Why women leave ad agencies

1. WHY WOMEN LEAVE AD
AGENCIES
Why aren't there more women at the top? Advertising spits them out
before they've had a fair shot even.

2. *WOMEN OVER 45 KILOS, DON'T APPLY.
WHY DO YOU CARE ABOUT INCREMENTS,
YOUR HUSBAND EARNS SO WELL?
SHE'S JUST CRANKY BECAUSE SHE HASN'T
BEEN LAID.
*STRIPPER SCREENSAVERS*
PROMOTION! SHE MUST BE SLEEPING
WITH THE BOSS.
SORRY, LADY, CAN'T REPORT TO A
WOMAN.
WANNA COME FOR THE MEETING? THE
CLIENT'S GOT GREAT BOOBS! IT'S JUST A
DIRTY JOKE, SHE'S A HUMOURLESS B***H.

3. Contd..
Language protocol be damned, why is advertising a sausage fest still? It's
2015, for crying out loud. Why are the highest echelons of India's creative
agencies devoid of women? The eighties saw more gender diversity and
women walking those very hallways. In Brand Equity's Ad Agency Reckoner,
an annual power ranking of Indian advertising, not one woman has featured
in the Top 10 Most Creative and Top 20 Most Influential lists, and that's just
the past three editions. Perhaps Aditya Birla Group's Ajay Kakar, identified
the problem when he said that in the past few decades there seems to be
not one woman who has threatened the ad troika of Piyush Pandey (Ogilvy),
R Balki (Lowe) and Prasoon Joshi (McCann World group). “It's one of life's
mysteries,“ says Kakar. One we're attempting to solve, hopefully not in vain,
by asking some uncomfortable questions.

4. Contd..
First, is it that women are steering clear of the ad business for more lucrative and
comfortable opportunities in other fields, say, FMCG or startups? And, therefore, if
they aren't joining en masse in the first place then rising to the top is out of
question? Although it's not a rarity for women, across levels and in senior positions
to leave for greener, manicured pastures, that's dodgy rationale nonetheless.
Because women are joining the workforce in impressive numbers, as most agency
heads tell us. At the entry level is where the men to women ratio is its healthiest,
60:40, if not more.
So, could it be that women are not as creative, hardworking and ambitious as men?
Rubbish. We only wish we had a rupee for every time adwalllahs waxed eloquent
about a woman's special powers to combine instinct with real insight to come up
with winning ideas. Remember it was Anuja Chauhan and her team who came up
with Pepsi's (and one of the country's) most iconic campaigns to date -“Nothing
Official About It“.Furthermore, ad chiefs we spoke to sing paeans to a woman's
work-ethic, ability to deliver results and win over clients and fight as hard as the
next guy. Then, pray tell, what could it be, Holmes?

5. “The Uterus Did It!“
When BE asked industry veterans, women and men, “where have all the women gone“, the
resounding answer was: “We lost them to motherhood.“ Because pregnancy is a fatal
diagnosis in advertising. That's the god awful truth. “We lose some of our best people
when they transition from working girl to working mother,“ they'll tell you. Agencies don't
have an articulated maternity policy or even a room to spare for crèches in swanky high-
rise offices. In a clear case of insensitivity, women on maternity leave are not kept in the
loop or on mailing lists, whether they wished it or not. Their promotions and increments
are held back until their return. Then a strong case of FOMO (fear of missing out) kicks in,
forcing some to work till their water breaks, in office.
It's not unusual for newborn mothers who return to work to find surprises like a
replacement sitting at their former desks and a constant stream of jibes from colleagues
because they had the temerity to clock out at 5:30 PM. Never mind the fact they work
harder and smarter than guys on their 23rd smoke break. The absurdity of gender specific
double-standards continues when a woman must take half-a-day for, say, a PTA meet. The
whispers are deafening; “She's not committed to her work“. When a man takes off, they
shriek, “Aww. He's totes Father of The Year.“

