A challenge to male creative directors
An anonymous female creative reveals what it’s really like to be a woman working in the Australian advertising industry. It’s not pretty.
Hey guys. Look around your creative department. Who’s working on your best briefs? Who do you get along with easily? Who do you bring into the fold?
In 2017, less than a fifth of the creative industry’s top award winners were women, according to The Drum Big Won rankings.
I doubt much has changed in 2018, despite the best efforts of award shows to bring women into judging circles.
It’s wrong people are excluded due to gender and sexuality.
However, I just wish creatives – make and female – would stop thinking ‘awards’ are the benchmark and of creativity.
They’re not the be all and end all of creativity but they how hires and promotions are made and why pay rises are given.
When you move out of a big agency on your low salary and go somewhere that pays you a reasonable amount of money and doesn’t subscribe to award nonsense, you’ll realise that what you think is not the case.
Not everywhere
You read this entire opinion piece and the very first words you uttered are “it’s wrong”. Just like that. With all the confidence in the world you tell the writer her experience doesn’t exist. You have crushingly proved her case beyond a doubt. You are the people that refuse to see what is in front of your face because it’s not your experience. You are the problem.
When I wrote ‘it’s wrong’ I was supporting the author – that is, ‘yes, i agree with you, it is wrong that people are excluded for reasons of gender’.
Apologies if you’ve interpreted my comment otherwise.
Why are you apologizing? I understood you were supporting the author.
BonBon you are an exceptional special case. How’s the backflip between your 2 comments. Painful.
Holy shit there’s a fair bit of hate in that little tirade. Poor Sad was empathising with the author’s plight. Can I make a little suggestion? Think before writing.
I am reminded by this article of something reported in the Harvard Business Review, that men with daughters tend to be better supporters of corporate social responsibility <https://hbr.org/2015/11/ceos-with-daughters-run-more-socially-responsible-firms.
One of the (two male) researchers thought a possible reason for this phenomenon might be that "Those with girls may…. have seen their daughters discriminated against in the labor market, which could have an impact on their attitudes about equality." Let's hope this whole generation of women in the advertising industry don't have to wait for their male peers to have adult daughters before their talents are noticed.
In every agency I’ve ever worked in, Creative Directors have played favourites with their teams. Whether they’re male and female. Male and male. Or female and female.
While we were all asked to have a crack at the brief, amazingly it was the same team or teams that got their ideas presented to client and ultimately, got their ideas made.
Sure it might have been favouritism, but it wasn’t gender based.
More likely, the CD liked them better. Saw more potential in them. Or they did a better job of stroking his or her ego.
I’ll also happily concede that maybe, just maybe, their ideas were better than mine.
Have you considered that?
Silly women, not considering the reason men win 80% more awards than them is because their ideas are simply better! Men are naturally more gifted and discrimination is a figment of the female imagination. Duh.
More likely, the CD liked them better (it was just by chance that they were all men), saw more potential in them (purely coincidental that they were all men). Or they did a better job of stroking his ego (Mate! Mate!!).
But it wasn’t gender based.
“Guys, I want to tell you what it feels like to be excluded, because it probably hasn’t happened to you.”
Because every guy just fits in and is cool and definitely can’t empathise with the idea of feeling excluded
Yawn. “I am a man and I am not like this therefore this is invalid to me but worse than that you have hurt my feelings you are nasty for writing this about your experience because it offends me even though it’s not about me at all.” Jesus, go and educate yourself on #notallmen
Wasn’t said she can’t express herself – just thought I’d point out a whole in the argument that excludes. Sorry you were so offended by my words.
“Guys, I want to tell you what it feels like to be excluded, because it probably hasn’t happened to you.”
Because no guy has ever felt excluded in anyway and there for can’t identify with this feeling.
Seriously, you haven’t and can’t explain yourself firstly, secondly how can you assume none of us “males” have never felt that way.
Asian Australian born.. you don’t think I might have felt any similar feelings in all of my creative
Years…. your right, I embrace it and reflect on letting my work speak volumes!
Unconscious bias training should be mandatory for everyone running a creative department. It’s the continued small behaviours, rather than blatant sexism that wear women down: Regularly being left out of meetings, having to fight for credit on a job they worked on, asked to do the difficult jobs (that the guy team never has to), fixing someone else’s mess, given side-eye when they need to leave early (esp if child-related), watching “good briefs” always go to the mates of the ECD. This article could have been written by a woman in almost every agency. Perhaps instead of criticising, let us have a look at ourselves and see what we can do better.
