Exposing Anti-White Harassment + Discrimination in US Media Companies
FAQs
DDB Worldwide
FAIL
ddb.com
TYPE: Global Advertising and Communications Network
INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS: Argo Ventures (direct), The Vanguard Group, Inc., BlackRock, Inc., State Street Global Advisors, Inc. (also referred to as State Street Corp), Wellington Management Group LLP, Massachusetts Financial Services Company, etc. (via parent company Omnicom Group)
OWNER: Omnicom Group
SUBSIDIARIES: Alma, DDB Health, Spike DDB, TracyLocke, Tribal Worldwide, Uproar!@DDB.
REVENUE: $2.8 billion
HEADCOUNT: ~8,000
200 Varick St, Floor 11
New York, NY 10014
info@ddb.com
press@ddb.com
+1 212 415 2000
Viewing DDB Worldwide and its parent company Omnicom Group through the lens of the EEOC, federal law, and New York State's Human Rights Law, there are potential areas of concern regarding the legality and fairness of their DEI initiatives for White employees and hires. The agency frames DEI as a business imperative, with the CEO of DDB North America highlighting the importance of championing inclusion to address racism and inequities. The agency stresses maintaining DEI investment and integrates data into its DEI efforts, aiming to reflect societal composition. DDB North America utilizes a regional Equality in Advertising Council (EAC), co-led by the CPO. The strong emphasis on "systemic equity"* and addressing "systemic racism," spearheaded by leaders like Indian woman Global Chief DEI Officer Nikki Lamba and Black woman Chief People Officer of North America Micheline Grace Lewis and endorsed by Global CEO Alex Lubar and Omnicom CEO John Wren, appears to drive specific race-conscious outcomes in hiring and resource allocation. Lamba has highlighted the recruitment of DDB North America's "most diverse cohort" based on race and ethnicity, with reports indicating a third of new hires being "people of color," and more than half being women. The Bill Bernbach Diversity Scholarship’s race-based eligibility criteria raise significant legal concerns under the NYSHRL, Title VI, and the Equal Protection Clause. The exclusion of White applicants based solely on race could be deemed discriminatory as its current structure risks violating anti-discrimination laws by prioritizing race over other factors like socioeconomic need or individual merit (Bernbach was a founding member of DDB). Omnicom's use of "BIPOC" in setting hiring KPIs further suggests a focus on increasing non-White representation, which could lead to the perception or reality of preferential treatment. The existence of Employee Resource Groups for racial and ethnic groups (Black Together, Asian Leaders Circle, AcentO) without a parallel group for White employees might indicate a disparity in support and inclusion. Mandatory unconscious bias training, if not carefully designed, could risk creating a hostile environment for White employees by implicitly associating them with systemic inequities. While the agency's "Diversity + Creativity Partners Program" provides detailed information on its supplier diversity efforts, specifically targeting minority-owned businesses as a "business process that aligns with corporate values," this focus on certain groups could be perceived as preferential treatment. The emphasis on these programs and initiatives, while aiming to rectify historical inequities, could inadvertently lead to discriminatory outcomes. The increasing legal scrutiny of DEI programs nationwide, as highlighted by EEOC settlements and court decisions in discrimination cases suggests that DDB's current approach carries potential legal and ethical risks under anti-discrimination laws.
Global Chief DEI Officer Lamba, an Indian woman raised in the US and the UK and educated in India, the UK and the US, states her DEI role at DDB as “amplify[ing] the voices and needs of employees, especially those from non-dominant groups,” presumbaly non-White people. Considering this approach alone, where a US company allocates an entire division of resources, money, attention and scholarships almost exclusively to non-White individuals while excluding White people would be a blatant violation of federal and state anti-discrimination laws. At DDB, she has ensured that DEI is “built into all of our HR systems and processes.” In her words: “I am giving voice to DEI strategy, implementation and topics at every juncture alongside all the agency leaders and functional leaders...In North America, I lead our regional DEI Council, called the Equality in Advertising Council (EAC). This council brings together representatives from all our North America offices and convenes bi-weekly to develop and execute learning moments and trainings that are aligned with our global DEI strategy. In the past year, we’ve held a number of programs and trainings focused on educating our employees on a range of DEI topics.” Through the lens of potential discrimination against White individuals, Lamba's view that “DEI is about levelling the playing field” can be interpreted as the implementation of policies and the allocation of resources that disadvantage White employees and applicants and/or actively favoring non-White employees and applicants in an effort at forced equity. Her goals are to “make DEI everyone’s business.”
Reflecting on parent company Omnicom’s commitment to systemic equity, with initiatives like increasing diverse hires and leadership representation, CEO John Wren states, “As a global Fortune 200 company with 70,000+ employees, we know we can lead with our actions and make an impact through our work.” In 2020, Omnicom launched OPEN 2.0, an extensive action plan explicitly "designed to achieve systemic equity throughout Omnicom." This framework mandates that each Omnicom network, including DDB Worldwide, has a dedicated DE&I leader reporting directly to their respective CEO. Omnicom's 2021 DEI Report unequivocally states, "We put diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) at the center of everything we do." The overarching framework set by parent company’s Omnicom leadership—which has over 60 dedicated DEI leaders across its various organizations—emphasizing "systemic equity," embracing “discomfort,” utilizing terminology like "BIPOC," tracking representation KPIs based on race, and establishing race-specific ERGs that exclude White employees, collectively paints a picture of a DEI program heavily focused on group identity and demographic outcomes. This approach, driven by leadership beliefs and external pressures, demonstrably prioritizes race in ways that could reasonably be perceived by White employees as discriminatory, fostering resentment, or creating a hostile work environment, thereby aligning with the concerns regarding potential harassment and discrimination under EEOC and NYSHRL standards.
*DEI "equity" involves prioritizing certain racial, gender, or identity groups with targeted resources or opportunities to ensure equal outcomes at the cost of fairness and individual merit. DEI’s equity focus shares some similarities with communism and socialism in its group-based, redistributive approach, and with totalitarianism in ideological coercion.
**DDB’s practice of segregating employees into two adversarial racial categories, BIPOC/POC vs White, can be seen as problematic under the NYSHRL and may raise concerns under federal law and with the EEOC, as it creates distinctions based on race that could foster division, disparate treatment, and a hostile work environment, potentially violating prohibitions against discriminatory employment practices.
Institutional investors such as Vanguard Group Inc., BlackRock Inc., and State Street Corporation have demonstrated a commitment to incorporating ESG considerations, including diversity and inclusion metrics, in their investment stewardship and proxy voting guidelines. This external pressure from major parent company shareholders likely serves as a significant driver for DDB's public commitments and strategic focus on ESG and Diversity and Inclusion (D&I). Consequently, accountability for the design and impact of DEI initiatives rests primarily with the company's leadership and board, who must navigate these influential investor expectations.
This information is based on publicly available information, including websites, case studies, and news articles from a recent period. To ensure you have the most accurate and current information, please refer to the company's official announcements. The information provided on this website is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice; consult a licensed attorney for specific legal guidance.
DieDEI.co is waiting on internal materials for a fuller picture of DDB’s DEI program. Follow us on social and subscribe to our newsletter for updates.
DDB has taken down their Diversity + Creativity Program web page.
DDB has taken down their Jatinder Singh Is Bringing Data and DEI to DDB web page.
SUBSIDIARY CLIENTS: Bristol Myers Squibb (DDB Health), McDonald’s (Alma), State Farm (Alma), etc.
NOTE: Client lists are subject to change. This information is based on publicly available information, including websites, case studies, and news articles from a recent period. To ensure you have the most accurate and current information, please refer to the company's official announcements.