Our Mission

We believe everyone has the right to feel included in their place of work, and able to be their authentic selves. We know that diversity and inclusion in the workplace – that is, diversity of thought, background and experience – is what drives creativity and innovation, which in turn lets us produce truly great work. Our goal is to make Merkle an inclusive, equitable workplace that is representative of the markets in which we operate, and where our differences are celebrated. We seek to educate and empower our colleagues and effect positive change within the wider industry – because the benefits of diversity in the workforce are too strong to ignore.

Our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council

Our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Council is made up of representatives from across the business, from HR to client services. They lead and support our seven DEI pillars: Gender, Mental Health, Disability, Ethnicity, Religion, LGBTQ+ and Parents & Carers. Our programme has grown from humble beginnings of just a handful of passionate employees finding time in their busy schedules to talk about the issues that mattered to them. What began as one pillar steadily grew over several years to a collection of connected business resource groups, each with their own goals and focus areas. The DEI Council sets the overarching vision for these efforts and helps to define our future direction. They connect Merkle with like-minded groups within our parent company, Dentsu, both in EMEA and across the globe.
 

Our Partners

As Merkle has accelerated its DEI programme, the opportunity has arisen to not only deepen our existing relationships with key platform partners, but also to build brand new ones. In a digital media capacity, we’ve partnered with the likes of Google and Microsoft for years. But more recently we’ve seen our own passion for DEI mirrored by theirs, and we’ve leveraged those partnerships to drive mutual learning, development and maturity in this space. Additionally, each DEI Pillar has up to three selected charity partners with whom we organise fundraising, volunteering and awareness-driving initiatives within the agency.

DEI Awards

 

Our effort to foster a culture where diversity and inclusion are celebrated and embodied by all those in our business has been groundbreaking for our industry. We are proud that our work to promote equity and justice for all our employees has been recognised with the following awards.

First runner up in Microsoft’s Global Inclusive Culture & Marketing Award 2021

 

Microsoft’s Global Inclusive Culture & Marketing Award 2020

 

Shortlisted for Diversity Team of the Year at the European Diversity Awards 2019