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"I was angry about it," said the former employee, whose identity is known to Business Insider but who requested anonymity to speak without fear of repercussions. "It also felt sort of disrespectful. If you want to know if there's a Black Santa, why don't you ask yourself? Why do you think because I'm Black that that's OK to do?"
They accuse the agency of having pushed out employees of color, tried to silence people who raised concerns, relegated employees of color to office chores, failed to promote them equally, and tokenized them to win new business. While such personal tasks are common for employees at that level, sources said they felt employees of color got less respect and fewer promotions than white employees. One white former staffer compared it to the 1960s-era "Mad Men."
A routine part of junior-level PR work is to read and summarize news coverage of clients. One Black former employee said her supervisor sat down and read a story along with her. The employee felt as if her supervisor was testing her reading comprehension. "Again and again, she brought it up until the room became very uncomfortable," the former employee said. "Meanwhile, several months later, her white female protege got a new job and [Kohl] couldn't be more thrilled for her. I think she even threw her a party."
One Black former employee said when they asked for a promotion, they were told they hadn't done enough account work. Another former staffer said when they brought up this practice to their boss, the response was: "This is a reality of GMMB, and this is what we have to do." "However, when putting together literally hundreds of proposals, staffers of all races and backgrounds — including gender and LGBTQ — are sometimes added to proposals so the client knows our capabilities if we get the work or at their request," the agency said in a statement. "Going forward we will make sure all employees are consulted prior to adding their resume to a proposal.
GMMB said in a statement that the agency received two complaints alleging racial discrimination and/or diversity and inclusion in 2019 and that these were "acted upon." Sources, however, said they also raised concerns to supervisors in informal one-on-ones, emails, and office town halls.Demonstrators walk towards the White House and away from the U.S. Capitol Building during a protest against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Washington, U.S., June 6, 2020.
Nimra Haroon, a former media-relations specialist at GMMB, called the agency's D&I efforts "performative" and said white employees showed little interest in participating in the committee's meetings.
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