Reducing the gender gap, a pending task in advertising

Abandonment is one of the great labor problems of our time and, in creative areas such as advertising, this issue is especially aggravated with respect to women. Almost 40% of them usually consider leaving and the reason would be closely linked to the gender gap, according to the report Why are you leaving? prepared by the Más Mujeres Creativas Association (MMC) based on the data provided in the II Study of the Advertising Industry of the Creativity Club and APG Spain.

Women are the majority in advertising (54%), but only 22% of them become creative directors, according to the study. “Being a majority does not translate into parity. Access to leadership positions remains a challenge, especially in the creative area. Although we have made progress, in 10 years the percentage of women with senior positions in advertising has only increased from 14% to 22%, so the change is slower than we would like,” explains Auxi Barea, vice president of MMC.

Women encounter multiple barriers to advancing their careers in advertising. “There are gender biases in leadership, a lack of female references and conciliation. It is not surprising that, “From the age of 35, women begin to disappear from agencies”indicates Barea.

The vice president of MMC focuses on the wage gap in the sector and points out that “motherhood continues to be a barrier, due to the lack of real conciliation measures and the stigma that many women face when prioritizing their personal life.” In fact, 51% of the publicists consulted claim that motherhood has harmed their career and More than 50% of them have salaries below 30,000 euros, unlike 33% of men, in data from the II Study of the Advertising Industry.

Added to these factors are sexist attitudes and situations of discrimination in offices. “Unfortunately, sexism is still present and has many forms, some more obvious and others more subtle such as condescension or paternalism,” says Barea.

More Creative Women has created a MásMu Violet Pointa space where professionals such as psychologists and lawyers accompany members who have suffered abuse and sexist violence. “We give all our unconditional support to the victimsto all of them: those who make it public and those who decide not to say anything,” he remembers.

Lack of representation

The lack of women also influences female representation in advertisements and as a consequence, indicates Barea, “the advertising industry loses nearly 9 billion dollars worldwide in brand valuation for not adequately addressing women.” In Más Mujeres Creativas they collaborate with thirty brands through their initiative one of two to try to improve the representation of women in advertising.

“To ensure that representation is able to connect, it is essential have diverse teams and women in decision-making positions to be able to build stories where women feel truly represented,” says the vice president of MMC.

Regarding campaigns that address gender equality issues, Barea considers that “are necessary and generate important conversations,” although it emphasizes the importance of “being consistent with the activity carried out by brands and not just an exercise in ‘window-dressing feminism’.”

Sector challenges

The wage gap is one of the main challenges to overcome, as it hits both economically and self-perceptions. For Barea, it is fundamental “establish hiring policies and promotion with a gender perspective”.

Furthermore, women need to have figures in the world of advertising with whom they can identify. Masculinized environments generate exclusive dynamics, it is necessary “make female references visible within the industry“Adds Barea

Finally, it has been proven that having children penalizes women more than They have to make an extra effort not to be left out. For this reason, we must “defend conciliation measures such as teleworking,” recalls the vice president of Más Mujeres Creativas.