Leo Burnett Concedes Agency Has An Issue With Gender After Photo Debacle
Leo Burnett’s CEO Peter Bosilkovski has released a statement about the recent furore the ad agency has found itself in.
The issue was brought up when the agency issued a press release about its five new hires, all of which were white men.
The release sparked a gender debate within many media outlets and on social media. Since the release, the agency has been relatively quiet, however this afternoon has released the following statement from Bosilkovski:
“Over the last week, our company sparked and has been at the centre of a conversation about gender diversity. While one photo isn’t reflective of our company, it does highlight that we clearly have an issue to address.
“And we need to publicly recognise that. This is an industry-wide issue, but we have to tend to our own backyard. We acknowledge that we some work to do when it comes to gender diversity in our creative department here. It’s an uncomfortable truth, but one that we need to face up to.
“The Communications Council, along with the CEO of Leo Burnett Melbourne, Melinda Geertz, have done some important work in this area. Our commitment now is to do better. We believe in diversity as a company and as individuals, and we have a policy. But clearly, we have not lived up to the standards we set in the creative department.
“This is a humbling week for us, and we now need to move forward with greater intent and actions. We certainly have a lot of work to do and we are committed to turning the conversation into action.”
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