The One Club for Creativity and Diageo North America have created a partnership to recognise and promote diversity, inclusion and gender equality among young creatives around the world. The partnership ties in with The One Club’s Young Guns program, which has been the industry’s only international, cross-disciplinary, portfolio-based awards competition for diverse creative professionals 30 years of age and under for more than 20 years.
The first component of the partnership is the Diageo-Young Guns Diversity & Inclusion Award. Teams at Diageo North America and The One Club will review portfolios of all Young Guns 16 global finalists and select a winner of the new award. That winner, to be announced at the Young Guns 16 ceremony and party on November 15 in New York, will have the opportunity to collaborate on a creative project for Diageo on one of the company’s global brands, which include Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, Bulleit and Buchanan’s whiskies, Smirnoff, Cîroc and Ketel One vodkas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Don Julio, Tanqueray and Guinness.
Sophie Kelly, senior vice president, North America Whiskeys Portfolio, Diageo, explained, “A wide range of viewpoints, experiences, skills and capabilities is critically important to any business today, and we depend on diverse talent to drive our business.
“We look forward to working with The One Club to identify and recognise the emerging talents of young creatives around the world, and help them to grow further as they realize their potential.”
Kevin Swanepoel, chief executive officer, The One Club for Creativity, added, “One of the four pillars of our organisation is a commitment to advancing diversity and inclusion in advertising and design, and we are thrilled to have Diageo play such a significant role in supporting our work in that area. This new partnership will raise awareness on the topic and help elevate those inspiring young creatives who are leading the way and making a difference.”
Diageo is known for its strong track record in areas of diversity, inclusion and gender equality. The company achieved gender parity on its board with an intent to have its senior leadership team 35% female by 2020. Half of the members of the Diageo North America executive team are women, led by Deirdre Mahlan, president, Diageo North America. Industry recognition includes Diageo being listed on the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index, ranked fourth in the Thomson Reuters Global Diversity and Inclusion Index and a signatory of Free the Bid.
