Generation Next: How mentorship can bridge the divide to DE&I

Earlier this fall, the mentees of The List's pilot mentorship program Generation Next gathered virtually to present their final projects: marketing campaigns that would spread the message of the value of using mentorship to improve the diverse talent crisis in the industry using the most creative and innovative tools and tech available. The projects were the culmination of the inaugural year of Generation Next, almost a year to the day after The List—the group of advertising, marketing and media leaders assembled by Ad Age in partnership with Facebook—announced plans to create a mentorship program aimed at mid-career professionals of diverse and underrepresented backgrounds with three to five years of experience. Six months after launching Generation Next with the help of Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT) and the Asian American Advertising Federation (3AF), which helped recruit mentee candidates, four groups of mentees pitched their campaigns to a panel of List judges. On Oct. 18, Natalie Zfat, Ad Age Studio 30 contributing editor, and Brandi Pitts, Facebook's global digital marketing director, moderated a panel at The Female Quotient’s Virtual Equality Lounge during Advertising Week New York, “Leveling Up: Why Diverse Mentorship Programs Can Bridge the Gap to True Equity & Inclusion,” featuring representatives from each team. The mentees shared an overview of each of their campaigns, as well as their insights from their time in the Generation Next mentorship program. In kicking off their research, each team identified different gaps in the system that hold back professionals from underrepresented groups in their careers. For some, it was the fall-off of diversity between the entry levels and positions higher up the ladder, and the effect that has on retention and advancement prospects. Mentee Natalie Gatbonton, a senior marketing analyst at American Express and a member of the winning group, Team Change Agents, noted, “What was most compelling and most important to us were these emotions that weren’t being addressed on the individual level, whether that’s being seen, heard or understood. But [especially] for people of color and for women, feeling that there is an equal playing field.” Mentee Ashley Mackel Beresford of Team Mentorship Matters, who was paired with List member Stacy Taffet, VP of marketing at PepsiCo, said that having a trusted mentor can provide unprecedented sense of comfort and safety. “Just knowing that she is a calendar invite or text away, and that [Stacy] has helped me to navigate and to make sense of situations has been really helpful,” Mackel Beresford said. “And knowing that she will continue to be on my side and in my corner is something that I appreciate and look forward to.” Beyond their relationships with their individual mentor, a major benefit for the Generation Next mentees was being able to expand their professional network. Mentee Joel Salgado, an MBA candidate at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Business and a member of Team Level Up, said that as the first college graduate, master’s degree candidate and white-collar professional in his family, “This is why an organization like The List needs to exist. People like me don’t have the network, and what this program allows us to do is have that professional network so that now we can leverage it to level up from an entry-level marketer to VP, director or perhaps the C-suite.” Mentee Glenys Fernandez, a senior manager of brand marketing at Atwell Suites Intercontinental Hotel Group and a member of Team Missing Links, added, “A lot of us don’t have people in our personal networks that we can lean on. My parents are from a low-income background. So a lot of the network I’ve been able to build is through programs like [Management Leadership for Tomorrow] and Ad Age, to be able to lean in and be exposed to people from the advertising industry to have conversations that you can really learn from. It makes a huge difference ... the statistics show that.” Ad Age and our partners at Facebook are proud to have helped this group of mentees evolve and expand their vision for their future, but it wouldn’t have been possible without The List mentors who dedicated their time to this mission. Pitts herself served as a mentor, paying it forward for all that mentorship has done for her own success. “One of the reasons I always raise my hand to mentoring is because it has had an immense impact on my career,” she said. “Seeing others who looked like me in the positions I aspired to really inspired me.” To watch the entire conversation, which included Pitts fielding questions from the mentees, view the video above. #GenerationNext and what's next for The List After an incredibly challenging and trying two years that encompassed a world-changing pandemic, a society-changing social justice movement and the most contentious presidential election of our lifetimes, The List is proud to have done its part to accomplish its mission of confronting the diverse talent crisis in the advertising, marketing and media industry by launching the Generation Next mentorship program. As Ad Age and Facebook put our heads together to recruit the 2022 class of The List, our goals are to grow the program and expand on the work that mentees and mentors began this past year. Until then, follow the group’s progress on The List's vertical on AdAge.com and website AdAgeTheList.com, and follow The List on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Email thelist@adage.com for more information. About Ad Age Custom Content Ad Age Studio 30 is a custom content studio that specializes in the creation of paid content that resonates with the Ad Age audience. To inquire about Ad Age Studio 30, email James Palma at jpalma@adage.com.

Generation Next: How mentorship can bridge the divide to DE&I

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