Diversity and Inclusion in Advertising: 42 Statistics, Trends, and Data Points for 2026

This briefing compiles verified statistics on diversity and inclusion in advertising across five dimensions: multicultural ad spend, investment in diverse-owned media, representation in creative, consumer response to inclusive marketing, and workforce diversity inside marketing organizations. Every figure below is attributed to a named publisher and year, with source links close to each claim. Where numbers come from vendor-sponsored surveys or self-reported panels, that framing is flagged, because these limits change how a data point should be read.

Executive Summary

• U.S. multicultural media ad spending was projected to reach a record $45.83 billion in 2024, up roughly 8.3% year over year, per PQ Media, cited by Ad Age and Statista (2024).
• Multicultural media still made up about 5.3% of total U.S. ad and marketing spend in 2023, barely above the 5.2% share recorded in 2017, while multicultural consumers are nearly 40% of the U.S. population (ANA/AIMM, via Marketing Dive, 2023-2024).
• Investment in diverse-owned media reached roughly $1.9 billion in 2023, about 2.5% of total ad spend, against an ANA benchmark of 6.5% by 2025 (ANA/AIMM, via Ad Age, 2024).
• Ethnic representation among U.S. marketers fell to 30.8% in 2023 from 32.3% in 2022, the first decline after three years of gains (ANA, 2024).
• 75% of consumers across 18 countries said diversity and inclusion, or the lack of it, influence their purchase decisions (Kantar Brand Inclusion Index, 2024, self-reported survey of 23,000+).
• 61% of Americans said diversity in advertising is important, and 34% said they had boycotted a brand at least temporarily over poor representation (Adobe, global survey of 2,000+ consumers, 2019).
• Black U.S. audiences spent more than 81 hours per week with media, 31.8% above the general population, and 67% wished they saw more representation of their identity group on TV (Nielsen, 2024).
• Progressive, inclusive advertising was associated with a sales uplift of over 16% versus less progressive content, a figure attributed to the Unstereotype Alliance and cited by Kantar (2024).

Key Findings

• U.S. multicultural media ad spending was forecast at $45.83 billion for 2024, up from about $42.28 billion in 2023, an increase above 8% (PQ Media, via Statista and Ad Age, 2024). Source: Statista.
• Multicultural media accounted for about 5.3% of total U.S. ad and marketing spend in 2023, versus 5.2% in 2017 (PQ Media/ANA framing, via Ad Age, 2024).
• Hispanic media commanded about 68.3% of multicultural media spend in the 2024 forecast, with African American at 28.8% and Asian American at 2.9% (PQ Media, via Ad Age and Inside Radio, 2024).
• Diverse-owned media commitments rose to roughly $1.9 billion in 2023 from $1.7 billion in 2022, excluding programmatic, a sharp slowdown from the near-doubling seen in 2021 to 2022 (ANA/AIMM, via Ad Age, 2024).
• Asian-owned media investment grew fastest in 2023, up 25% to $433 million, while Black-owned media rose 6% to $991 million and Hispanic-owned media rose 4% to $223 million (ANA/AIMM, via Ad Age, 2024).
• The ANA benchmark calls for committing 6.5% of total ad investment to diverse-owned media by 2025, against the roughly 2.5% recorded in 2023 (ANA/AIMM, via Ad Age, 2024).
• Ethnic representation among U.S. marketers was 30.8% in 2023, down from 32.3% in 2022 and up from 27.6% in 2019 (ANA, 2024). Source: Marketing Dive.
• Hispanic/Latino marketers were 9.5% of the U.S. advertising and marketing workforce in 2023, down from 10.9% in 2022, against an 18.73% share of the U.S. population (ANA, 2024).
• Black/African American marketers held 7.2% of industry roles in 2023 against a 12.05% U.S. population share, and Asian marketers held 10.3% (ANA, 2024).
• CMO ethnic diversity reached 17.3% in 2023, the highest since the ANA began tracking it (ANA, 2024).
• 75% of consumers across 18 countries said diversity and inclusion influence purchase decisions (Kantar Brand Inclusion Index, 2024, self-reported).
• People with disabilities reported the highest discrimination rate at 81%, followed by LGBTQ+ individuals at 62% (Kantar, 2024, self-reported).
• 34% of consumers said they had boycotted a brand at least temporarily over representation, rising to more than half of LGBTQ+, African American, and Gen Z respondents (Adobe, 2019). Source: Adobe.
• Black U.S. audiences consumed more than 81 hours of media per week, 31.8% above the general population (Nielsen, 2024). Source: Nielsen.
• By 2040, nearly 50% of the U.S. population will be multicultural, representing more than $5 trillion in buying power (Nielsen/NielsenIQ, 2024).

