#GAReads | Advertising Is Still a Boys' Club
"Advertising Is Still a Boys' Club":
About 15 months ago, the industry was rocked when former JWT Chief Communications Officer Erin Johnson filed a discrimination lawsuit against Gustavo Martinez, then chairman and CEO of the WPP agency, claiming, among other things, that Martinez made multiple racist and sexist slurs. The flash point vaulted sexism in the ad world to the forefront of nearly every conversation. It's been discussed onstage at huge forums, like the 4A's and Cannes; fired up women's organizations already on the case, such as the Girls' Lounge and the 3% Conference; spurred a cottage industry for firms specializing in righting unconscious gender bias; and launched an uncountable number of internal initiatives and task forces at agencies, marketers and media companies.
But for all the increasingly loud talk that the Martinez case, which is still grinding on in court, triggered about women's representation in the C-suite, equal pay and fair treatment on Madison Avenue, the boys' club remains alive and well.