NEW YORK: HP Inc. has made progress in increasing the representation of minority groups on its agency teams, the technology company said on Tuesday.
People from underrepresented groups comprise 36% of account teams, a 12% year-over-year increase, and 28% of senior account staff, a 9% year-over-year increase.
Female representation on the agency side held strong at the computer and print company, with 62% of its account teams made up of women, a 1% year-over-year increase. All account teams have at least 50% women, with three agencies reaching or exceeding 60%, the company said in a statement. More than half (55%) of senior account leads are women, a 4% increase from last year. All but one agency increased the number of women in senior roles.
In 2016, HP called for gender parity and increased minority representation on its agency teams. HP agencies struggled to reach their targets for minority representation when the company released its diversity statistics last year, but exceeded the female representation targets.
Its PR agency, Edelman, increased the number of underrepresented people on its account team by 10% this year, however the number of minorities serving in senior roles decreased by 2% year-over-year to 14%. Last year, minority representation dropped 10%.
Edelman continued to up the number of women on its overall account team, raising it 6% year-over-year to 67%, while the number of female senior account staffers remained unchanged at 50%.
Creative agency BBDO saw the percentage of overall women on its account team fall by 4% to 59% and the percentage of women in senior roles fall by 2% to 59%. The percentage of minorities on its team increased by 7% year-over-year to 32%. Minorities make up 32% of senior roles on the account, a 10% gain year-over-year.
On creative agency Fred & Farid’s account team, the percentage of women jumped 21% year-over-year to 81%, while the percentage of underrepresented people increased by 6% to 58%. Also, 67% of its senior roles are held by women, a 15% increase year-over-year. The number of minorities in senior roles was unchanged at 33%.
The percentage of women on PHD’s team dropped a single point year-over-year to 61%. Its minority representation was unchanged at 40%. Women make up 55% of senior roles on the account, compared to 52% last year, while minorities make up 32%, a 3% year-over-year increase.
More than half of the account team for creative agency Giant Spoon is female, increasing 19% year-over-year to 52%. However, it’s made few gains in terms of minority representation, increasing by only 2% year-over-year to 24%.
HP dropped Gyro from the scorecard and added Giant Spoon to the list after it increased the scope of its U.S. work, a spokesperson said. Gyro remains on the HP roster.
