Isobar Global CMO Caroline Dean calls for commitment on IWD

We all recognise the opportunity equality brings us, but the question of how we achieve it is up for much debate. How do we attract, retain and develop a female-friendly culture impacts all levels in the business? Tactics such as gender quotas and crèches have their place, however, they are focused on tackling just one part of a broader cultural problem.

Global businesses need to reflect the society we live in and be inclusive of the people they hire and the culture they create to drive success. Let's not forget that gender is just the first place to start. It's the starting part of the journey that encompasses race, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation or disability.

Everything we do at Isobar ties back to our company mission - to transform businesses and brands & people's lives with the creative use of digital. We know our people want to come to work to make a difference in the world. Our people have a focus on the power of digital as a force for good. This is about more than gender equality, but about creating a fair environment for everyone.

The arguments for in support of a broad view of diversity are simple:

A diverse workforce is necessary to drive innovation and foster creativity. If you take a group of the same types of people, it is more likely they will get to a single homogenised views. We need teams with multiple voices and opposing viewpoints and perspectives to create new ideas, products & services.

Our clients are creating products & services that appeal to a diverse range of consumers across all facets of society and we need to be reflective of their target audiences and create solutions that speak to them as individuals.

As an agency, we need to think broadly about our role in driving change - beginning with a conversation about working culture, so we can create a diverse organisation that is set up to create a truly innovative culture that fosters diversity.

So, today, on International Women's Day, we have launched our Global Diversity Charter​, capturing this ambition and documenting the actions and beliefs in our culture that drive equality at work and in society.

Key to making progress with diversity is our commitment to creating a culture without hierarchy, a culture of openness and inclusion, where we put 'we' before 'I', where all voices and opinions can be heard that will result in the advancement of diversity in all forms – including women in the workplace.

This document​ will be a blueprint to life within our agency.

We already support diversity within our business and the valuable role this has in creating better campaigns for clients, shaping our culture and supporting our bottom line. We're proud of the work that our teams across the world are already doing to promote diversity. And our research shows that it pays off. Over the past 4 years, our Digital Maturity Index has found a positive correlation between our highest performing offices and the offices that are structured in a way that best respects autonomy and diversity. Our teams who have the right balance of structure and autonomy are 20% more satisfied than our other agencies.

In Canada we've started tackling the divide by reviewing our hiring Practices.

• Creating framework for inclusive briefing/casting across DAN Canada for our work

• Removing pro-nouns from CVs so "he" or "she" is removed from the hiring conversations

• Creating all gender washrooms and access for people who are differently abled

• This approach has resulted in changing the ratio from 30 to 70% female over the past couple of years

In India, Isobar has set up a Women's Council with an eleven point agenda. This initiative includes assessing and acting on the infrastructure and process changes needed to support female employees in flexible working hours, maternity, and harassment issues. To ensure the council reaches all parts of the business they have appointed a Women's Council 'go to' person in each of our offices.

As an industry, we recognise the urgency of achieving equality within our agencies, and in our work. And as an agency, we have to act now.

Diversity is an important element in building the culture within Isobar and a healthy culture is critical for our agency in the long term, and this is the first step on the road to success.​