This is more mature a response to the comments here than I have been able to muster. I can’t quite get my head around the fact that someone is describing what happens to them and the general response is “you’re wrong. This is not happening to you. The thing you are experiencing is not real. I know because it hasn’t happened to me.” It’s very frustrating. But thanks for rising above and responding with a level head. This absolutely could be written any woman in advertising. The fact that it is someone in an agency right now should be alarming to all.
You’ve nailed it
This is happening in my agency to me and other senior women everyday. It’s not blatant, it’s not bra strap pinging Madmen behaviour, it’s just the invisible bias, the damning sense that we will never have a seat at that table, not because we are dumb, stupid or lazy, we just don’t play to the expected adland tropes.
Our new CEO is a wonderful person. Yes, male, white and 40ish but kind, humble, smart and he would definitely call himself progressive, probably a feminist too. He has just hired his 4th board member to sit along the 3 white male middle aged men. You guessed it – another bloke! And i can tell he hasn’t even realised, what he has done.
Mumbrella – a challenge for you. Create a forum for positive, tangible ideas for change around this subject.
If you have a look at the turnover of ECDs in Australia you’ll see it’s bloody high. It’s a brutal job with huge pressure to perform. If you don’t deliver in keeping your clients happy, turning a profit AND winning awards, you know you’ll be gone. That’s the irrefutable truth (unless you own the company). So you’d have to be the most moronic ECD to give the best briefs to the guys who you like drinking beer with when there are more talented female creatives sitting there champing at the bit. ECDs give the best briefs to their best creatives because their jobs depend on it. If you’re not getting those briefs, it’s not because you’re a woman or a dude who doesn’t drink beer. It’s because your ECD doesn’t have faith that you’ll deliver.
Wow you have it all worked out, right bro? Snap, Opposite Day! This comment is so far wrong I don’t even know where to begin. Oh wait I do: you have no idea what you’re talking about. This comment lives in dream land. Back in reality world, bullying and favouritism by ECD’s is commonplace. How hard is it to listen to the author and think about it a bit and maybe not instantly comment telling her she’s wrong?
Thanks sis. I never said she wasn’t experiencing this. I said it takes a moronic ECD to exclude a talented woman eager for briefs and instead produce shit work that your mates did. In reality world you lose your job for it. In reality world the most important briefs go to the teams who deliver the best work for the client. No doubt your favourite creatives, not necessarily your favourite beer buddies. In reality world, the author’s ECD clearly doesn’t believe she can deliver. Or is a moron. Ps. There’s no apostrophe in ECDs in the way you used it. #yourewelcome
But you have to get the chance to prove yourself on the good briefs too. Getting a reputation as a fixer of creative concepts, working on the tricky ones, getting compartmentalised happens. I worked at an agency o/s that wouldn’t give the automotive briefs to the all female creative team (they got the personal care and retail ones) because they ‘wouldn’t get it’. One day, they finally got an automotive brief – and they smashed it. And after that, they were the go to team in the agency because they proved they were the best at it. But there were a lot of male teams that had a crack at it before them.
The grammatically correct usage of Ps is P.S.
#yourewelcome
Now, whilst you are being schooled never end a sentence in a preposition. That would be the word “it” in case you are as challenged as you appear to be with your pathetic attempt at a cruel smackdown, little man.
I founded my successful advertising agency in the 80’s specializing in the automotive, medical, insurance, craft brewery, financial and traditionally male dominated industry sectors. What accounted for my success? Perhaps because I am a highly competitive, talented and fearless woman.
Through building a brilliant creative team of moms, dads, beer lovers and former clients we were strong team of individuals pulling together for our clients. We were a fierce clan that loved to win.
And there is no better place for a competitor than in the wake of your Porsche.
To all of the women in the Australian advertising community, I say that it is time to get out there and start making some changes. You know what I am talking about and enough is enough. This shite has been going on for centuries and is not about to change in your lifetime, nor in that of your daughter(s).
I went Indie in the 80’s, and you can do it now.
#lovemyacht
Nice smack down. Followed by your z in specialised. Very convincing. And congratulations on your Porsche. It sounds like the perfect car for you.
Never using a preposition to end a sentence is a grammar myth. I’ll leave it to someone with more knowledge about it than me to explain it.
“This “pseudo-rule” is entirely based on a 17th century quibble between the English poet John Dryden and rival poet Ben Jonson, in which Dryden mistakenly transferred a Latin rule to English. In Latin, the equivalent to a preposition is attached to the noun and cannot be separated from it. There is nothing, repeat nothing, wrong with Who are you looking at? or The better to see you with or We are such stuff as dreams are made on or It’s you she’s thinking of.”
