Diversity and creativity – the time for a collective solution is now or it’s just another Groundhog Day

Going somewhat easy on the agency and a lot of finger pointing at others

A solutions based initiative has been in market for about 6 weeks now and is already receiving strong support and traction.

Peggy’s List highlights women who are available to speak at industry events and comment on trade media articles. Already over 100 women appear on the list with more joining each day.

With its quick market traction other opportunities to support women are becoming apparent including Don’s List – similar to the Male Champions of Change you mention Simon. This will be launched to market in the coming week or so.

You can see more details on Peggy’s List here – (and please get involved) – http://www.mediascope.com.au/w.....eggys-list

Great to see this debate now turning to action and solutions.

Any ideas on how we make this change? On how we get more woman into senior roles and creative departments? Do we need to create a new model? #becauseits2015

Hire the best person for the job. Not wether they have boobs or a penis.

Why are we only focusing on diversity in gender alone?

What about homosexuals, people of colour, people with disabilities and all the other people that aren’t easily welcomed into the ‘boys club’.

Some extreme feminists may only believe it’s only woman who battle to break into agencies, but you (they) are very wrong.

No-one outside the creative department tells a CD who to employ except their creative superior. No-one. This is their own *hard-earned* reward for climbing the treacherous ladder and they still take a separationist approach to their *unique* culture. What they have to their advantage is the vast number of people who want to get into this game. For the majority of the alphas in these positions, succumbing to a quota would be seen as pissweak within their peer group.

CEO/MDs have no place telling or even suggesting who might be hired except the possibility of veto for the more senior positions.

Headhunters are valued for their discretion, not their ability to spot talent. All they need to do is ensure their candidates have the right amount of awards. Should they overstep their remit and remind the CD of a female quota, they would invariably find themselves on the outer.

The real power for change comes from the money – the clients, but with relationships being shorter than ever before, with confusion as to the fracturing channels landscape the commercial imperative overrides any do-good sentiment.

Three of the last four gigs I’ve had as a freelancer have come from senior women, including one who was a CD. I am a male. None of these were ‘blue chip mainstream’ agencies, they were smaller set-ups of the type which are proliferating in this fractured landscape (and one direct client). This is where I think the true empowerment for females lies.

My personal opinion is that setting quotas is an ineffectual solution, but that’s a philosophical stance. Over what timeframe do we set our targets, and would this result in a irush of female appointments to set the balance asap. What then of the ethic mix? Does one agency of 30 need to accurately reflect the demographic of an entire country? Does a market emerge of buying and selling ‘female position’ credits?

If you’re a female and you want to rise up the ladder of the ‘blue chip mainstream’ agency, then play the game. If you think you’re entitled to seniority within this context, then you’re falling into the same mindset as the established patriarchy. So play the game.

Yes there is a problem. No-one has got anywhere near suggestiing a credible solution.

Last year the Communications Council in Western Australia hosted a leadership forum with Dr Jacqui Abbott, Deputy Chair of the Diversity Council of Australia and Head of Flexibility and Diversity at Abbotts. Jacqui’s PhD explored the latest thinking related to management and employee perspectives of work/life benefits in large multinationals. She brought understanding of how business, industry and leaders need to embrace flexible work practices, to deliver true diversity across gender, race and experience to evolve and maintain relevance.
Dr Abbott’s discussion was fundamental in identifying one key point for me. Flexible work practices must work financially for the business and not impact negatively on the bottom line. Jacqui’s studies and experience demonstrate – embracing flexible work practices deliver true diversity across gender, race and experience.
But this is not the only area of change that needs to take place, the industry needs to spend time and energy in championing the future generation, this starts will education. I spend a great deal of my time at universities educating not just students but key influencers such as parents and lecturers on our industry, the passion and excitement of what it is to work in a creative and innovative sector such as ours is real and alive.
Our change is not one dimensional, it needs to be tackled from many angles and it is happening – just more slowly than we want.
As Alex has pointed out AWARD School has begun this change. In WA alone 8 and 9 the AWARD School students this year were female. All work was judged anonymously and their invitation to AWARD School were based on their abilities to answer the brief. This is a result of lots of hard work, change in method, educating and presenting industry at university level. D&AD’s recent new blood workshop also delivered great diversity not only gender orientated by also geographically, with young creatives from around the country selected.
So if education is working for the future generation, then let’s look inwards to the business and get real about the big roadblock here. One of my old ad agency bosses use to say to me, ‘Honey, we are in the business of money first and ads second – don’t ever forget that!.’ Not all agencies live by that philosophy but this is a fundamental component of to make this topic relevant and will get industry leaders on board for real. Flexibility will lead to true diversity, deliver happier staff but more importantly good business planning will deliver a strong bottom line. As a female I want to be selected for the job because I’m the best person for the job, not because it delivers to an company’s gender balance. I decided to work for Communications Council because I believe in this industry, but an important component of this was also the company’s willingness to allow me flexible working arrangements. I have consistently grown the business in Perth since I started and I work dame hard.
I stopped talking about gender diversity because I realised talking about this will not change anything. Talking about good business practices embracing flexibility is the topic. It is a tangible business proposition and can deliver change and true diversity. Most importantly this speaks to business.

