Add another company to the growing list of those scaling back or scrapping their diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, and it's a big one: Meta. Vice president of people Janelle Gale sent a memo over the company's Workplace internal communications forum, as first reported by Axios. According to Gale's post, Meta will no longer have...

In this episode of The Speed of Culture Podcast, Suzy founder and host Matt Britton chats with Ruth Mortimer, global president of Advertising Week. From blending entertainment and education to embracing creativity in a tech-driven world, Ruth delves into the evolving advertising landscape, the role of inclusivity, and the importance of staying curious in shaping...

No story permeated American life more in 2024 than the presidential election. Now that the election is over, 28% of ADWEEK readers said the outcome has changed their company's marketing strategy. During the run-up to the election, some advertisers wanted nothing to do with the divisive headlines and contentious social content that often accompanied it....

"Well, 2024 sure has been a year" seems to be the prevailing sentiment. Well, we're setting the negativity aside because even if everything didn't break our way this year, the great thing about being reporters is that if we feel strongly about something, we get to put it in the spotlight. Sure, we broke news....

From business tariffs to regulatory overhauls and anti-immigration policies, the cloud of Donald Trump's second presidency looms large over U.S. and global businesses. One department has already been weathering a public storm under atmospheric pressure from conservative activists: corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). At Adcolor's annual conference in Los Angeles last month, members of...

The latest diversity, equity, and inclusion domino to fall is also the largest, as retail colossus Walmart confirmed that it is scaling back or eliminating related initiatives, including no longer using the term DEI in official communications, reviewing grants to Pride events, and not renewing the racial equity center commitments. Anti-DEI activist Robby Starbuck claimed...

For years--especially in the last four--we've watched brands expand marketing efforts holistically and prioritize voices of color through organic and paid media placements. However, a continuously overlooked medium for major brands and advertisers is Black culture-focused tentpole events. As a regular attendee at such events as Essence Festival, CurlyCon, or CultureCon, to name a few,...

In 2023, NHL policy around sanctioned Pride jerseys was reconsidered because seven players--less than 1% of NHL players--publicly refused wearing them. Circumstances like these aren't representative of public sentiment, which is that more people (more than double) say their perception of a brand is positively influenced (39%) by Pride participation than negatively (17%). Colin Kaepernick...