EXCLUSIVE: Three-quarters of women in advertising have felt discriminated against because of their gender, including sexism, not being supported during pregnancy and unequal pay, according to new research from The Communications Council.
The findings are from The Communications Council's Gender Diversity Working Group's survey into gender diversity in the industry. Seventy-four percent of respondents answered they had been treated differently to their male colleagues in the workplace.
The most common response, at 24%, for how they were treated differently was exposure to crude, sexist remarks or references to their appearances. This was followed closely at 22% with respondents reporting they didn't feel valued, bumped against lack of respect or was taken less seriously.
Twenty-one percent said they were being paid less because of their gender while 17% said they were not considered for management roles and 14% said they weren't being offered the same opportunities despite having the same qualifications and experience.
Worryingly, 16% said they had not being supported by their employers because of pregnancy, maternity leave and having children. Many said they were excluded from the 'boys club' or was left out of conversations or social activities such as golf or drinks.
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Gender Diversity Working Group member and Loud chief executive Lorraine Jokovic said: “It's important to understand the results reflect a range of issues. Everything from not being offered the same opportunities to not being supported, included, valued or respected. It's very disappointing to see sexist remarks and references to a woman’s appearances is still happening today.
“I expected the number to be high but I was still surprised it was as high as it was. Because it's evident, if you look at what makes up the facts, it all speaks to the issue of gender diversity as a whole.”
Visual Jazz Isobar creative director Kara Jenkins, who is also one of the co-founders of SheSays Melbourne, said she has seen the kind of discrimination reported in the survey results herself at some of the agencies she's worked for in the past, particularly in larger companies. Examples included senior staff making advances towards junior female staff, the culture of boys club boards and women being overlooked for promotions.
Jenkins said her current agency, VJI, has been extremely supportive of her current pregnancy and has offered her absolute flexibility at the moment and for when she returns from maternity leave.
For employers who may be lagging on gender diversity and might be guilty of some of what women have reported in the Comms Council's survey, Jenkins said: “You've got to be aware of what's happening. Maybe they should hire more women if they don't have a lot, train women up and give them the mentoring they deserve. Once you're aware of the situation and put in place some initiatives, you'll see the changes happen.”
Jokovic reiterated changes to company culture need to come from the top of organisations. “There's a cultural issue in our industry which reflects the need to address gender diversity. Chief executives and boards need to set the culture – be flexible and have a culture of inclusion,” added Jokovic. “It's healthy for any organisation to conduct an audit on the culture of business. Culture drives productivity which in turn drives profitability. All chief executives should have their eye on that.”
Last week, AdNews revealed women face more hurdles in larger agencies than in smaller organisations.
AdNews will unveil more findings from The Communications
Council's survey in the coming weeks. Check back for regular updates. If
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