Steven Pinker
Harvard professor and author
Old people love grammatical rules. Never start a sentence with ‘it’ or ‘and’. No split infinitives. Bla bla. I’d guess that all of Marilyn’s writing would sound the same, irrespective of the client. It would all be grammatically perfect but Incredibly dull. But Marilyn has a yacht and a Porsche while I’m on a bus. So clearly being an old pedant is the smarter option.
Marilyn, your whole comment is an exercise in uneducated smugness.
“This shite has been going on for centuries and is not about to change in your lifetime, nor in that of your daughter”
Says who?
I feel that you just wanted to tell people that you own a yacht and a porsche. Classic Sydney flog….Nobody cares about your 80’s glory mate.
Yep, it’s just like Tony Abbott said about appointing his Cabinet – you have to go with the merit. It can be very disappointing, but sometimes it just means that you end up with a team of 18 men and 1 woman. (What with talents like Joe Hockey, Barnaby Joyce, etc. etc… )
Touche
So assuming that you’re not a ‘moronic’ ECD, you’re giving the job to the ‘best’. So men are more creative? Better at agency jobs? Better managers? Either this is an incredibly misogynistic comment sent straight from John Howard’s dream 1950s or you need to be acknowledging that there’s a systemic bias which I hope to god you intend to make yourself part of the solution for.
Which young woman have you mentored today?
In 20 years of advertising I’ve never seen creatives of any gender who deserved to work on good briefs denied them. There’s also nothing stopping creatives of any gender working on “proactive” work that gets made and wins at Cannes. The blame game of him vs. her has to stop. Just do better work.
“20 years of never having to face discrimination means I have no idea what you’re talking about so you’re wrong.” Lol.
I totally agree.
the gender issue in creative departments happens at entry level, not when teams are established. to fix female representation at senior levels of creative departments, we need to bring in substantially more female creatives
Try being a self employed female post production creative who has won awards and still gets overlooked, what, because she’s not part of the cool club. It’s cripplingly disappointing and the male creative bias is so embarrassingly obvious I can taste it.
Sorry this is happening to you too. So many of us go through it but you just have to read the comments to see the oblivion that many still choose to live in because they don’t feel it themselves. I wish I could offer up something more helpful than solidarity.
Thank you x
Two dimensions to this. First, the agency model is a relic of the mid 20th century, and bit by bit, it is being erased by smaller sometimes individual sources of creative. There are a few years still to go, but it’s well underway. The dinosaur agencies from pre WW2 won’t exist by 2025. Now is the time for creative women to put out their shingle and deal directly with clients.
The second dimension is – and I’ve experienced this too many times for it to be wrong – woman’s socialisation means they don’t always prosecute their case for creativity as well as they might. I’ve seen some go full-Bolshie and aggressive, copying the worst males; I’ve seen others too pleasing and nice, opening up the way to get trampled. This dimension needs work and mentoring. I’ve also seen some absolutely brilliantly prosecuting their creative case and succeeding. The best solution is to fast track the inevitable oblivion of these old school agencies and their old school ways.
Have any female creatives had good experiences with male creative directors?
Yes, definitely! But also bad ones. In my experience discrimination only started post having children. This is where women tend to drop out of the industry.
Still there are some male champions of change out there doing great work. But many CDs don’t give a rats’.
Over the last 18 months every agency in Australia has been reaching both inside and out for female creative talent to appoint for fear of being labeled chauvanistic and sexist. Yet your CD dismisses you, excludes you and keeps giving the good briefs to his little band of brothers. The posts above show you’ll be supported. We all understand you want to be anonymous. But by you outing this guy, will not only help you, but make sure no woman will ever be treated like you have been by him, again.
Is Barry Hall a creative director?
How many ECDs or CEOs read this article, confident in the assumption that this was not their agency? I’ve got news for you, it’s more than likely a woman in your agency *could have* written this. And how many ECDs took aside their female creatives since this was published to ask them if they feel as though any of the issues raised apply to their department? Please do not assume because you or your agency has hired some creative women that your job is done.
Award winning female here. Oh dear, if this comment section is anything to go by, we still have a long way to go.
There is some good news on the horizon. I’m a headhunter in Melbourne and operate in the creative space. Virtually every brief I get from an ECD these days asks me to try and find women if possible. And I get the sense that the reasons behind this are the right ones.
