Amel Rebbouh, New Business Director, UM MENATUM MENAT’s Amel Rebbouh speaks to Campaign Middle East on how diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) should be integrated into business processes and how breaking DEI fatigue can be achieved.
What mechanisms or metrics should organisations use to measure the effectiveness of DEI efforts beyond recruitment statistics?
Effective DE&I measurement requires comprehensive tracking: retention rates – especially for women –promotion pipelines, succession planning, pay equity, and leadership representation. Employee engagement surveys and mentorship programmes can help provide critical insights on inclusion effectiveness.
Establishing clear KPIs benchmarked against industry standards creates accountability frameworks and guides strategic resource allocation. Data disaggregation by gender and region can further offer deeper insights, particularly in MENA where cultural nuances impact progress.
Integrating quantitative metrics with qualitative feedback helps deliver a holistic view of DE&I impact, ensuring initiatives drive genuine empowerment and measurable business outcomes rather than surface-level compliance.
What do you believe are the biggest hurdles to DEI within the advertising sector regionally, and how can these be addressed?
Cultural norms, unconscious bias, and limited mentorship opportunities represent significant regional challenges. Societal expectations and constrained female leadership pipelines further compound these barriers in our market.
Addressing these requires strategic intervention: implementing targeted programmes, developing inclusive policies, and securing leadership commitment to drive cultural transformation. Creating safe spaces for dialogue, establishing structured mentorship frameworks, and amplifying female role models can effectively challenge the status quo.
Industry-wide awareness campaigns and cross-regional collaborations accelerate meaningful change, demonstrating that diversity benefits business creativity and growth. Integrating local leadership into DE&I initiatives ensures strategies align with market-specific cultural nuances whilst anchoring sustainable transformation.
Do you believe DEI fatigue is setting in within the industry? What will it take for us to reach a world where DEI no longer needs fixing, but is just a normal expectation such as merit, hard work and resilience?
YES! We observe the same initiatives repeatedly deployed without tangible results, creating awareness theatre that signals organisational care for DE&I rather than driving meaningful transformation or desired impact.
Normalisation requires embedding DE&I into core business practices as daily operations, not isolated annual campaigns around International Women’s Day. Winning hearts and minds demands demonstrable impact, authentic leadership commitment, and strategic education.
Education, storytelling and visible success stories help shift perceptions, inviting broader team participation. As DE&I becomes ingrained in company culture, efforts transition from “fixing problems” to expressing lived values. Sustained, authentic integration eventually transforms DE&I into seamless, unanimous business practice.
Is DEI driving meaningful change, or has it become a superficial trend adopted to align with external expectations?
While superficial efforts exist, progressive industry leaders demonstrate genuine commitment to transformation. Forward-thinking organisations integrate DE&I into strategic priorities, talent development, and creative processes rather than treating it as performative compliance.
At UM and MCN, longstanding mentorship programmes and regional initiatives exemplify authentic change, particularly empowering women in MENA leadership – where our female leadership percentage and diverse nationality representation is competitive in comparison to industry standard. This success stems from leadership accountability, transparent metrics, and amplifying exceptional talent.
The true measure lies in tangible outcomes: increased women in senior positions and equitable compensation structures. Sustained engagement and authentic storytelling ensure DE&I remains a driver of real progress and growth.
How do clients and brands respond to the DEI efforts within advertising agencies? Can we honestly say that this has a strong impact on pitch wins and lasting business relationships?
Clients increasingly integrate DE&I into partnership decisions, aligning with their brand values. Agencies demonstrating authentic DE&I initiatives distinguish themselves in pitches, showcasing cultural relevance and social responsibility. In MENA, clients show growing interest in representation and inclusive storytelling, enhancing brand resonance.
While DE&I alone doesn’t guarantee pitch wins, it strengthens trust and long-term relationships. Ethical positioning around diversity resonates with audiences, driving sustained brand loyalty.
As DE&I becomes a strategic differentiator, its business impact continues expanding. Some clients now include specific DE&I questionnaires in pitch assessments – testament to its growing influence in partnership decisions.
What’s your top learning or observation from the past 12 months that inspired you and fuelled your success?
Empowering teams through deep listening and resisting immediate solution-giving creates ownership and innovation cultures. When leaders provide space for independent exploration, they unlock hidden talents and diverse perspectives that might otherwise remain untapped.
This approach builds confidence and critical thinking, often yielding unexpected creative outcomes – essential in media and advertising’s dynamic landscape. Guiding rather than directing cultivates resilience and adaptability, transforming challenges into growth opportunities.
The result? More engaged, capable teams ready to push boundaries and drive exceptional results. Though admittedly, this approach requires flexibility when facing super-tight deadlines!
Would you be open to sharing one mistake / failure from your personal life or career that could be a key lesson for others following in similar footsteps?
Early in my career, while building a team for a newly won account, I hired someone with impressive technical skills but failed to assess their collaborative working style during interviews.
Despite their talent, we struggled integrating their different working methods with established team dynamics, creating overall tension, low morale, and affecting productivity.
The key lesson: diverse teams from different backgrounds drive creativity and innovation, but successful integration requires inclusive leadership that values varied perspectives while ensuring clear communication. I should have invested time understanding their collaboration style and adapted our onboarding to bridge different approaches effectively.
By Amel Rebbouh, New Business Director, UM MENAT