The gender issue continues unresolved in creative departments, as has been pointed out. What I find even more startling is that the female bias in account management is turned on its head in the senior management chart. There are some brilliant women in senior management positions and there should be more. Same goes for politics.

The advertising sector is not alone in facing these issues but they are probably further behind other Australian industries. There are many examples to learn from including the Banking, Finance and Property sectors which have also been criticised for their lack of gender diversity at senior levels but are actively engaged in addressing the issues towards real change. Both these industries run sophisticated cross-industry mentoring programs for women through their peak body associations. The objective of The Women in Property Mentoring Program for example is to bring together women who are aspiring to a senior leadership position WITH senior leaders, decision makers, men and women who can help build a culture of greater diversity within the property industry. I believe a two pronged approach such as this is essential to shift the culture at the top while also helping women to progress. A cross-sector program like this could certainly benefit the advertising industry.

“We should hire the best person for the job, regardless of gender”.

Yeah, awesome fucking plan guys. Please mansplain that to everyone some more, it’s working /~wonders~ so far.

What is consistently skipped over in all of these discussions about gender diversity is a basic understanding of the patriarchy. Say it with me — men have a *structural and unfair advantage in hiring* and women are *structurally and unfairly disadvantaged in hiring*.

This means that the boys club perpetuates the hiring of men – the hiring of *mates* – over women *unfairly*. It means that with a sea of qualified men jumping up and down for an open spot, the people in charge don’t see a need to hunt for a woman. These women are out there, we just can’t be bothered to find them, and to encourage their relevance in a society that punishes them for daring to get pregnant and sustain a careers at the same time.

This same boys club is the one that the genius above me is so desperate to preserve, except he refers to it as an agency’s “unique culture”. Please. If these ECDs are so delicate that they can’t contemplate having their creative bro-bubble popped, then he has bigger problems.

Aside from the fact that having fifty percent female creatives is a social good *in and of itself*, it is yet to dawn on the advertising industry that gender diversity is also good for creativity and good for business.

To the commenters who wonder why these “feminazis” are daring to put sexism front and centre over other worthy causes like racism or homophobia, well (a) they have the right to complain about only sexism if it affects them, that’s their lived experience; and (b) injustices don’t have to compete, they can be tackled at the same time. It’s called Intersectionality, bros, google it.

Let’s talk solutions.

People talk about quotas like they’re this terrifying, hellish horizon. They’re not. They are used in many companies, in many industries – successfully – all over the world. In the instance where Candidate 1 and Candidate 2 are men, and are bypassed for Candidate 3 who is a woman – GUESS WHAT – Candidate 3 is still a fucking rockstar, and Candidate 1 and 2 will *still* have many more chances to land themselves a good job. We need to talk about quotas more.

And let’s just state aloud the painful truth about quotas — if used, men will miss out. Men – lovely, empathetic, entirely talented “good blokes” – will miss out. Even if they’re the best.

But the challenge in correcting *decades* of systemic injustice, where women have been punished and deprived of top jobs despite *their* formidable talents, means that this time it’s their turn. And men will have to wait their turn again, wait for the next go round. If they’re talented, they won’t have to wait long.

Finally, to the point “If you’re a female and want to rise up the ladder… then play the game”. Fuck you, guy. These chicks have to deal with so much bullshit every single day to prove themselves, they don’t need to conform to our ridiculous male customs in order to succeed.

We need to throw out the bullshit game and act like adults.

During the last week agency employees and those struggling to be employed by agencies have been outraged at the imbalance in the industry. There are whole lot of others who believe there is absolutely nothing to be addressed as this is “just the way it is”

There has been very little discussion at all about how clients view this whole situation.

This morning I spent 3 hours with a CMO and marketing team and this whole mess was the first thing they wished to discuss and they were less than kind with their impressions of how the industry has been behaving!

