People of Colour in Advertising and Marketing has just launched a new survey it hopes will provide a more detailed picture of what it means to be a person of colour working in advertising in Canada.

Called “Visible & Vocal,” the survey is live now at the POCAM website.

“Currently there is a gap in our industry when it comes to data and research on BIPOC professionals,” said Julian Franklin, president of Franklin Management Group and a member of the POCAM steering committee. The survey is an attempt to close that gap.

“For me ‘Visible & Vocal’ answers a need for BIPOC professionals to own their own data, control their own narrative and occupy the space that is rightfully theirs,” added Gavin Barrett, co-founder and chief creative officer at Barrett and Welsh, who is also a member of the POCAM steering committee.

While other industry studies focus on employers rather than individuals, “Visible & Vocal” is intended to capture the voice of individuals. “[T]his survey will surface data that reflects and respects the individual experiences of BIPOC professionals,” said Barrett.

The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete, with questions about the respondents’ demographic background and attitudes towards specific subjects.

“The data will be used to describe the demographic/attitudinal makeup of the Canadian BIPOC community, and will support our efforts to combat discrimination, racism and inequality,” explains the survey preamble.

POCAM launched earlier this year, created by Taxi’s Stephanie Small as a Linkedin group called People of Colour in Advertising.

With the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, and new conversations about systemic racism in society and the industry, POCAM became more proactive and a leading voice for real change across the industry, including creating the “Call for Equity” pledge in mid June.

“[This study] is an important next step in the evolution of POCAM,” said Franklin.