Multicultural Ad Spend and the Population Gap

The central tension in this data is a gap between how large multicultural audiences are and how little advertising money reaches media built for them. Spending is rising in absolute dollars, but its share of the total pie has barely moved in more than five years.

U.S. multicultural media ad spending was projected to reach $45.83 billion in 2024, an increase of about 8.3% over 2023 (PQ Media, via Ad Age and Statista, 2024). Multicultural media accounted for about 5.3% of total U.S. ad and marketing spend in 2023, only marginally above the 5.2% share seen in 2017 (PQ Media/ANA framing, via Ad Age, 2024). Multicultural consumers make up nearly 40% of the U.S. population (ANA/AIMM, 2023). Hispanic media carried about 68.3% of multicultural spend in the 2024 forecast, with African American media at 28.8% and Asian American media at 2.9% (PQ Media, via Ad Age, 2024). The 2024 surge was attributed in part to political and sports dollars in a U.S. presidential election year, so the growth rate is inflated by cyclical spending and should not be read as a structural shift (PQ Media, via Ad Age, 2024).

What this means: dollar growth of 8% looks strong, but a share stuck near 5% against a 40% population share is the more durable signal. The election-year framing matters, because a share that only moves in cycles tends to revert.

Diverse-Owned Media Investment

Diverse-owned media, meaning outlets owned by people from underrepresented groups, is a narrower category than multicultural media generally, and investment here has slowed.

Ad dollars committed to diverse-owned media rose to about $1.9 billion in 2023 from $1.7 billion in 2022, excluding programmatic (ANA/AIMM, via Ad Age, 2024). That growth was far smaller than the near-doubling from about $900 million to $1.7 billion between 2021 and 2022 (ANA/AIMM, via Ad Age, 2024). Diverse-owned media made up about 2.5% of total ad spend in 2023 (ANA/AIMM, via Ad Age, 2024). Asian-owned media grew fastest, up 25% to $433 million, while Black-owned media rose 6% to $991 million and Hispanic-owned media rose 4% to $223 million (ANA/AIMM, via Ad Age, 2024). The ANA benchmark targets 6.5% of total ad investment in diverse-owned media by 2025 (ANA/AIMM, via Ad Age, 2024).

What this means: the 2021 to 2022 jump set a pace that 2023 did not sustain, and the gap between the roughly 2.5% actual and the 6.5% benchmark is wide. These figures come from ANA member self-reporting and exclude programmatic, so they likely understate total flows and should be treated as directional.

Representation in Advertising Creative

Representation is about who appears in ads and how, distinct from where the media money goes. Audience data shows both high media engagement and unmet demand for representation.

Black U.S. audiences spent more than 81 hours per week with media, 31.8% above the general population (Nielsen, 2024). 67% of Black American audiences said they wished they saw more representation of their identity group while watching TV (Nielsen, 2024). 35% of Black Americans believed brands portray Black people the same way across campaigns (Nielsen, 2024). 66% of Black consumers said they would stop doing business with a brand they saw as devaluing their community (Nielsen, 2024). Broadband-only TV homes reached nearly 44% of Black U.S. TV households as of September 2023, up from less than 13% in 2019 (Nielsen, 2024).

What this means: high media consumption plus a two-thirds demand for better representation points to a serving gap, not a lack of attention. These are self-reported survey responses from Nielsen’s Diverse Intelligence Series, a vendor product intended in part to support the case for diverse-audience investment, so the framing is advocacy-adjacent even where the panel data is robust.

Consumer Response to Inclusive Marketing

Multiple vendors report that inclusion moves purchase intent, though the strongest effect sizes come from sponsored or advocacy-linked research and should be read with that in mind.