Rather than have the discussion turn into the same circular debate that continued all week without solid solutions, I thought it would be valuable to capture their impressions of their current agency teams and identify the areas for improvement they were seeking from their agency and how their agency would be able to improve the relationship with their client. Here’s just a few of their comments:

* Agency Management Team were all over us at the beginning but have
shown little interest in us since then.

* Creative teams throughout the agency appear to be all male and of a narrow
age group. Lots of titles with the word senior when they are not senior at all.

* Creative teams are pre-occupied with continually presenting the latest
new adtech as a clever solution without addressing the real issues.

* They believe they are doing us a huge favour by entering our campaigns
into awards. We wish they cared about the outcome of campaigns half as much.

* We would welcome some gender balance within the creative teams as
women simply have a different approach and viewpoint.

* Client Service team are all young women who are “doers of projects” but
struggle in adding any real value with knowledge of the category or our business.
There appears to be hardly any men in Client Service and the gender imbalance
brings with it a very one sided view of our customers and the market.

* The turnover of the Client Service and Creative teams is very high which
means we have to continually re-educate them on our focus as well as or
own processes and procedures.

* Client Service appear to have no mentors to guide them and this is something
that would save us a lot of time as they struggle to problem solve.

There are many more issues that hit the table and dealing with both agencies and marketing teams, the same issues are tabled every time.

When will the industry sit down in an open forum and get to grips that its current structure and operational model doesn’t exactly have a whole lot of clients admiring the ways agencies operate. Their own businesses would never tolerate the business practices and hiring practices of agencies.

Agencies are in serious need of re-invention. Agency services are becoming commoditised and sadly agencies in their most common form are becoming less and less relevant.

@2:00pm. Good on you for getting an education. But a little learning is a dangerous thing.

Firstly, in no effing way do I seek to preserve the current creative culture, which I think is corrupted beyond most reason. My bad for using asterisks to convey irony. I figured readers would understand that from the rest of the piece.

You still haven’t convinced me on quotas. Fancy words like intersectionality still don’t address the much more complicated realpolitik issue of bringing the industry together, establishing the parameters and enforcing punishment for non-compliance. As well as addressing all aggrieved groups. Your hypothetical example is sorely lacking, but @chulab provides food for thought. The peak bodies in those (far more heavily regulated) industry categories have more heft. I wish I could say the same for ours.

Playing the game. It’s a complex issue (duh). A successful female operating in an exclusive boy’s club was shouted down for saying worse:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/201.....ts/6292066

and yet I cannot help but think she was stating her case with the best of intentions. If you want equality now within the prevailing conditions, maybe you need to sacrifice a little something. If you want equality for your daughter, then maybe you have time to establish more robust protocols and structures.

Oh, and guy, I’d love to see you to use the term ‘chicks’ in a face-to-face conversation with females on this subject.

Thank you Simon- This advice is gold…. Clients & headhunters need to advocate for change…There are PLENTY of talented female creative leaders out there who have been banging on headhunters and agency door for years but no-one answers….

Clients need to be brought on board as a positive influence. The Male Champions of Change should be sought as a partner to help maintain the message and share learnings because, lets be honest, the ad industry is far from being an island on this issue.
The headhunters – the source of so many creative appointments – must be part of the discussion and become active advocates in their own right for the shift in the face of Australia’s creative departments.

Thank you Simon- This advice is gold….

The Male Champions of Change should be sought as a partner to help maintain the message and share learnings because, lets be honest, the ad industry is far from being an island on this issue.

The headhunters – the source of so many creative appointments – must be part of the discussion and become active advocates in their own right for the shift in the face of Australia’s creative departments.

I agree- this is exactly how most clients feel….
Agencies are so award obsessed – it is self serving and ego centric.
Awards are for the benefit of agencies not clients

Its 2015,
50% of every creative dept should be female

I’ve met some shithouse senior creatives and managers and invariably they protect their patch and diss others, regardless of gender

as such they’re dangerous and do so much damage until they’re found out (and move to a sinecure in Brisbane for example)

as Janine Allis (speling sorry?) of Boost & +++ said on Shark Tank: ‘there are rich arseholes and poor arseholes’

can we not hire People Who Are Not Arseholes, regardless of whether they’re a Tony or Toni?

this needs further discussion for sure

WHO IS TONY SIMS AND WHY SHOULD I TAKE HIS ADVICE?

You don’t need to take Tonys advice take your clients.

Agencies are so award obsessed – it is self serving and ego centric.
Awards are for the benefit of agencies not clients.

Its 2015,
50% of every creative dept should be female