Strong Progress in CMO Gender Balance, Steep Shortfall in Ethnic Diversity

Posted on by Patty Odell

Brand marketers may be making strong progress in achieving gender balance among CMOs, but there’s much work to do when it comes to attaining ethnic diversity, according to the ANA’s inaugural CMO “scorecard.”

The scorecard is designed to highlight marketers’ progress at establishing gender equality and ethnic diversity at the most senior marketing position in each member company. It identifies the profile of the CMO, or CMO-equivalent, at each of the organization’s 747 client-side marketer company members.

CMO gender balance
Forty-five percent of the top marketers are female, 55 percent are male. The vast majority are white.—ANA

When it comes to gender equality 335, or 45 percent, of the top marketer positions are female, while the balance, 412, or 55 percent, are male.

However, there is a steep shortfall in fulfilling diversity objectives. Only 13 percent of CMOs and CMO equivalents are people of color:

White: 655 (87 percent)
Asian: 35 (5 percent)
Hispanic/Latin: 34 (5 percent)
Black/African-American: 23 (3 percent)

“Industry progress begins with understanding the facts about our marketplace,” ANA CEO Bob Liodice said. “For too long, we’ve relied on inference and innuendo rather than hard facts and data. We’ve now planted a ‘stake in the ground’ against which we can begin to track our progress annually. But knowing these results is just the first step. We need complete commitment throughout our industry to create lasting change.”

The following is a breakdown of client-side CMOs by gender and ethnicity, the ANA reported:

Banking and Financial Services: 88 CMOs
Female: 47
Male: 41
White: 82
Asian: 4
Black/African-American: 2

Food and Beverages: 77 CMOs
Male: 52
Female: 25
White: 65
Hispanic/Latin: 6
Asian: 3
Black/African-American: 3

Technology: 50 CMOs
Male: 27
Female: 23
White: 44
Asian: 4
Hispanic/Latin: 2

Sports and Entertainment: 45 CMOs
Female: 27
Male: 18
White: 42
Asian: 1
Black/African-American: 1
Hispanic/Latin: 1

Consumer Packaged Goods: 42 CMOs
Female: 21
Male: 21
White: 32
Asian: 6
Black/African-American: 3
Hispanic/Latin: 1

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