DEI - Empower

Empowering

Diversity/Equity/Inclusion

Empowering

Diversity/Equity/Inclusion

Empower's Commitment to

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

We are committed to effecting real change within our agency and the communities we work so that we can serve as the model of our industry as a whole.

We are committed to building and sustaining an equitable and inclusive work environment where cultural diversity is celebrated and valued.

We are committed to connecting with and supporting the communities in which we work to ensure equity and inclusiveness are actively promoted missions of our agency.

We are committed to helping and supporting the diversity initiatives of our clients, by being advocates and allies in their efforts to project media that is diverse and inclusive in its content and placement.

We believe diversity benefits and enriches the development of all of our associates and the work that we do. We know this is a continuous journey and along the way there will be challenges, but we are committed to educating ourselves and focusing on doing what is right, by ensuring that everyone is welcomed, valued and treated equitably.

All Races & Ethnicities
All Religions
All Gender Identities
All Abilities
All Ages

Everyone is welcome at Empower!

Doing the Work

Not all the way there, but we’re making strides.

Our People

We host listening sessions to stay connected to the agency’s pulse on current issues, while our Cultural Intelligence training and resource center helps our teams grow their knowledge of DEI topics and initiatives.

Our Policy

We have concentrated, full-time efforts to hire minority talent. We also sponsor an “Empower the Vote” initiative to drive voter turnout. Our calendar now includes Juneteenth as a paid holiday.

Our Community

We partner with our neighborhood schools through a Pen Pal program and support local businesses through a Holiday Gift Guide. We support ‘By Chicago For Chicago’ and work with our local Arts organizations to help fund key DEI initiatives.

Our Tools

We created a Minority Vendor Dashboard to track spending progress with minority-owned properties, while maintaining a list of the top multi-cultural networks, platforms & properties for clients.

Our Work

We combat bias in media planning, partnering with vendors to research the effectiveness of Diversity in Media. We compile demographic & psychographic data with consumption habits by Racial and Ethnic group.

Diversity/Equity/Inclusion

Frequently Asked Questions

Empower, you have a lot of people on staff that look the same. What’s the story?

Yes, it’s true. And we’re working on it. Here are some important stats:

24.7% of 2021 new hires were racially and ethnically diverse, up from 18% in 2019
Moved from 8% diverse to 18% in 2021 – goal was 11%
Empower is 68% Female vs industry average of 51%
Empower was Female founded in 1985
Empower’s average employee tenure is nearly DOUBLE industry average, at 4.3 YEARS.

Okay, so you “talk the talk,” but what do you actually do?