Too Many Guys One Girl, the AdNews edition
It is nearly two years since AdNews editor Rosie Baker alerted her audience to the existence of a blog called “Too Many Guys One Girl“.
AdNews would lead the industry by focusing on actions, rather than words, she admirably pledged.
And in other news, AdNews has today unveiled the keynote speaker joining the lineup for its media transparency morning next month.
Dr Mumbo is bad at maths, but according to his calculations, there are three times as many men whose names begin just with the letter J, than there are female speakers on the AdNews lineup.
Dr Mumbo is looking forward to hearing from Tony, Jim, Ciaran, Kristiaan, Kev, John, Brett, Nick, Tim, Simon, Liam, Jason, Steve and Andrew (and Ros) at the event.
May 31 update: A belated hat-tip to @melkingit who got there before Dr Mumbo did…
Hey @AdNews I’m going to be completely transparent – your Transparency forum is ALL MEN. Really?https://t.co/zOMRZ9UgSz
— MK (@melkingit) May 12, 2017
(Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy)
Have you not considered that perhaps the fact AdNews couldn’t attract more females to their list merely reinforces their original point?
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So before you call me out for being a former AdNews staffer, I’m happy to admit that publicly. But that aside, don’t you think there’s a better conversation to be had about gender representation in advertising than calling out a rival for a conference lineup? You also fail to mention all the other events that AdNews have held, where yes, there may not have been 50% representation, but it is higher than this event. Also, like the first commenter, if these events are being attended by those who want to see the leaders of this industry speak it needs to be acknowledged that still, a large percentage of this industry’s leaders are men. Being a former member of the trade press maybe I expect too much when I hope to see a conversation about gender equality actually be productive.
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Glass half full: they’re being transparent.
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You have truly won the race to the bottom for marketing journalism.
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So you’ve deleted most of the original comment. What part concerned you:
(Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy)
Why can’t you publish this in full if you claim to be transparent?
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Thanks for the comment, Sarah,
Given that this article could clearly have been seen to be self interested we thought carefully before publishing (indeed, held back until the keynote had been announced in case that helped balance it slightly.) But we call out other industry events for similar issues ( example here: https://mumbrella.com.au/afr-shows-ratio-looks-great-hide-men-387733 ) so AdNews doesn’t get a pass just because it’s a rival.
And don’t think for a moment that just because this is in our diary column, it’s not serious. In 2017, 14 men and one woman is a disgrace.
Yes, you could make the argument that a large percentage of the industry’s leaders are men. So try harder.
A couple of years back I found myself moderating a panel of four male industry leaders at one of our own events, and decided to never be in that situation again.
In our call outs for our own events, we make clear that single gender panels (of either side) will not be chosen. Where we’ve struggled on a topic, Peggy’s List has helped us find good female speakers. (That very useful resource is available via this link: http://www.mediascope.com.au/w.....eggys-list ). It’s got us closer. But we had to start by deciding to do something.
Please do not attack the messenger. We are not the ones that still thinks a 6% ratio is okay.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
Or that they haven’t looked hard enough.
Any women in the industry who know about transparency want to put your hand up?
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Words are easier than actions
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Just watch. In a minute somebody from Adnews will come on and say that they asked lots of women but everybody said no
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Hi PKBv2,
Feel free to email me and I’ll be happy to explain our policy and why I won’t allow you to make a particular allegation.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
How would you know if they had or hadn’t? Have you spoken to the event organisers and asked them if they had tried to get more women in the debate?
It’s very convenient for Mumbrella to stand on their high horse and call out a rival just before their own event about transparency. Does AdNews regularly have events dominated by men?
This sort of attack and nastiness does Mumbrella and the industry no favours.
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Sarah,
Do you think that number of male to female speakers is acceptable ?
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They are taking the doctor seriously: http://www.adnews.com.au/opini.....try-harder
This article just popped up half an hour ago.
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To be honest the main point I was hoping to make is that there’s a bigger issue here. It’s obviously not a simple one to solve and it isn’t just being faced by advertising. It’s bigger than two sides and the fact that it feels like this issue is being used to score points leaves me feeling disappointed.
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Full discloser – I’m a man. I’ve worked in the industry for over 15 years, both agency and client side. My bosses have been mostly women for that time, including many holding executive positions in the businesses I have worked for. There’s always been more women in the departments I have worked in than men. Granted, there are more men in high profile positions than women, but this is changing and everyone is ‘trying harder’ to accomodate this where possible. BUT! Should this even be a thing in 2017? Why do we have to ‘try harder’ – especially in a case like this. The best ‘person’ for the job should always be the one that gets it, whether man, woman or non-identifying-trans. Businesses don’t exist to be equal, they exist to win. Whoever is deemed ‘the best’ candidate for the role should get it. In this case, maybe the experts on the issue being discussed just happen to have wangs. So what’s the big deal about that exactly?
