Building a workplace with a more equitable foundation.

Before employee resource groups became a workplace standard, we formed a group at Barbarian to combat the sexism that’s pervasive within the advertising industry. We pitched a plan to leadership to form Foundation – an ERG dedicated to building a more inclusive workplace regardless of gender.

Foundation was built to extend beyond Barbarian’s walls. We wanted our employees to feel empowered and supported, but also able to spread the culture we fostered through the industry. We hosted workshops, trainings, and webinars around topics such as micro-aggressions in the workplace, collaborated with HR to update and better our parental leave policy, partnered with external organizations such as the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, She Runs It, and NYU to develop mentorship opportunities, hosted drives for groups such as The Floating Hospital to help working parents across NYC, and brought Barbarian to an equal gender ratio through continued hiring efforts.

Following a comprehensive assessment of our culture, work, and policies, Barbarian became the eighth agency to be 3% Certified in 2020. We are proud to keep company with the agencies most dedicated to making our industry more inclusive and equitable.

Founding members: Caitlin Conley, Soyoung Kwon, Sarah Ratner, Jessica Bayer, Anne Grantski