Exposing Anti-White Harassment + Discrimination in US Media Companies
FAQs
Publicis Groupe
FAIL
publicisgroupe.com
TYPE: French Multinational Communications and Marketing Group, Holding Company
INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS: Capital Research and Management Company, BlackRock, The Vanguard Group, Parvus Asset Management Europe Ltd., Mawer Investment Management Ltd., Capital International Ltd., Amundi Asset Management, Janus Henderson Investors UK Ltd., Geode Capital Management, et al.
OWNER: Publicly traded
SUBSIDIARIES: Publicis Communications (Saatchi & Saatchi, Leo Burnett Worldwide, Digitas, BBH, Fallon). Publicis Media (Starcom, Zenith, Performics). Publicis Sapient, Publicis Health, Epsilon, Discovery USA, Heartbeat, Insync, Langland, MSLGROUP, Marcel, Payer Sciences, Performics, Plowshare, 3Share, Prodigious, Publicis Collective, Publicis Worldwide, Razorfish, Razorfish Health, Real Science, Spark Foundry, Starcom, Verilogue, Zenith, et al.
2023 REVENUE: $14.15 billion
HEADCOUNT: 103,000
1675 Broadway
New York, NY 10019
communication@publicisgroupe.com
+1 (212) 279-5550
collective@publicis.com
Publicis Groupe’s top-down DEI policies and practices, guided by Global Chief Inclusion Officer Renetta McCann (a Black woman), include past involvement from former US Chief Diversity Officers Geraldine White (a Black woman, terminated in December 2024, potentially linked to allegations of anti-White harassment at subsidiary Saatchi & Saatchi) and Ronnie Dickerson Stewart (a Black woman), alongside former US executive sponsor for DEI Andrew Swinand. The agency’s focus on race-based initiatives, such as a €45 million (approximately $48.6 million USD) investment dedicated to “nurturing underrepresented people and people of color,” may exclude White employees from accessing these significant resources, potentially leading to disparate treatment unless equivalent opportunities are provided. This concern is heightened by the support for race-specific Employee Resource Groups like VivaWomen of Color and MOCA, without a comparable group for White employees, which could result in unequal terms and conditions. Additionally, mandatory unconscious bias training, including the “Make Some Room” workshop with “privilege walks” and emotionally charged bias discussions, may create a hostile work environment for White employees by potentially stereotyping them, raising concerns about discriminatory DEI training. Publicis Groupe’s practice of categorizing employees and the world into two groups—people of color versus White—could foster division, disparate treatment, and a hostile work environment.
Andrew Swinand, CEO Publicis Groupe Creative (Saatchi’s parent company), stated in a group email that his 2023 goal was to increase BIPOC representation. Arthur Sadoun, in a video presentation viewed by all employees, championed the decreasing Whiteness of Publicis Groupe as a positive thing.
Susie Nam, Asian woman and DEI champion who as CEO of Publicis Creative US (Saatchi’s parent company) leads with a focus on DEI, views her role as “making circumstances better for women and people of color,” in other words, neglecting White men at work. She has led initiatives like founding D+iQ at Droga5—the agency's diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative—and serving as Vice Chair of ADCOLOR, an organization dedicated to celebrating and promoting “professionals of color” (non-White people) in creative industries.
“Anti-Racist Apostle” and “Inclusive Leadership Warrior” and Black woman Dierdra Donahue, as SVP Equity and Inclusion at Publicis Groupe, visited Saatchi to hold a DEI training session, with the main exercise being an elementary-school style fill-in-the-blank worksheet where—as a group—Saatchi & Saatchi employees filled in the missing words. The final message: White people cheated to get to where they are.
Chioke McRae, an invited Black panelist at a multi-day DEI conference held by Saatchi’s Diversity Task Force, encouraged by Publicis employee and hostess Dierdra Donahue, voiced that going back to work “is really going to suck" due to being around so many White people. Immediately after speaking, hostess Donahue vocally noted, “I 100% agree with everything that you say and know that it's true."
Institutional investors like Capital Research and Management Company, BlackRock, and The Vanguard Group increasingly emphasize Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors, including diversity and inclusion metrics, in their investment stewardship and proxy voting guidelines. This external pressure from major shareholders likely serves as a significant driver for Publicis Groupe's public commitments and strategic focus on ESG and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB). 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.
It is illegal and contrary to public policy for any organization, including nonprofits, to instruct companies on discriminatory or harassing practices, potentially resulting in serious legal and financial repercussions such as lawsuits for facilitating discrimination, reputational harm, loss of IRS tax-exempt status, and investigations by state and federal civil rights authorities.
Despite being headquartered in France, Publicis Groupe must comply with US legal standards due to its operations in the United States. The specific American laws that apply depend on the nature and extent of their business activities here.
05.15.25: DieDEI.co has acquired a substantial collection of internal DEI materials from Publicis Groupe, which may be made available on our platform over the next few weeks. To stay up to date, please follow our social media channels and subscribe to our newsletter.
PARTNERS INCLUDE: Adobe, Adopt, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Disney, Google Cloud, IBM, Microsoft, Salesforce, 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.