A group of advertising trade bodies have come together to launch the first industry-wide census on diversity aimed at increasing inclusion across UK advertising.

The Inclusion Group, which was formed last year by the Advertising Association, ISBA, and the IPA, has pledged to compile a demographic record of the UK’s advertising workforce and use it as a benchmark for progress.

“We know there is a systemic problem to tackle in our industry, that of fully inclusive representation in our workforce,” said Kathryn Jacob, Pearl & Dean CEO and Chair of the Inclusion Working Group. “To make the most meaningful change, we must set a benchmark to measure and track progress against. This census is a vital starting point for everyone to help build an industry that truly represents the world we live in today.”

The ‘All In’ census will be recorded and analysed by Kantar before being used by the Inclusion Group to form an action plan for how inclusivity can be increased across all areas of the industry, which is set to launch at an industry summit in the summer.

All UK advertising and marketing services professionals will be invited to complete the 30-minute confidential, aggregated online survey on the 10 March.