Invisible labors: U.S. advertising agencies’ race and ethnicity problem

Abstract

Despite 50 years of programming such as the Minorities in Advertising Internship Program, U.S. advertising agencies are still overwhelmingly White. This study uses in-depth interviews with 32 advertising professionals of various races and ethnicities to examine how they experience working in the industry. The findings reveal several forms of invisible labor that racial and ethnic minorities feel compelled to perform because of their difference, including assimilating to White norms, working harder to prove their worth, educating agency leaders, and serving as a mediator to challenge stereotypical representations. The findings reveal how agencies capitalize upon and benefit from workers’ race and ethnicity as well as the invisible labor performed because of that identity.

Keywords:

• Race and ethnicity
• advertising professionals
• invisible labor
• advertising agencies

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

The data produced in the course of this study are not accessible for public dissemination.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kasey Windels

Kasey Windels (Ph.D. University of Texas at Austin) is an associate professor of advertising in the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida. She studies advertising agencies, including practitioner perspectives. She has published over 25 articles in top journals such as Journal of Advertising, International Journal of Advertising, and Journal of Advertising Research.

Kelsey Lunsford

Kelsey Lunsford is a doctoral student in the Department of Advertising at the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications. She received her Master’s degree in Communication from the University of Central Florida. Her research interests intersect health and interpersonal communication.

Noura Ibrahim

Noura Ibrahim is a doctoral student in the Department of Advertising, College of Journalism and Communications, University of Florida. Her research interests include digital marketing, advertising and third culture kids.