Gender diversity on industry agenda as Comms Council launches Gender Diversity Committee
The Communications Council today announces the formation of a Gender Diversity Group, a committee focused on addressing the gender imbalance in management in the marketing communications industry.
Chaired by Alex Allwood (near left) from The Holla Agency, the group consists of senior leaders from a cross section of major and boutique agencies. It aims to raise awareness with the industry’s decision makers of the value of nurturing and retaining a gender balanced workforce. The group will also be proposing practical tools to assist agencies’ management in securing a gender balanced workforce.
Communications Council figures, drawn from its annual salary survey , show that female presence is dramatically low in management. Marketing communications agency management shows just 26% of roles filled by females. No female Chairpersons, CEO’s/Managing Directors or Creative Directors are currently running multi-office agencies.
The group’s spokesperson and CEO of LOUD Lorraine Jokovic (above left) says: “As an industry we’ve been aware of a lack of female presence in top positions for a long time. However the business case for the advancement of women in the marketing communications industry is increasingly becoming clear. Our group operates from the belief that gender diversity in business translates into tangible economic benefits. In addition, we take the view that that more broadly, diversity leads to a greater range of perspectives, consideration of new ideas and thinking and is therefore essential for businesses in the commercial creative sector to thrive.”
Says Communications Council CEO Margaret Zabel (left): “Our experience at the Communications Council is that there is widespread interest and energy from both women and men, to galvanise around the cause of gender diversity. Certainly from our Board’s perspective this initiative is necessary and timely, with a real desire to support and enable practical initiatives that will enhance agency culture in our industry. We hope to see buy-in from all senior stakeholders, as research has repeatedly shown that support from senior management is the key for gender diversity programs to be successful.”
Says Communications Council Chairman Anthony Freedman: “Women in leadership is simply good business. Attracting and retaining female talent will help us be more creative and competitive and ultimately deliver better work to our clients. However, change will only be achieved if the importance of diversity is broadly understood and supported. With this initiative we hope better understand how we can assist industry leaders drive change.”
Supported by research partner D&M research, the group will be gathering insight on the barriers to participation for women in the industry. An industry wide survey aimed at uncovering key issues that lead to the lack of senior women is currently underway. The group will also look at what recruitment programs and work practices have proven to encourage gender diversity within organisations, with a view to proposing a best practice approach in this area.
23 Comments
More than half our company are women, and the last 4 places I’ve worked it’s been well above 40%. All good agencies in Sydney.
Maybe it would be better if we just got rid of all men, no? Is that what you mean by this?
Gender diversity committee, chaired by a woman?
That’s not very diverse now is it?
Perhaps co-chairs next year.
Look at the ratios in PR companies.
Gender Diversity?
Gay.
I prefer the porno by Saatchis.
was about to launch into a rant but suddenly feeling listless … serious case of gender equality fatigue.
maybe it’s all about having “balls” whether you’re a man or a woman.
The thing that gets me, as a shitty gen-y geeky bloke who’s never encountered gender issues (sounds a bit transexual to me) is where does ‘talent’ come in to this whole debate?
Fuck if you’re a woman a man or Bobbi Gassi, and screw if you’re a Haiwaiian, Innuit or Begarbedonk, really it just comes down to the right person for the right job.
Look at our prime minister. Cool, she’s a chick. But shit, she’s a f*ing crap prime minister.
@ 8:24
You have the luxury of taking that position, given your gender and social standing.
You’ve “never encountered gender issues” because you are the dominant/majority gender.
Talent is only part of the equation.
I’m a sadistic necrophiliac into beastiality, but advertising makes me feel like I’m flogging a dead horse.
Gender balance. In advertising, in terms of numbers in key departments is simple, boys in creative, girls in suitland. Generalisation, but relatively accurate. The reason you get far less women in senior positions, however, has nothing to do with departmental splits. It’s because most of them bugger off to do something waaaaaay more important than press ads – and that’s to have our kids. The great injustice is that their (I suppose) sacrifice isn’t properly acknowledged, financially. And the lack of a 50/50 split at the top level will always exist until men can have kids.
I think it’s got a lot more to do with the hours and nature of our work, there is no job sharing in adland. Suits are burnt out by 30. The women I know, had their kids then have gone client side…. Senior positions that allow them to have a life too.