75% of consumers across 18 countries said diversity and inclusion, or its absence, influence their purchase decisions (Kantar Brand Inclusion Index, 2024, survey of 23,000+). 46% of the global population said they had experienced discrimination in the past year, with most incidents in work or commercial settings (Kantar, 2024). Progressive, inclusive advertising was linked to a sales uplift of over 16% versus less progressive content, a figure Kantar attributes to the Unstereotype Alliance (2024). 61% of Americans said diversity in advertising is important, and 38% said they are more likely to trust brands that show more diversity (Adobe, 2019, survey of 2,000+ across the U.S., U.K., and Australia). 34% of respondents said they had boycotted a brand at least temporarily over representation, rising above 50% for LGBTQ+, African American, and Gen Z respondents (Adobe, 2019).

What this means: the direction is consistent across Kantar and Adobe, but the magnitudes rest on self-reported intent, which routinely overstates real behavior. The 16% sales-uplift figure is the most decision-relevant because it is tied to outcomes rather than stated intent, but it originates from the Unstereotype Alliance, an industry coalition with an inclusion mandate, so treat it as advocacy-sourced.

Workforce Diversity in Marketing and Agencies

Internal workforce composition is the one area with a clear recent reversal, and the ANA study is the most direct primary tracker.

Ethnic representation among U.S. marketers fell to 30.8% in 2023 from 32.3% in 2022, the first decline after rising from 27.6% in 2019 (ANA, 2024). Hispanic/Latino representation dropped to 9.5% in 2023 from 10.9% in 2022 (ANA, 2024). Black/African American representation held near 7.2%, and Asian representation was 10.3% (ANA, 2024). Senior marketing roles were 27.9% ethnically diverse and CMOs reached 17.3%, the highest recorded (ANA, 2024). Women were 57.7% of senior marketing leaders and 68.9% of entry-level talent in 2023 (ANA, 2024).

What this means: gender representation skews female while ethnic representation slipped, and the strongest ethnic gains sit at the CMO level even as the overall base declined. The ANA figures come from member-company self-reporting, so they reflect the segment of the industry that participates in the survey rather than the whole market.

Original Synthesis

The three derived insights below combine the verified figures above. Each states its formula, inputs, and limits. None should be read as precise; they are ratios and gaps meant to frame the scale of the disparity.

1. The representation-to-spend gap

Formula: multicultural share of U.S. population divided by multicultural share of ad spend. Inputs: nearly 40% population share (ANA/AIMM, 2023) and about 5.3% of ad spend (PQ Media, via Ad Age, 2023). Result: multicultural audiences are roughly 7.5 times underweighted in media spend relative to their population size. Limitation: population share and spend share are measured differently and are not a clean apples-to-apples ratio, so this is an order-of-magnitude illustration, not a precise multiple.

2. Distance to the ANA diverse-owned benchmark

Formula: benchmark target minus actual, as a share of total ad spend. Inputs: 6.5% target by 2025 and about 2.5% actual in 2023 (ANA/AIMM, via Ad Age, 2024). Result: the industry sat roughly 4 percentage points, or about 62% of the way, short of its own 2025 goal with two years left. Limitation: the actual figure excludes programmatic and relies on member self-reporting, so the true gap could be narrower than 4 points.

3. Workforce reversal magnitude

Formula: 2023 ethnic representation minus 2022, and the year in which the prior trend line would be recovered at the 2019 to 2022 pace. Inputs: 27.6% in 2019, 32.3% in 2022, 30.8% in 2023 (ANA, 2024). Result: the single-year drop of 1.5 points erased roughly one year of the prior gains, which had averaged about 1.6 points per year from 2019 to 2022. Limitation: one year is not a trend, and survey composition can shift between years, so the reversal may partly reflect who responded rather than actual hiring.

Tables

Table 1: Multicultural ad spend versus population and benchmarks

Sources under Table 1: Statista; Ad Age.

Table 2: Diverse-owned media investment by segment, 2023

Sources under Table 2: Ad Age citing ANA/AIMM. Figures exclude programmatic advertising.

Table 3: Ethnic representation among U.S. marketers versus U.S. population

Sources under Table 3: Marketing Dive citing the ANA 2024 diversity report.

Table 4: Consumer response to inclusive advertising

Sources under Table 4: Kantar; Adobe; Nielsen.

