It’s not an insight; it’s a dick joke

Cathie McGinn argues that the reason to end gender discrimination in the industry is because it’s damaging to creativity and leads to less effective work.

Sexism creates a lack of diversity at senior levels.
A lack of diversity at senior levels in adland stymies creativity.
In short, sexism leads to shit ads. Q.E.D.

Is this industry more sexist than others? Well, I hear a lot of stories from women:

  • an agency’s head of delivery being made redundant while on maternity leave;
  • a network agency boss sending his PA to find the group’s most attractive woman to accompany him to a event;
  • an HR director passing on complaints of workplace sexual harassment to an agency boss who asked her if the complaint was because she was upset that no one had complimented her figure;
  • the creative director who claimed having children had made her more of an asset to the agency because she better understood mothers;
  • many tales of the tacit assumption that the woman will fetch drinks in the boardroom no matter what her level of seniority.

And at every event I’ve ever attended where a senior successful woman speaks about her career, she will be asked how she has managed her success along with having a family, or whether her success has been at the cost of having children. I have, to this day, never heard that question asked of a man.

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