortune 100 Companies, the concrete actions they wanted to take, and what, if anything, has come from their pledges. Here’s the link – it’s quite the read. 

Spoiler alert: 24% of the companies on this list have not publicly made any moves. 

Promises like this can’t just be lip service.

In June, we took a pledge to focus on not only diversity, but transparency in how we’re approaching our objectives and key results (OKR) with any and all DEI measures. We made the choice to publish our OKRs, along with quarterly status updates, publicly to hold ourselves and our industry accountable. You can read about them and our progress on our DEI page. 

We now have an internal DEI committee who’s reviewed our vendor list, ensuring we’re supporting diverse, responsible companies, and is serving as a gut check for all culture/social activities going forward to keep us accountable.

We’ve also completed two all-staff diversity, equity, and inclusion trainings focusing on bias, and taking a look at how we as an agency can do a better job with internal bias. We wanted to specifically focus on when it comes to the hiring process, as well as taking an objective look as to how inclusive we come across in our digital presence. We’re committed to continuing this effort into 2021 and beyond.

Most exciting of all, we’ve started a paid Media Cause RiseUP Marketing Fellowship focusing on giving an opportunity to populations that the marketing and advertising world has traditionally overlooked. Our first 3 Fellows have been thriving – focusing on social media, content, paid search. These positions are fully integrated into our teams, giving our fellows top-of-the-line industry training, allowing them to focus on their specialty, as well as get experience working with a wide range of experts and clients. 

This program is more than just a DEI effort. It’s a win for small nonprofits, too. Once our Fellows complete their training, they begin work with pro bono clients who can use the marketing help. The nonprofits get the help they need, our Fellows get the experience they deserve, and it sets everyone up for success in the future, at Media Cause, or beyond.

While we’re proud of the strides we’ve made in the past six months, we know there’s still plenty of work to be done. Our next round of applications for the RiseUP Fellowship opens January 2021 and we’re looking for agency partners to host additional Fellows, nonprofits who need support, as well as actual Fellowship applicants. 

At your organization, what actions have been taken? What have you found successful and what’s been lip service? We are in this to learn and grow together, so if you have any nuggets of wisdom, we want to hear them.