Leading Equally: Gender and Creativity
How creative leaders can take action
In the midst of the 2016 election season, discussions centered around social issues are happening all across the country. With half the workforce comprised of women (and counting) the fight for gender equality is worth addressing, no matter which side you’re on.
Marketing and advertising executives have come a long way since the antiquated Mad Men days — with plenty of room left for improvement. Yet when Mad Men launched in 2007, its cultural significance was undeniable for those in and outside of advertising. Not only did the series attract more creative minds to the industry, it shined a spotlight on a growing movement: female empowerment. Yes, the show centered around the complex and rise-fall-rise character of Don Draper, but the career trajectories of both Peggy Olson and Joan Holloway deeply complemented Mad Men’s narrative throughout its 8-year run. Series creator Matthew Weiner spoke candidly on the current gender gap and his creative process:
“I didn’t do it on purpose [hiring mostly women writers]…I just hired the best people…I never had this mindset of ‘Give me my person of color, give me my woman.’ A lot of times that’s the same spot in the room. It should be ‘Give me the best writers.’”
One would think that talent transcends gender in advertising. While I’m no Matthew Weiner, I see his point. I currently lead a team of nine extremely talented and thoughtful art directors and writers in our Chicago office — that just so happen to be women. We create work that influences buying decisions for some of the biggest brands in the hair care category, and have a lot of fun in the process.
Studying how people shop and why they choose certain brands over another is fascinating to me. At home and in the office I’m constantly making things and continually figuring out how to capture people’s attention. As a creative, you pull from personal experiences to give your work a sense of meaning and purpose — whether that’s channeling your inner mother from middle America, or being closer to your wife’s complex beauty routine. While working on shampoo isn’t exactly a free pass to talk about all things women, I haven’t shied away from asking complete strangers about their favorite hair products or the latest hair trends — that’s normal, right?
Promoting a nontraditional culture in the workplace is important to the creative process and necessary to recruit and retain talent. Sidenote: those “extra perks” eased the pain when your CD worked you tirelessly into the night, but that’s for another time. Sometimes overly-glamorized and satirized at times, #adlife can feel a bit “locker room,” for lack of a better phrase. Blurting obscenities for the sake of creativity is one thing, but simple colloquialisms such as “hey guys” take on an entirely new meaning when working with all-women groups. It’s not political correctness, it’s just being self-aware and respectful of co-workers as human beings.
It’s no secret in this industry that many leadership positions are historically held by men. In 2010, only 3% of all Creative Directors in the U.S. were women — they even started a conference raising awareness about the single digit issue. And if women influence more than 80% of consumer spending…well, you can see the lack of balance. It’s very possible the products you’re buying in stores and the stories they represent were created by women, but directed by men. Regardless of gender or race, we can do a better job at rewarding those who deserve leadership positions and pay them accordingly. It’s common sense and beneficial to our clients: those that create and sell brands should more equally represent the people in this country that buy those brands.
U.S. Department of Labor data shows the number of women in the marketing and advertising sector has increased 17% over the past 10 years. Law of averages suggest with more diversity in the workplace, the better chances we have for a diversified leadership group, leading to more diversified creative platforms. By ensuring that more women are not only hired, but put into positions to succeed, they can fuel the trajectory of an ever-evolving industry.
Beyond maintaining client relationships, your main responsibilities as a creative leader are to empower your team to make decisions, nurture their individuality, and grow their careers. When we create a culture of inclusivity and honest engagement, brilliant work and awards will follow. However, well-deserved promotions and raises are becoming more infrequent from the layers of bureaucracy within large agency groups. If we don’t address rewarding top talent, eventually these gifted women and men will be recruited away by other agencies and shiny objects — a rising trend in the tech / startup world.
This industry has undoubtedly changed over the past 10 years, and more pieces are being put in place for everyone to succeed. But when I look back 10 years from now I want to know I did my best to put those pieces in the right place, unpopular or not, ensuring the success of both our clients and agency teams. The future is definitely uncertain, but shaping talent today to be armed for tomorrow is an obligation I will gladly assume.
About the author
Chad is a Creative Director at Arc Worldwide, part of The Leo Burnett Group. You can follow 140 characters at a time on Twitter @chingram or look at pictures of Chicago and his dog on Instagram.
The views expressed by the author are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Leo Burnett Group.