Women working at Australia’s larger creative agencies have reported a higher level of obstacles to gender diversity, according to new research from The Communications Council.
The Communications Council’s Gender Diversity Working Group has released findings from its quantitative survey which showed that while 71% of those working in small agencies (under 30 employees) said their company was committed to gender diversity, the figure dropped to 53% for those working in agencies with more than 100 staff. In medium-sized agencies (31 to 99), that number was 63%.
Additionally, women at larger agencies were more likely to have been treated differently because of their gender, with 83% answering in the positive to the proposition. In small agencies, 71% of women said they had been treated differently while medium agencies’ staff fared the best at 66%.
“It is clear that while it’s an industry-wide issue, women working in larger agencies have more to contend with,” Gender Diversity Working Group member and Loud chief executive Lorraine Jokovic said. “We need to see leadership from larger agencies on this issue and that needs to come from the top, from the chief executives and the board.”
Asked if the size and structure of larger agencies were contributing to the higher figures, she said: “I don’t know that it’s structural. There are huge organisations in other sectors who are on top of it and driving gender diversity.”
Gender Diversity Working Group chair and The Holla Agency principal Alex Allwood said: “It doesn't surprise me that boutique agencies are leading the way in gender diversity - we're used to challenging the traditional & very good at leveraging competitive advantage."
Not all larger organisations have been soft on gender diversity. STW recently formed its own Women in Leadership Group.
Author and former adlander Jane Caro told AdNews: “When you’ve got a smaller agency, often everyone gets a chance to do more things and there are more opportunities for women as a result.”
Caro added the lack of gender diversity in agencies was particularly apparent in creative departments. “There’s a belief that creative is the last bastion where women can’t cut it. I was only ever in one department where I wasn’t only one of one or two women.
“A lot of women have taken their talents elsewhere and out of the industry. That’s advertising’s loss. The industry is losing relevance so to stay relevant, you have to change.”
AdNews will unveil more findings from The Communications Council's survey in the coming weeks. Check back for regular updates. If you want to get involved in the debate and share your experiences or thoughts - publicly or anonymously - please contact wenleima@yaffa.com.au
This article first appeared in the 8 March 2013 edition of AdNews, in print and on iPad. Click here to subscribe for more news, features and opinion.
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