Charts to build

1. Chart title: Multicultural population share versus ad-spend share. Data needed: ~40% population share and ~5.3% spend share. Source: ANA/AIMM and PQ Media via Ad Age. Insight: the size of the underweighting. Why citation-worthy: one image captures the core disparity in the topic.
2. Chart title: Diverse-owned media, actual versus 2025 benchmark. Data needed: 2.5% actual (2023) and 6.5% target. Source: ANA/AIMM via Ad Age. Insight: how far the industry is from its own goal. Why citation-worthy: a clean progress-to-goal visual journalists reuse.
3. Chart title: Ethnic representation among marketers, 2019 to 2023. Data needed: 27.6%, 32.3%, 30.8% with intermediate years if available. Source: ANA. Insight: the 2023 reversal after three years of gains. Why citation-worthy: shows a turning point, not just a level.
4. Chart title: Diverse-owned media growth by segment, 2023. Data needed: Black $991M/+6%, Asian $433M/+25%, Hispanic $223M/+4%. Source: ANA/AIMM via Ad Age. Insight: fastest growth is not the largest base. Why citation-worthy: nuance that resists a single headline.
5. Chart title: Consumer intent versus outcome. Data needed: 75% say D&I influences purchase (intent) alongside the 16% sales uplift (outcome). Source: Kantar and Unstereotype Alliance. Insight: contrast between stated intent and measured effect. Why citation-worthy: teaches readers to separate the two.

Simple inline bar chart, multicultural population share versus ad-spend share (2023):

Bar widths are scaled to each share (population set at 100% of the container; spend at 13.25%, which is 5.3 divided by 40). Source: ANA/AIMM and PQ Media via Ad Age.

Methodology

Source selection prioritized named industry bodies and research vendors with published methods: ANA and its AIMM division for spend and workforce data, Nielsen for audience and representation panels, Kantar for global consumer surveys, Adobe for consumer attitudes, and PQ Media data as reported by Ad Age and Statista for spend forecasts. Inclusion required a named publisher, a year, and a traceable figure. Statistics were excluded when a number could not be tied to a specific report, when only aggregator paraphrase was available with no primary anchor, or when figures conflicted without resolution. Where the same metric appeared with different values across sources, the version closest to the original publisher and most recent year was used, and the discrepancy is noted. Derived insights are simple ratios and gaps built only from figures cited in this document. Vendor and advocacy framing is flagged wherever a figure originates from a sponsored survey or an inclusion-mandate coalition. Self-reported survey limits are noted for all consumer-intent figures. Last updated July 2026.

Source Quality

Tier 1 (primary industry bodies and direct publisher reports): ANA and AIMM diversity and diverse-owned media studies; Nielsen Diverse Intelligence Series; Kantar Brand Inclusion Index; Adobe consumer study. These are the originating publishers of their figures.

Tier 2 (credible market research and trade data): PQ Media spend forecasts and Statista’s compilation of multicultural media spend; the Unstereotype Alliance for the 16% sales-uplift figure, which is an industry coalition rather than a neutral academic source.

Tier 3 (reputable trade journalism reporting the above): Ad Age, Marketing Dive, and Inside Radio, used here because they surface primary figures with attribution.

Most Quotable Statistics

• Multicultural audiences are nearly 40% of the U.S. population but receive about 5.3% of ad and marketing spend (ANA/AIMM and PQ Media via Ad Age, 2023).
• Ethnic representation among U.S. marketers fell to 30.8% in 2023 from 32.3% in 2022, the first drop after three years of gains (ANA, 2024).
• 75% of consumers in 18 countries say diversity and inclusion influence their purchase decisions (Kantar, 2024).
• Black U.S. audiences spend more than 81 hours a week with media, 31.8% above the general population (Nielsen, 2024).
• 34% of consumers say they have boycotted a brand over poor representation, rising above 50% for LGBTQ+, African American, and Gen Z respondents (Adobe, 2019).

