Inclusion, Diversity & Equity: helpful links

As part of IAB UK’s commitment to inclusion, diversity and equality, we’ve pulled together a list of companies to help you create a more inclusive and supportive work culture.

Talent and mentorship programmes

Media Trust
Media Trust is a communications charity that believes in the power of media to change lives. Its aim is to encourage the media and creative industry to share their time, knowledge and creativity to benefit charities, under-represented communities and young people. Media Trust specifically runs programmes to encourage young, diverse talent to develop their confidence, passions and talents for the work place.

Brixton Finishing School
Brixton Finishing School is the winner of Britain's Best Digital Skills and Inclusion project 2019. This free, 10-week course transforms raw talent into entry-level candidates for a spectrum of ringfenced roles at big-name sponsor companies across the digital, media and creative industries. The focus is BAME/Female/Neurodiverse/Income Challenged individuals who want to accelerate their digital, creative and professional skills. It's taught by the best in the industry through a series of lectures, masterclasses, 'real world' experiences and Google online learning. Bursaries are available to fund living costs while individuals study. The 2018 cohort had 95% employment 12 weeks after graduation. 

Creative Mentor Network
Focused on making the creative world of work more diverse and inclusive, Creative Mentor Network runs a mentoring model where everyone wins. The network provides career opportunities for young people and under-represented communities throughout the UK, coaching skills for employees and access to diverse talent.

Livity
A youth-led creative network based in London, Livity is a specialist youth marketing agency.

Creative Access
Creative Access is a UK organisation dedicated to recruiting BAME talent and those from lower SES backgrounds in the creative industries. It is aimed at helping young people, from under-represented communities throughout the UK, access creative careers. Working with UK’s most successful creative firms, Creative Access helps to bring in diverse talent to organisations via paid internships and employer training.

WACL Talent Awards
Formerly known as the WACL Future Leaders Awards, the WACL Talent Award is a grant scheme for future female leaders working in media, marketing, advertising and communications. It’s awarded by WACL in partnership with NABS.

We Are Stripes
A career progression initiative to address the ethnic imbalance in the creative industry. We Are Stripes creates and increases opportunities for ethnic diverse creative talent by educating on career entry into the industry and supporting current BAME individuals in the industry with career progression. Whilst supporting organisations through consultancy, events, sourcing diverse talent and role model visibility.’

Media For All
Media for All was set up to help Black, Asian and Other Ethnic talent thrive in the media and advertising industry and ultimately increase the ethnic diversity of the media and advertising industry in the UK.

Outvertising
The LGBTQ+ network for advertising in the UK, who exist to make the industry completely LGBTQ+ inclusive. They provide training and development resources, a mentoring programme, deliver an awards initiative and host a Slack channel.

Organisations and Consultancies

My Plus
MyPlus help employers recruit, support and develop disabled talent, with a particular focus on students and graduates. Through a Recruiters' Club, it offers advice and support by way of training, collaborative events and toolkits, plus the opportunity to engage with disabled students via a Students' Club website.

The Hobbs Consultancy
The Hobbs Consultancy supports individuals to be their authentic selves in the workplace and helps businesses create a culture to support this. Recognising that creating diverse and inclusive organisations is not necessarily an easy path, the consultancy equips businesses to navigate the complexity and learn the skills required for everyone to be able to step into inclusive leadership.

Genius Within
A social enterprise with the objective of enabling people with neurodiverse conditions to fulfil their potential at work and in their career. Genius Within provides in-work support in the form of coaching, training and assessments. It also supports neurodiverse people who are not in the workplace; whether they’re studying, unemployed or in the criminal justice system.

Creative Equals
Creative Equals is an organisation championing diversity and inclusion in the creative industries. It’s Creative, Digital + Media Equality Standards is a kitemark accreditation measuring an organisations’ cultural performance. Creative Equals offers training to build inclusive cultures, hosts events including Diverse Minds on Neurodiversity and RISE on Inclusive Creativity, and drives programmes to address industry gaps, including the Creative Comeback Programme. 

Citrus Ornge
Citrus Ornge is a specialist performance marketing, technology, and publishing business which has a social mission at its heart – to create employment opportunities for ex-offenders and those recovering from addiction through several work experience and mentoring initiatives with local community partners in Brighton and Hove.

Inclusive Boards
Inclusive Boards is an executive search agency specialising in diversity and inclusion at governance level supporting organisations to develop more diverse boards.

AbilityNet
AbilityNet are a UK charity who believe the power of digital technology should be available to everyone, regardless of ability or age. With free online resources and a network of over 300 community-based volunteers, they help individuals with any disability, of any age, to use all kinds of digital technology. They host events and training year-round to help ensure organisations and their workplaces and resources are accessible - focussing on both the "how" and the "why".

Sector specific

Balance
A collective of media owners and specialist agencies from the Out of Home (OOH) media sector, Balance works to drive a culture of diversity across the OOH industry and attract and develop the best talent for the sector.

Turn the Talk
Turn the Talk is an initiative that encourages and supports change and empowerment to broaden the voices in the Performance Marketing industry.

Tools and Support

BRiM (Black Representation in Marketing)
A cross-industry initiative that aims to improve the representation of Black people in marketing. BRiM is supported by the Advertising Association, and has been developed in partnership with advertisers and agency partners, leading members of the Black community and DE&I experts. It provides guidance for how the entire industry can support the fair representation of Black people in marketing.

D.I.C.E (Diversity & Inclusion at Conferences and Events)

DICE provides certification and guidance to help conferences and events deliver a representative and diverse set of speakers, perspectives, and attendees. Conference and events organisers can sign up to D.I.C.E and abide by the DICE Charter.

Disability Confident
The DWP Disability Confident scheme allows employers to sign up for tools and support to help them recruit, retain and develop disabled people, making the most of their skills and potential. Scheme membership give employers access to a wide range of information, best practice and other resources, including links to programmes such as access to work, to help business realise the benefits of inclusive employment.

Ambitious about Autism
The national charity for people with autism, Ambitious About Autism provides education and employment services, understanding and campaigns for change.

The British Dyslexia Association
The British Dyslexia Association is the voice for the 10% of the population that are dyslexic. Offering support including helping employers to support employees better.

All In Hub
The All In Hub is the home of the advertising industry's action plan for making the industry more inclusive and diverse. It was born out of the All In Census, the UK's Advertising's first and biggest industry-wide survey created by the Advertising Association, IPA, ISBA and Kantar which provided insights on the representation and experience of the UK advertising's workforce. The All in Action Plan sets out areas of focus for the industry to achieve greater inclusivity and recognises those companies that have completed all the actions.

NABS
NABS is the advertising and media industry's wellbeing charity. They offer free career guidance, confidential advice and mental health support as well as a calendar of talks, events and masterclasses to help everybody in the industry progress and network.

How to ensure Libraries Are Diverse, Equitable and Inclusive
We know that students interested in working in our industry use these resources, and this particular link was provided by a student with the ambition of promoting diverse, equitable, and inclusive practices in libraries – a critical resource for all students. It provides insights into making libraries more welcoming and accessible to all students, regardless of their background.

If you’d like to suggest something for this list, let us know: [email protected].