We #CommitToChange

As we reflect on the recent events in the US, we are compelled to take action.

We were devastated by the recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery—to name only a few—and we believe it is our responsibility to address systemic racism and inequity head-on. As part of the #CommitToChange movement, we publicly join a growing list of agencies taking action to ensure Black voices are represented in the creative process and in senior and leadership positions in our industry.

Our woman-and-minority-led agency was built on four core values that guide our decisions on who we work with and what projects we work on, and our interactions with each other and our communities.

• Humility. We strive for understanding and to always learn from each other.
• Inclusivity. We reject the notion of otherness. Everyone belongs here.
• Authenticity. We encourage everyone to always stay true to themselves.
• Responsibility. We believe our social obligations and profitability can coexist.

Our values attract the kind of people who believe in equality, equity, and justice for everyone. And when we joined the S4 Capital family of companies, we found like-minded partners that share our values.

Our
commitment
to accountability

We have chosen to answer Six Hundred & Rising‘s Call for Change to make our US diversity data public. As per the initiative’s guidelines, Firewood data (sourced in July 2020) is as follows:

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 all communities, particularly Black Americans who are currently underrepresented at Firewood. 

Although we’ve made a commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion—launching a D&I initiative in 2019 to infuse more diverse and inclusive practices into our operations, conducting a D&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:

• 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 S4’s fellowship program, and developing local internships to recruit minority graduates and non-graduates to train with us
• Honoring Junteenth 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.