Data Limitations

Most consumer figures come from self-reported surveys, which overstate intended behavior relative to actual purchasing. The ANA spend and workforce figures rely on member-company self-reporting and, for diverse-owned media, exclude programmatic, so they likely understate true totals. The 2024 spend surge is inflated by election-year political and sports dollars and may not persist. The 16% sales-uplift figure originates from the Unstereotype Alliance, an inclusion-mandate coalition, so it carries advocacy framing. Nielsen’s Diverse Intelligence Series is a vendor product that partly supports the case for diverse-audience investment. Population comparisons mix data collected on different bases and are illustrative, not exact. Reported AANHPI population and buying-power figures varied across Nielsen releases (roughly 24 to 25 million people and $1.3 trillion to $1.4 trillion in recent reports), so those specific numbers were treated as uncertain and left out of headline claims.

Recommended Dataset Fields

For a downloadable CSV: metric_name, value, unit, year, geography, segment (Hispanic/Black/Asian/LGBTQ+/disability/overall), publisher, source_url, source_tier, data_type (spend/representation/consumer_survey/workforce), self_reported_flag, vendor_or_advocacy_flag, notes.

Press Summary

Diversity in advertising in 2026 shows a persistent split between scale and investment. Multicultural audiences are nearly 40% of the U.S. population, yet multicultural media drew only about 5.3% of total ad spend in 2023, and diverse-owned media just 2.5%, well short of the ANA’s 6.5% benchmark for 2025 (ANA/AIMM and PQ Media via Ad Age). Spend rose to a projected $45.83 billion in 2024, but that jump leaned on election-year political and sports dollars (PQ Media via Statista and Ad Age). Inside the industry, ethnic representation among marketers slipped to 30.8% in 2023 from 32.3% in 2022, the first decline in years (ANA). Consumer data points the other way: 75% of people across 18 countries say diversity and inclusion shape their purchases (Kantar), and Nielsen finds two-thirds of Black U.S. audiences want more representation on TV. The through-line is a gap between stated consumer demand and where money and jobs actually flow. See the linked sources for full methodology, including self-reported and vendor-framing limits.

Suggested Headlines

1. The 40/5 Gap: Multicultural Audiences Are 40% of the U.S. but Get 5% of Ad Spend
2. Marketing’s Diversity Reversal: Representation Among Marketers Fell in 2023
3. Diverse-Owned Media Sits at 2.5% Against a 6.5% Goal for 2025
4. 75% of Consumers Say Inclusion Shapes What They Buy, But the Money Lags
5. Record $45.8B Multicultural Ad Spend, Still a Sliver of the Total

FAQ

What share of U.S. ad spend goes to multicultural media?

About 5.3% of total U.S. ad and marketing spend in 2023, up marginally from 5.2% in 2017 (PQ Media via Ad Age, 2024).

How large is multicultural ad spend in dollars?

U.S. multicultural media ad spending was projected at $45.83 billion for 2024 (PQ Media via Statista and Ad Age, 2024).

How much goes specifically to diverse-owned media?

About $1.9 billion in 2023, roughly 2.5% of total ad spend, excluding programmatic (ANA/AIMM via Ad Age, 2024).

What is the industry benchmark for diverse-owned media?

The ANA targets 6.5% of total ad investment in diverse-owned media by 2025 (ANA/AIMM, 2024).

Is diversity in the marketing workforce increasing?

No. Ethnic representation among U.S. marketers fell to 30.8% in 2023 from 32.3% in 2022 (ANA, 2024).

How does Hispanic/Latino representation in the industry compare to the population?

Hispanic/Latino marketers were 9.5% of the workforce in 2023 against an 18.73% U.S. population share (ANA, 2024).

Do consumers say diversity affects their purchases?

Yes. 75% of consumers across 18 countries said diversity and inclusion influence purchase decisions (Kantar, 2024, self-reported).

Does inclusive advertising drive sales?

Progressive, inclusive advertising was associated with a sales uplift of over 16% versus less progressive content (Unstereotype Alliance via Kantar, 2024).

How do Black audiences view their representation in advertising?

67% wished they saw more representation on TV and 35% felt brands portray Black people the same way (Nielsen, 2024).

How large is multicultural buying power?

By 2040, nearly 50% of the U.S. population will be multicultural, representing more than $5 trillion in buying power (Nielsen/NielsenIQ, 2024).

For research-driven guidance on measuring inclusive-marketing performance, see CO Consulting. If a specific dataset above is relevant to a decision you are weighing, you can book a consultation.

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