WPP media agency Maxus UK has announced the launch of its first ever Diversity Week, to celebrate diversity within the agency. The Diversity Week will run from 19 -23 September 2016 and will feature guest speakers including Jan Gooding, chairwoman of LGBT rights organisation, Stonewall, Mark Strippel, head of programmes at BBC Asian Network and Scott Knox, managing director at Marketing Agencies Association and founder of PrideAM. Channel 4 will also be hosting a panel session with the team behind their applauded Rio Paralympics marketing campaign. Diversity Week champions diversity within Maxus through a series of keynote talks and workshops, covering topics such as disability, gender, ethnic representation, LGBT and workplace equality. In addition, Facebook will be running training on managing unconscious bias.
Maxus will also launch its Diversity Manifesto during Diversity Week. All Maxus staff will be invited to sign the manifesto, which includes a series of pledges. Every member of Maxus will now also have bias elimination training during their first year at the agency, and weekly diversity panels and monthly diversity events are planned. Maxus will also be publishing an annual diversity report. During the week, Maxus will be encouraging all employees to share their diversity pledges online via social media using the hashtags #diversityweek and #heartofmaxus.
Diversity Week is being organised by Maxus’ UK MD Anna Hickey, who has recently been appointed to the Advisory Board for the 2017 Diversity in Marketing, Advertising and Tech Summit. Since joining Maxus in 2015, Hickey has launched a series of HR initiatives including: Never Stand Still, which aims to support, develop and retain staff; Maxus Calling, an apprenticeship scheme for school leavers; and Maxus’ Parent Commitment, which includes an equal enhanced parental leave policy for both men and women, paid childcare emergency days and a parent buddy system.
Anna Hickey
Hickey said: “Diversity sits at the heart of Maxus. Our aim for Diversity Week is to inspire our people and demonstrate our commitment to celebrating and championing diversity. The latest figures show that a truly diverse workforce is 35% more likely to outperform a non-diverse one. However, having a diverse workforce is not only about business benefits, but personal benefits as well. By being a flexible and diverse team we are able to learn, inspire and cultivate a truly unique culture.”
It's not just in the UK that such initiatives are being spearheaded by Maxus, of course. Earlier this year, the agency's worldwide CEO, Lindsay Pattison, launched “Walk The Talk,” a life-coaching program aimed at empowering senior female staffers. The hope behind the Walk the Talk sessions, is that they will have a ripple effect, as participants extend the learning and attitude to colleagues across the business. Around the same time, Maxus also rolled out “Mind the Gap,” an initiative that reviews pay, flexible working, maternity and paternity policies. In all, it appears that Maxus are leading the way when it comes to agency diversity and equality on a global scale. Keep it up guys!
Harriet McCaw September 22nd, 2016, in the afternoon
Great to see more and more agencies having these 'weeks', especially ones focussed around Diversity. Cracking speakers - especially Jan Gooding. She's fab.