Unpacking agency employment decline and progress on gender and diversity efforts — with Lianre Robinson

2026-03-02

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In February, the Institute for Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) released its latest Agency Census. The findings showed an agency market in contraction: employment at creative agencies fell 14.3% last year – and that’s before Omnicom completed its acquisition of IPG and subsequently announced it would cut thousands more jobs globally.New hiring dropped over 40%, with young people especially finding careers in media and advertising hard to break into, let alone remain in.However, the Census also registered continued progress in gender representation and eth...

New hiring dropped over 40%, with young people especially finding careers in media and advertising hard to break into, let alone remain in.

However, the Census also registered continued progress in gender representation and ethnic diversity at agencies, even if pay gaps persist and geographical diversity is lacking.

Lianree Robinson is the campaigning chair for Women in Advertising & Communications Leadership (WACL). She also works as the CEO of The Marketing Academy Foundation and as a mentor for Who’s Your Momma London.

If that wasn’t enough to keep Robinson busy, she’s also begun writing a monthly column for us at The Media Leader.

Robinson joins host Jack Benjamin to discuss the findings of the IPA Agency Census, and provide a sense check of the progress the media and advertising industries have made with regard to gender and ethnicity inclusion.

Highlights:

5:38: IPA Agency Census toplines

7:16: What has caused the creative agency labour market contraction?

10:20: Challenges faced by under-25s employees

19:24: Progress, but "relatively slow progress", on gender representation and ethnic diversity

24:43: Persistent gender and ethnic pay gaps

27:59: WACL's key priorities

31:33: Geographical diversity needed

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