The former media executive is on mission to secure fair and accurate LGBTQ representation in media and advertising.
Every June, millions of people across the world collectively show their beaming support of the LGBTQ community during Pride Month. But for many allies and organizations, LGBTQ advocacy isn’t confined to the kickoff of summer. In fact, for over three decades, GLAAD, the world-leader in advocating for the acceptance of the LGBTQ community, has worked hard to hold the news, film, and television industries accountable for fair and accurate representation of the community. This year, to move the needle even further, they launched The Visibility Project in partnership with our friends at Procter & Gamble, turning their attention to how inclusive the media and advertising worlds are with LGBTQ representation.
Coming off the heels of Pride Month, we chatted with the CEO and President of GLAAD, Sarah Kate Ellis, to learn more about her vision for creating meaningful cultural change and how we can all take actions to support the LGBTQ community throughout the year.
KCM: Prior to becoming the CEO and President of GLAAD, you had a successful career working in the media industry for publications such as Vogue, Real Simple, and New York magazines. Why is this initiative for studying and promoting LGBTQ inclusion in media and advertising important to you?
Sarah Kate Ellis: When I joined GLAAD, I knew the power media has in shaping perceptions and opinions of LGBTQ people. In 2011, years before marriage equality was the law of the land, my wife and I penned a book, “Times Two,” which documented our simultaneous pregnancies. We turned to GLAAD for help to leverage our story and book to help other lesbian moms like me. Having worked in media for years, I didn’t see myself or my family represented in media, so, years later, I joined GLAAD to be a resource and thought partner for media brands to better tell stories about families like mine and to reach LGBTQ youth with the images and stories that I didn’t see.
What was your inspiration for launching The Visibility Project with P&G?
“You can’t move what you don’t measure” has been a mantra, so I joined with P&G to begin overdue research studies into how media, ads, and brand communications were having an impact. When we presented the LGBTQ Inclusion in Advertising and Media study with P&G and the Ariadne Getty Foundation during a LGBTQ event held during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, several LGBTQ people in the standing-room-only event became emotional — some even cried. It was a reminder that representation and visibility matter. The study found that 75 percent of non-LGBTQ people were comfortable seeing our community in media and ads, and of the people who saw us, they were also more accepting of LGBTQ people and issues. Media shapes the decisions made in courtrooms, playgrounds, offices, and living rooms around the country.
What insights have surprised you the most from your findings through The Visibility Project?
Years ago, there was hesitation for brands to include LGBTQ people out of fear of an anti-LGBTQ backlash, but today LGBTQ consumers and our allies expect to see our families represented, and they want brands to be leaders on social issues, including LGBTQ inclusion. Our community is diverse and intersectional and The Visibility Project aims to create resources and bring business and LGBTQ leaders together to create best practices for how to authentically include LGBTQ people and issues in ads and public brand communications.
You’ve said that LGBTQ inclusion in advertising is vital and necessary in order to reflect the world we live in. What do you think the barrier has been for LGBTQ inclusion and representation in advertising?
LGBTQ allies, whether individuals or brands, play huge roles in moving LGBTQ acceptance forward. For individuals who are allies, following @GLAAD across social media is a great way to engage with our community. Also, share stories that appear on GLAAD social channels and information on the Summer of Equality, our campaign to grow support for the Equality Act (which would write protections against anti-LGBTQ discrimination into federal law.)
The annual Edelman Trust Barometer, a global survey of where the public is when it comes to societal institutions, found that the general public trusts brands more than government and other institutions. The Visibility Project will work with brands and ad/communications agencies to engage on LGBTQ issues and with our community in an evergreen way, and how to best leverage brand reach, not only for a company’s bottom line, but to grow understanding and acceptance of LGBTQ people and issues.
What’s your vision for how brands and advertisers can continue the momentum and support of the LGBTQ community beyond Pride month?
We always tell brands, “do not market for a moment, join our movement.” Consider how your brand or organization can help move legislation like the Equality Act forward, or how you can use your reach to educate your followers or consumers about LGBTQ issues like transgender youth, LGBTQ inclusion in sports, or HIV prevention and treatment. Other ways brands can support the movement include:
- Hosting a meeting during Pride month about a LGBTQ campaign or project that you can launch outside of Pride month, when LGBTQ visibility isn’t high.
- Bring LGBTQ experts behind-the-scenes to plan your campaign.
- Include LGBTQ talent in front of and behind the camera (and budget to compensate these leaders for their work.)
- Make sure a brand’s house is in order in terms of HR policies and potential donations to anti-LGBTQ politicians.
- Consider how a campaign can give back to LGBTQ advocacy and direct service organizations and how you can use a campaign to support LGBTQ media outlets, a lifeline for our community.
How can we, as consumers, hold the brands we love accountable for being more inclusive?
It’s so important to engage with brands that do authentically include LGBTQ people and other diverse communities in public communications like ads and social media posts. Share those posts and comment on them, because that becomes an incentive to do more. Seek out employee resource groups that join LGBTQ people and allies from across a company and see how you can help grow that group’s programming. Also, consider learning and educating yourself about the community using resources like the GLAAD Media Reference Guide or following LGBTQ news sites like The Advocate, NewNowNext, and LGBTQ Nation on social media so you can better speak to the unique identities and issues in our community when you’re in business meetings or at social gatherings.
