Award-winning CEO, Clemence Dujardin, gives the hard truths about why diversity initiatives have so far failed and what the marketing industry can do to turn things around.
Diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) became a hotly debated topic in 2025. Global businesses scaled back their initiatives amid macroeconomic pressures and US political discourse.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the UK gender pay gap decreased in April 2025. For full-time employees, it fell from 7.1% in 2024 to 6.9%. For all employees (full-time and part-time), the gap reduced from 13.1% to 12.8%.
However, the story for the wider marketing and advertising industry does not align with the rest of the UK. Over the past 12 months, the gender pay gap in the marketing industry as a whole widened to 12.4% from 10.1%, according to Major Players Census 2025.
This means women in permanent roles are earning, on average, £8,099 less than their male counterparts.
It is a similar trend with the ethnicity pay gap – the IPA’s 2024 Agency Census showed the pay gap stood at 31% in 2024, up from 21.6% in 2023.
This regressive trend in the industry is reflected across Europe, says Clemence Dujardin, managing director at MyAffiliates. “Across Europe, the gender pay gap has barely moved in years, and when you look past the headlines, the picture is even more worrying.
“Take Malta as an example. On paper, Malta has one of the lowest gender pay gaps in the EU – but this is partly because far fewer women are in full-time, high-earning roles,” she explains.
“When you break it down by sector, especially in industries like gaming, finance, and tech, the gap widens considerably. And women are still heavily underrepresented in senior positions, product roles, data, and tech – exactly the areas that dictate long-term earning potential.”
The hard truths
Dujardin believes the “real inequality is sitting just beneath the surface”, but there are a few hard truths the industry has to acknowledge and address.
Firstly, is the view DE&I has become a “trend instead of a transformation”. “A lot of companies did the minimum: hired someone with a diversity title, did a workshop, posted about empowerment on LinkedIn, and then assumed the job was done,” Dujardin explains. “When cost pressures hit, these initiatives were the first to be cut.”
Secondly, promotion pathways are still dependent on relationships rather than structure. “In our industry especially, who gets visibility, who gets the large accounts, who travels to conferences, and who gets that ‘stretch’ project often comes from informal networks. Those networks remain very male,” says Dujardin.
This aligns with her view that flexibility is still not designed with women in mind. While hybrid work has helped to some degree, it also “made it easier to overlook people who are not constantly in the room or part of the informal conversations”, she adds.
The final hard truth is that ethnic pay gaps are barely measured in Europe and “what isn’t measured, isn’t fixed” and thus it “widens quietly in the background”, Dujardin notes. “Regression happens when companies focus on optics, not structure. And that’s exactly what the last couple of years exposed.
“We’ve spent years celebrating diversity on stages and in marketing campaigns, but the numbers show we have not fixed the fundamentals. The industry cannot call itself innovative while clinging to outdated structures that hold women and minorities back.”
Companies are afraid to be seen as ‘too political’, so they sanitise or scale back their DE&I commitments
‘It’s an ecosystem problem’
So what’s been holding the industry back? Why have gaming affiliates found it challenging to improve the representation of women and those from ethnic minority backgrounds?
For Dujardin, it’s not just about the numbers.“We are fighting a legacy culture,” she says, and the industry’s reputation has not helped.
“Gaming and affiliates often come across as fast-paced, travel-heavy, and very male. Many women simply don’t see themselves reflected, so they don’t enter the pipeline to begin with,” she explains. As a result, “roles remained gendered” with women clustering into support or account management positions and men dominating tech, commercial leadership or simply “anything tied to revenue or product ownership”.
She adds: “Informal power structures run the industry. Deals are often built in private groups, over dinners, and at conference side events. When the room is 90% male, the opportunities follow the same pattern.
“Parenthood is still treated as an interruption – but mostly for women. Travel and conference schedules can be brutal. Without proper flexibility and planning, women are pushed out when they should be stepping forward. This is not a talent problem. It’s an ecosystem problem.”
Dujardin claims the current US political climate, which has turned DE&I into a “battleground”, is having a significant impact on global companies and affiliate networks. “This mood filters down into global companies, in three ways: caution replaces ambition; messaging becomes vague; and leadership becomes reactive.
“Companies are afraid to be seen as ‘too political’, so they sanitise or scale back their DE&I commitments,” she adds. As a result, instead of strong, clear policies, there is “softer, safer language that pleases no-one and changes nothing”.
“People worry more about backlash than impact, which leads to watered-down strategies and very little accountability. The result? DE&I efforts stall at exactly the time when the data shows we need to push harder.”
No more ‘boys club’
Dujardin has numerous accolades for the work she has done in this space. She was named European CEO of the Year – Most Innovative iGaming CEO by EU Business News in 2025, and ranked sixth among the top 25 women shaping the future of igaming by IGaming XP.
Not only has she mentored women and helped them move into higher-impact roles, Dujardin has consistently spoken out about pay equity, structural barriers and the cultural problems the industry faces, and not in a “feel good way, but directly”, she tells Affiliate Leaders.
“I’ve challenged event organisers and partners when representation becomes a box-ticking exercise. And I’m still pushing, because until the industry can attract, retain, and promote women at the same rate as men, this work is not finished.”
Therefore DE&I can no longer be seen as a PR exercise. It’s “part of how I run a team and build a company”, she says, adding the awards she has received are a reflection of this. At MyAffiliates, Dujardin has implemented structured salary reviews with clear role benchmarks so compensation isn’t based on who negotiates the best; and a no-nonsense culture with zero tolerance for intimidation or “ego-driven behaviour”.
And most importantly, she’s ensured “women hold real strategic responsibility – not just soft roles”. C-suite executives have an important role to play in changing the culture, because “culture flows downward”, she emphasises.
“Executives have to set the tone that pay equity, representation, and safety are part of business health – not optional extras. They must sponsor and promote talent intentionally, especially those who have historically been overlooked.
“They need to question decisions that rely on ‘fit’ or ‘intuition’, which often mask bias. And they need to make the tough calls – including walking away from revenue when a partner’s culture conflicts with their values. If leadership isn’t serious, nothing else matters.”
Dujardin suggests in order to tackle the diversity problem in the affiliate gaming industry and make it a more attractive area for women to work in, businesses should “treat DE&I like compliance or security – non-negotiable and measurable”.
“[We need to] clean up the culture so that women and minorities feel safe, respected, and heard. Offer structured career development – especially in product, data, and strategy roles. [We should] stop relying on the ‘boys’ club’ style of networking and deal-making and give visibility to the women already in the industry – show that the path exists,” she lists.
This should be done in conjunction with building salary bands, transparent progression frameworks and above all, protecting people from harassment, intimidation and discrimination.
“If we can optimise every click, every conversion, and every behavioural pattern, we can also optimise fairness. We know how to build systems. We just need the will to build better ones, for everyone,” Dujardin concludes.
This article was first published in issue 4 of Affiliate Leaders, SBC Media’s print magazine for senior marketers and affiliates. SBC will be launching an new site dedicated to covering the latest news, trends and insights for affiliates soon.