I’ve had the pleasure of working with Margaret Zabel and hands down, I’ve never been a smarter or more intuitive Marketer in all my years of working in this industry. And she always did what she had to do to get what she thought was the best work over the line. She knew great work and more importantly how to get it out of the creative teams. It had nothing to do with gender and everything to do with Margaret being Margaret.
Emma Hill and Sassy Havyatt were the best Creatives this country has produced and going back a wee bit before then Linda Thompson and Sarah Barclay. I worked with both sass an Emma and both those ladies worked like the most hardcore of creatives. They made you jealous of their work. Sassy’s very first ad that she had written won a Gold Lion at Cannes, she was 21. After many more awards she judged D&AD at the age of 23. I don’t personally know any guy from this country that has ever done that. In my opinion, it’s got nothing to do with gender and everything to do with desire, hard work, and yes, a bit of talent.
The answer may lay in this Post;
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/2012/04/06/sheryl-sandberg_n_1409061.html?ref=technology
*I’ve never ‘seen’.
Damn fat thumbs/auto correct/mobile device/rather large Thursday and Friday night.
And apologies for any other mistakes my dear bloggers.
How do you job-share an idea?
This is a great initiative.
There is a culture in advertising in Australia, where it is not the done thing to complain about the limits placed on women in this industry. It makes men feel uncomfortable, so women have learned to shut up about it. But there is a problem and it is beyond the obvious answer of agencies not offering flexible hours for working mums.
It comes down to culture and attitude. And a variety of subtle messages that ar given out to you as a woman from your very first day in advertising.
I must come from a different generation, but I’ve had no problem working at a senior level with women, or blokes for that matter. I do have a problem working with fuckwits, but I suspect most people, fuckwits included, share the same problem.
The comments about job-share and pregnancy are really old school and frankly insulting. I heard one boss say that’s the reason he didn’t hire ‘chicks’, and it’s a worry.
There are many women in this business who juggle family life really well with their professional lives, and for that matter, many men who do the same.
They’re normally in at 7am and leave early but work tirelessly at home while doing exceptionally well at work.
And although I have to put up with their Dad jokes (or Mum jokes), I think the industry would be a much sadder place without them. The best thinkers are, after all, kids that never grew up.
Dear 7:48pm,
Quote: Comments about ‘pregnancy and job-share are old school’. I beg to differ.
We should do everything we can to assist women in the workforce – in flexible work hours and in providing more opportunities. That’s not in question, certainly not from me. So, that we agree on. However, flexibility and job-sharing is often much easier for large organisations like BBDO, Y&R, a CommBank, The Public Service etc. than it is for smaller agencies who trade on the added benefits of the one-on-one, personal agency/client relationship. Job-sharing and flexible hours require the client to adapt to the agency’s model. Sometimes this can put the relationship at risk. Ironically, that can put the jobs of the full-time women staff members at risk. I’ve seen it happen. So, I agree with 99% of what you say 7:48, but, as always, these issues are not always black and white and sometimes the very policies a company introduces to help a specific group are the same policies that act against them. If we are to ‘move forward’ these are matters that need resolving.
Can’t we just have an old-fashioned monosyllabic slanging match on this topic as is usual on the Blog? All this worthy discussion is doing my head in.
You can count the number of Female CD’s in NSW [and probably Australia on 1] hand.
The gender imbalance is rife in our creative departments.
Esp at the senior level. You have to ask yourself why that is?
Or are you threatened to find out?
This is not so in the rest of the agency job disciplines -suits, planners, accounts dept.
The gender imbalance needs to be addressed in our creative departments.
Fair crack of the cat-o-nine tails.
re your comment-
“More than half our company are women, and the last 4 places I’ve worked it’s been well above 40%. All good agencies in Sydney.”
This a simply bollocks- 40% of creative departments in Australia women….??
That is laughable….you’re dreaming.
Yes, you get a good number of junior “Girl teams” in agencies- to decorate the offices and provide eye candy for senior management and clients.
In my experience if you want to get a job done in an agency,
ask a full time working Mother.
She won’t stuff around playing foosball or computer games, chatting up secretaries, or on facebook .
She has no option but to get the job done, quickly and efficiently…
so she can get out the door to pick up her kids from aftercare.
And if necessary keeping working after they go to bed
So it’s agreed. The creative department shouldn’t be the only day-care facility at agencies.