There is undoubtedly a strong push for gender equality, in terms of numbers and the knock on effects will surely help. So whilst gender bias no doubt exists is some departments, lets hope they are the last bastions of misogyny.
They want to hire women, so they can have female faces in their PR shots. Doesn’t mean they will treat them equally once in the department.
Clearly gender bias does exist, because you just said almost every brief you get is to try and find a woman to recruit.
Hi Nick A3. Maybe make your contact deets available so we can contact you. In Sydney the same old ‘boys club’ gets first dibs on all the post production gigs. Maybe Melbourne is a bit more progressive on creative gender bias (ie. misogyny). Might as well be honest here, as the level of denial is plainly obvious in the comments.
I call bullshit on this clickbait of ‘journalism’
Oh you must work in the strand of advertising, marketing and journalism which does not want anyone reading or looking at your message.
As a white male creative in Australia I know it can be extremely difficult to comprehend discrimination. Unless you have genuinely experienced discrimination as part of a minority group, it can be hard to see. It’s subtle and it’s pervasive. Until there is equal representation, equal pay and equal opportunity, it’s happening whether you think it is or not.
It’s wonderful more women are being hired. Just a shame we have to view it as optics. A shame we have to do it at all. Because hiring women is just the beginning. True diversity comes from age, ethnicity, social background and way of thinking. Queer African-Australian. 60 year old bogan. Paraplegic hippy. Sounds like a great creative department to me.
Your article needs to be corrected to ‘straight white male’ CDs. Gay men don’t sit their chatting about women and sport with the CDs over a pint – because they too aren’t invited. They too are overlooked on briefs and they too are not given the same opportunities or mentoring as the straight white male.
If you’re a male creative who has never witnessed favouritism, it’s because you are/were a favourite. If you think creative departments are 100% meritocratic, you are either surprisingly naive or wilfully ignorant. If you refuse to admit a person’s gender doesn’t impact their creative career in advertising, at this point you’re just being impossibly stubborn. But I doubt any male creative ever really believes those things. Not a smart one. Not deep down.
It’s hard to hear you had it easier than others. It’s uncomfortable. Because it was hard. Winning the awards, earning the titles, getting the dream gig at the great agency. You sacrificed so much. But here’s the thing, nobody said it was easy. They are saying you had it easier. Sometimes a little. Sometimes a lot. And that adds up. And it’s a horrible feeling. You want to feel like you earned it all fair and square. But try not to get angry or defensive. Try to listen. Take a deep breath. And think, maybe I missed it. Maybe I didn’t notice. Or maybe I did but didn’t want to admit it. Maybe she’s right.
Thank you.
This is bang on.
Ignore awkward typo. *does impact
Nepotism exists.
I’m not sure anyone knows of a cure for it yet. My personal approach is to leave the job if I’m on the wrong side of it. I recognise that’s not useful advice for everyone, but its all I got.
Favouritism and bias occurs everywhere.
The point of this thread only spotlights gender bias.
There’s also racial bias, school ties bias, city bias and ageism.
As a non-white, non-beer drinking, non footy following, non surfing, very christian and very happily married man over 45, you can count the number of non-work bonding sessions I wasn’t invited to.
Just as like-minded blokes prefer the company of their kind, I noticed that expat ECDs from Melbourne tend to hire and promote their city folks and Queenslanders promote their own expats. Ditto for gay men and women.
Advertising doesn’t attract the most evolved of species and big titles only empower insensitive behaviour to co-workers within their little playpen.
The other truism is that cream rises to the top.
If I had let the entrenched biases stop me, I’d would have quit early in my career. But a strong current only breeds a better swimmer.
Matehood can only get you into the group.
But it’s talent (not just awards) that gets one into a position to hire, reward, promote and fire.
By the way, the gender axe swings both ways. I’ve also seen a woman at the top systematically replace men in her management team with women who went to the same bars as her.
Right-minded rebalancing? Delayed payback? Or insecurity?
It gets much worse once you have kids and start to show your age. And there is no legal support available to protect you.
This is not meant as a put down but a hard truth.
Advertising (in particular network agencies) are a tough place.
Discrimination for any reason from gender to age to background to sexual orientation is rampant. (And quietly condoned).
But we all went in with our eyes open and a modicum of self belief that we could beat the odds.
The only two weapons you have are talent and perseverance.
Whatever hurdles are in front, these two strengths will get you to the top. How long one stays there is another matter.
But as long as you are in a position to influence change, be the better person and create the kind of work environment that promotes a less toxic and discriminatory culture.
