AT CHIAT\DAY LA, WE ARE COMMITTED TO THE UNENDING WORK OF REAL CHANGE AND THIS COMMITMENT IS NON-NEGOTIABLE.

In 2020, we committed internally and externally to the unending work of real change. Over the course of the last year, we’ve created a strategic framework based on our agency’s self-examination on where we needed to emphasize our efforts to end racial inequity within our company, as well as contribute to meaningful systemic change in our industry. There is a lifetime of work to do, but we’re making progress and taking full accountability for the commitments we set in place towards building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive company, where Black and other people of color can thrive. This year, we will continue to push our six commitment areas forward with a focus on where we can most affect change including training, hiring, inclusion through culture, community impact, and our creative outputs.

COMMITMENT 1: SELF-REFLECTION

We commit to a thorough self-examination of our agency’s race dynamic.

For real and measurable change, we brought in a third-party consultant to help us objectively assess our agency’s race dynamic. We used that diagnosis and honest assessment of ourselves to inform, guide, and build upon all of our actions and investments towards Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. We forensically examined the experience of our present and past employees with a focus on Black and other people of color and will continue to review our own data on an annual basis to assess experience and ensure pay equity across the organization.

COMMITMENT 2: TRAINING

We commit to an expert-led, anti-racism curriculum for all employees to learn and unlearn with support and guidance.

We require anti-racism, bias, courage, and respect training, and facilitate ongoing courageous conversations with content tailored to key groups: Leadership, Managers, HR/Recruitment, and General employees. We’ve introduced a variety of training resources including Allyship training and “Disruptive Recruiting” - an inclusive recruitment training designed to eliminate bias from the hiring process, as well as the Neurology of Equity & Inclusion, an unconscious bias, and accountability program. Application of training principles will be built into performance evaluations.

COMMITMENT 3: HIRING

We commit to a meaningful diverse employee community.

Changing the makeup of our workforce and ultimately the industry requires long-term commitment. We committed to hiring, retaining and elevating Black and POC talent across all disciplines and levels with a special focus on the areas where we lack the most: the creative department and leadership. We’ve reformed our recruiting strategies to be much more intentionally inclusive, eliminating bias throughout the process. In 2021, 64% of our new hires were people of color and 68% were women. We hired DEI Lead Jennifer L. Payne and have deepened our relationships with multicultural professional organizations, tapping adjacent industries, and cultivating future talent through HBCU relationships and partnerships. In July 2021, we’re launching our high school curriculum pilot with Compton Unified School District in partnership with Music Unites to expose and build the pipeline of diverse talent into the creative industry.

COMMITMENT 4: IMPACT THE WORK

We commit to work that authentically portrays Black culture. 

Spearheaded by Oyinda Elias, we solidified the agency’s Multicultural Practice to ensure our creative output is representative and culturally relevant. We codified and scaled our DEI Advisory process to consult on briefs, ideas, and productions. We will continue to educate and inspire our creators with insight and identity-driven programming that centers diverse voices. We’ve done the due diligence to confirm that our intelligence tools are inclusive of diverse data/perspectives that are accurately representative of our increasingly multicultural nation. We’re also continuing to tap into resources including Free the Work and OneSandbox to ensure diverse creators are represented throughout production.

COMMITMENT 5: INCLUSION

We commit to creating a work environment where Black talent thrives.

Our six employee-led affinity groups (Black at Chiat, Asian Affinity Group, Pride, Latinx, Women’s Initiative and People with Disabilities) were established to ensure an inclusive and safe environment where all are heard, seen, supported and empowered to succeed. With support of our affinity groups, we continue to host cultural events and celebrations including our Intermission and Disruptor Series that aim to educate and raise awareness of diverse backgrounds. Chiat leadership participates in each affinity group - working alongside employees, and also lending support and serving as advocates. We’ve scaled our mentorship, coaching and education programs to nurture, retain, and develop our Black and POC talent.

COMMITMENT 6: COMMUNITY IMPACT

We commit to supporting organizations that support the Black community.

We will continue to give to organizations that advance the safety, opportunity, equality, and prosperity of Black and other people of color. We will forevermore have at least one pro bono client each year that works toward the advancement of marginalized communities. Most recently, we partnered with Compton Girls Club to create a Business G.IRL Incubator series in collaboration with our QuickBooks client that helped 11 young diverse women become entrepreneurs. We will continue to support Black and POC prosperity by working with Black and minority-owned vendors and creators. And, we’ve committed to matching employee donations up to $50K annually to organizations that are LA local and promote education and creativity within marginalized communities.