As we reflect on the recent events in the US, we are committing to do our part to make sure this movement leads to systemic, long-lasting change.  Our woman-and-minority-led agency was built on four core values that guide our decisions on who we work with, what projects we work on, and our interactions with each other and our communities. 

And this brings us to this moment. We’ve been working on creating a more inclusive and diverse workforce, and while there’s more work to do we’ve made progress in a number of areas. Thirty-seven percent of our US-based employees are ethnically diverse, 64% are women, and women make up 68% of our leadership roles. Even so, we must focus on expanding our inclusive culture to ensure our racial composition reflects people of color in all communities in which we live and work, particularly Black Americans who are currently underrepresented at Firewood. 

Although we’ve made a commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion—launching a DE&I initiative in 2019 to infuse more diverse and inclusive practices into our operations, conducting a DE&I assessment to uncover areas for improvement, promoting education on allyship and anti-racism, and donating financial and pro bono support to relevant or underrepresented communities and charitable organizations—we recognize we need to do more.

Our
commitment
to change

Inspired by Six Hundred & Rising’s #CommitToChange, we stand in solidarity and are committed to:

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Regularly tracking and posting our ethnic diversity statistics to hold ourselves accountable and will update our numbers at least once every year

Posting our progress quarterly on social media

Increasing the diversity of our employee base, specifically the number of Black employees to at least match population levels in the communities where we work

Increasing and promoting gender and ethnic diversity at all levels of our agency, especially in leadership roles

Continuing to build our foundation of employee training requirements with the focus on allyship, anti-racism, anti-bias, and other initiatives that promote racial equity

Ensuring the diversity and inclusivity of our work product by continuing to train our teams and assess our creative output

Regularly assessing our culture, practices, and company policies to ensure we are maintaining and supporting an equitable environment for all

Staying open to learning from one another, both internally and in our industry, as we aim to improve racial and social justice for everyone

Continuing to support our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)

Participating in the S4 Fellowship Program and developing local internships to recruit minority graduates and non-graduates to train with us

Honoring Juneteenth as a company holiday

Increasing our involvement in organizations that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, like the 3% Movement and ADCOLOR, to help increase visibility of their missions to boost gender and minority representation in our industry

Devoting more of our pro bono digital marketing services offered through Firewood in the Field to charitable organizations that support racial justice and racial equity

Conducting a gift-matching drive to contribute to some of the major US nonprofits that support racial equality and justice

We stand committed.
We are and will be transparent and accountable.
We’re in this for the long haul.