Wishing and complaining is a waste of time. And just makes one more bitter.
Creativity is not gender specific, it is not a political arena or a boxing match, of course it can be any one, or all three, if human beings decide to direct it or wield it like an axe.
Creativity is the backbone of advertising ( or it should be) and it requires care and planning by talented human beings.
“The business of being a man, and the business of being a woman has always been a highly individual occupation”
Equal opportunity means exactly that. Opportunity. So while a department might have the same number of men and women, if the good briefs always go to the bros then that is opportunity that is not equal.
I’m a white male creative. Despite this natural advantage, it’s been ages since I got a decent brief. I’ve been parked on retail accounts, marking time. The stalwart creative. The safe pair of hands. I get to go ten rounds with green AF junior suits. I’m not in with the cool kids. I watch the sweet briefs going to the same teams, far over on the other side of the floor. The favourites. The crew. I feel bitter. And then I read this article and realise shit, you know, it’s really not so bad. Not for me. If I were a woman I’d probably just accept this as a typical creative role and swallow any niggling sense that I deserve more. As a man, I have the god-given right to think of it as an epic career cul-de-sac and that I’m entitled to better. Crazy.
I know men of today did not invent the male-dominated society we’ve inherited. But as guys, we have a responsibility to not carry forward the things that are wrong with it. We have a responsibility to make it better. I’m aware I’ve probably subconsciously marginalised my female colleagues at times. I feel bad about that. This article, and articles like this, keep me paying attention so I do better. Thanks.
Sorry that you’re stuck in a crappy situation, too. It hurts no matter if you’re a man or woman! Can you get out? Thanks for your empathetic message, it’s appreciated.
1. grammar and spelling nazi’s – really, is this the most important thing you can point out here, oh dear.
2. attacking each other’s opinion and experience is frankly pathetic, no mater if we are male or female, junior or senior surely we are all human beings with empathy, perhaps a pause to listen and reflect prior to ranting might be advisable, not just here but in general, fools rush in, the wise woman really listens, thinks and then responds.
3. sexism in creative agencies is a FACT and its worse here than any other market i’ve worked in.
4. to the author of the article, bravo. do you have a mentor or two, senior women and men who can provide the wisdom of experience and support you? if not seek one out.
5. I hope everyone who has read and or commented, at the very least, goes to work next week and looks upon what’s going on in their creative dept with clear vision and an open mind, then acts. the only way to redress imbalance is action, if you see it speak up.
The ‘White Male ECD’ is just one hackneyed player in this archaic house of cards. Change has to come from the top. If the C-suite is truly gender balanced (and i don’t mean a tokenistic female GM or Chief Talent Officer) then you will most likely end up with a more balanced, progressive culture.
And to do this we have to create structural change surrounding women (and a minority of men) when it comes to parental leave. So that the true talent has a progressive pathway to navigate and grow during the young childhood rearing years. Currently if you move your hours down to 4 or 3 days a week you are seen as a lightweight due to ‘lack of commitment’, and get overlooked for promotion and great briefs. On top of the (expected) pro-rata pay cut, it’s frustrating, demoralising and cruel. It’s also counter-intuitive to good business, as you are blocking opportunities for great talent. It’s the #1 reason so many women leave.
In reality balancing ‘kids + career’ brings a maturity and comprehension to the job and ideation process that is missing in so many more linear creative careers.
Let’s pull down the prejudices around maternity leave and part time work, and open our minds to flexible working arrangements (for women AND men) if we do so we will be creating the foundational support to see women grow and truly share in the opportunity and leadership.
It would be fair if Mumbrella runs equal story from annoymous female on how supportive her male colleagues have been.
My hand is up as volunteer. I am sure there are just as many excellent stories as this endless litany of woes.
Of course it’s important not to have unfair stuff. But I swear the picture is not all bleak.
I am equally sure there would 66 comments in praise.
And before any more outraged huffy/ puffy people stab me, I’m not interested in any more white male anger. Australia is 69% British background. So it’s going to be full of white males. Some good some not. You are going to work with a majority of white people.
……boooorring! Next topical piece please 🙂
you’re not someone who has experienced discrimination
I’m of Nepalese descent and hate it when people discriminate against my people, the sherpas.
Damnit we are the guiding lights of the mountains!
I was denied a job as a designer at a women’s mag because my style was “too masculine”. (I had won awards and worked across several female titles prior) It was a 100% female design team and not a guy on the floor. Don’t assume male creatives aren’t discriminated against, women in media are just as bias as men.