On 11th February, 2017 Australians will vote on the Government’s same-sex marriage plebiscite. In response, the executive team of Dentsu Aegis Network have released an open letter in support of marriage equality and against the costly and non-binding plebiscite.

Full letter:

We, the Executive Leadership Team of Dentsu Aegis Network in Australia and New Zealand, write to express our support for Marriage Equality in Australia on behalf of our company.

Furthermore, we believe a divisive, costly and non-binding plebiscite will drive negative and
potentially damaging conversation by giving a public platform to anti-equality campaigners.

Creating a forum where hurtful comments can be made about the LBGTI community in the name of politics is simply not right.

Diversity at work

We support diversity in the workforce and recognise the rights of our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) employees to live and work, free of prejudice and discrimination, with all the essential freedoms enjoyed by other members of our agencies
and the broader community.

Everyone should feel welcome, included and equal, and this belief is at the heart of how we operate within our business each day.

The rights and liberties of all individuals are sacrosanct. They are essential in the creation of
a healthy, harmonious and open society.

The majority of Australians support marriage equality

Australians are increasingly supportive of marriage equality, with a recent Crosby Textor survey showing 72 per cent believe same sex couples should be allowed to marry. We agree with this majority.

Globally, over twenty countries have passed laws to allow same sex marriage, including countries that are culturally similar to ours like New Zealand, the United States of America, Canada, and Great Britain. These countries did so with lower support for marriage equality than Australia is seeing right now.

Equality and diversity make us stronger

We believe that to remain competitive and to attract top talent globally organisations – and nations – must create a fair and respectful environment for all.

Equality in the workplace works; Discrimination does not.

We support the right for all our employees to have equal opportunities in life. We therefore
support marriage equality.

Yours faithfully,

Simon Ryan, CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network ANZ

Lloyd Doddridge, CFO, Dentsu Aegis Network ANZ

Paul Brooks, CEO, Carat

Rebecca Tos, CMO & CEO Columbus

Matthew Crook, CSO & CEO Performance & Data

Robert Harvey, CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network NZ

Luke Speers, HR Director, Dentsu Aegis Network ANZ

Konrad Spilva, CEO, Isobar

Dan Kalinski, CEO, iProspect

Paul Williams, CEO, BWM Dentsu