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The obsession with race and gender is getting tedious. I go to conferences to learn something by the best on offer, not to adhere to authoritarian standards of political correctness.
We work in an industry obsessed with making a profit. If you think, in this day and age, that women or a member of a minority that can make a company more profit than a white man won’t get the job due to genitalia or skin colour you are completely out of touch with reality.
Of course, the fact that white men just happens to be better at their job or more motivated to work hard doesn’t fit your victimhood narrative hurts. Suck it up and work harder and prove you don’t need quotas and other special privileges.
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Sarah, you seem to be arguing that ad news should not be criticised because it is adnews
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In my view the problem here Tim is the approach you are using to get this message across. You are raising an important point but the way in which you are doing it undermines you and distracts the reader from the broader message. Gender inequaltiy in senior positions is a fundamental issue that faces our industry but using it as a points scoring exercise against your competion appears petty. DR Mumbo in general appears to be a platform to point out all the f*ck ups you’ve so cleverly noticed but frankly its not like Mumbrella don’t make plenty – as we all do. Tim you’re better than this.
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I have to agree with Tim here. I know a number of colleagues that will not speak speak on a panel now unless there is a fair ratio, myself included. Don’t blame the event organisers, the trade press, journalist’s.. the onus is on the speakers to ensure equality is at the forefront.
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That fact that Mumbrella published this post speaks more than the point you were attempting to make.
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So your own personal experience as a man means a problem doesn’t exist or isn’t a ‘big deal’. Classic!
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What if, when someone accepts, the break-out of the panel is not known? Do you not agree in advance? Or pull out when you find out (at which point it would be public)?
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No Lisa, I didn’t say a problem doesn’t exist or that it isn’t a big deal, I’m all for diversity of all kinds. I merely said the best person (or presenter in this case) should get the job. If that happens to be a man, woman, or goat, so be it. Not everything needs to be a battle of the sexes or have a big deal made out of it, like this news.com.au style article.
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Sarah is arguing that there are much bigger issues at play than if one event with two panels has a gender imbalance. Has Mumbrella approached AdNews to ask them why their event doesn’t have enough women?
As journalists I would expect them to do that before trying to slay an opponent’s transparency event a week before Mumbrella’s own transparency themed event.
Mumbrella has a history of taking cheap pot shots at its rivals around the time of their events. Perhaps they should spend less time bickering and more time working on the quality of their editorial output?
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In general I think there is a distinct lack of agnostic speakers whether they be make or female. A lot of the speakers at these types of evens are simply re-iterating what the industry knows and in many cases lack execution within their own businesses.
The real issue of transparency originates through people and relationships, technology is just an easy scapegoat.
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@PKB Are you avin a giraffe?
‘Dr Mumbo’ is an acerbic, gritty, mischievous column, which calls out all sorts of things. Get with the program or stop whining. I can only read facts, which have been reported in this piece? Sometimes the truth hurts I guess?
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I am back again, as my comment above suggests. This is the ‘Dr Mumbo’ column. Calm down!
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I feel it’s acceptable for Mumbrella to publish this, but at the same time I feel that without any sense that they contacted Adnews for comment first – it feels a bit low.
Not that the issue itself should be trivialised.
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What Alex Pacey said…
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can’t we just all get along? trade pub attacking rival trade pub? Sad!
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Don’t feel left out PKB. In the interest of transparency they didn’t even publish my comment. Criticism’s a bitch when your on the end of it, but easy to maintain when you have the comment rejection button.
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Hi Stuartm,
To clarify, that was more a volume issue than a censorship issue. As you can see, we are publishing various comments critical of this piece (and us in general).
Thanks for drawing it to our attention. I have found your comment and published it.
Vivienne – Mumbrella
Thanks for the comment, Alex.
Genuinely taken on board. Trying not to make it about point scoring, but when it’s a rival it risks coming out like that. It’s a tough balance and I appreciate the honest feedback.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
Paging Andrew Knott…
https://www.nab.com.au/about-us/careers/working-at-nab/diversity-and-inclusion/gender
“NAB is committed to standing up and being accountable when it comes to gender equality in the workplace. As business leaders, we try to ensure that events we participate in (inclusive of panels and conferences) are gender balanced.”
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