6. Contd..
However, there are women who've managed to juggle both worlds rather
efficiently despite a few bumps. Till a year ago, Swati Bhattacharya was one in a
handful of female top-bosses. But then she quit her post as National Creative
Director at JWT, one she shared with Tista Sen, still at JWT (currently, the only large
network agency with a woman at the helm of its creative department). Fed up with
a boardroom full of men telling her how to be a mother, Bhattacharya set up
Dentsu's Mama Labs, a division that helps brands target mothers. She says,
although JWT proved to be supportive and accommodating, even paying ticket fare
for her child and maid to accompany her on business travel, “There were always
people in the industry who said `why are they so indulgent?' or `how lucky and
privileged she is! 'Disregarding such tripe, she used her office as a child care centre
and left everyday at half-five. As the practice turned to habit it seemed less like a
privilege and Bhattacharya felt more empowered. Her advice to women in the ad
business: don't be tentative about what you want even if it makes you unpopular.
“You have to demand it. Make it a condition not as a mother but as a worker,“ she
says.

7. Contd..
On the marketing side, companies are not waiting around to lose their best talent
to babies and mothers-in-law. Two months ago, Vodafone defined a mandatory
minimum maternity benefits standard -16 weeks fully paid maternity leave, as well
as a full pay for a 30-hour week for the first six-months after return to work. Why?
Because 35% of Vodafone's employees worldwide are women but they account for
only 21% of the international senior leadership team. In a company statement,
Vodafone Group chief executive, Vittorio Colao, said: “Too many talented women
leave working life because they face a difficult choice between either caring for a
newborn baby or maintaining their careers.“
If supporting your employees is not motivation enough, consider this. KPMG
analysis indicates that global businesses could save an estimated $19 billion a year
through these provisions. Saving on re training by retaining “the knowledge and
experience of these women with positive consequences for productivity and
effectiveness.“
So, dear agency and employee, lean all the way in, already!

8. “Women Are Humourless Hags“
However, leaning in, literally, brings with it a different set of consequences.
As one woman put it, “Try wearing shorts on a Saturday to office, it's like
being inside a DTC bus (that's Delhi local transport).“ Life in advertising is, in
fact, a microcosm of the world outside, Bhattacharya told us, with rampant
objectification in agencies big and small. But while male colleagues openly
and audibly rue the lack of “eye-candy“ to ogle at in office or marvel at their
screen savers of female strippers, leadership follows the principle of benign
neglect. And in the absence of a robust HR structure, with no powers beyond
hiring and negotiating salaries, women subjected to this variety of
harassment are left with just two options: be a “tattle tale“ or forget about
it. Besides if one takes any umbrage or makes apparent their distaste for
sexist remarks and `t**s & a**' jokes, you are kindly advised go buy a sense
of humour. It only gets tougher as you rise up the ranks.

9. Contd..
“It isn't easy being a woman in a senior position. You get a lot of `she's
a bitch', `she's PMSing' or `she needs sex',“ says Priti Nair, director,
Curry Nation. For an industry celebrated for its open-mindedness in the
workplace and progressive attitude that's alarming indeed. (But then
again advertising is the biggest purveyor of gender stereotypes.)
There's, of course, no shortage of people ready to step up with the
sorriest excuse known to mankind, “boys will be boys“. And there are
plenty of boys in this business. Advertising has always been a male
dominated industry, says Grey Digital's Navin Kansal, “and everything
has always been looked at through the male lens. When you think of
girls in ad schools, where are the female role models for them to look
up to and aspire to be?“

10. Men Only, Women And Pets Not Allowed'
Yes, advertising has always been a Boys' Club Only . But the current recipe of
machismo at agencies,it seems, is one part Hemingway and nine parts
Chulbul Pandey. It's 2015, and while Deepika Padukone discovers it's her
choice, after all, men are still uncomfortable with taking orders from a
female boss. Says Grey's ex-NCD, Malvika Mehra, “As cool as we are as an
industry , there are a lot of chauvinists out here. They could be on the
client's side or on the agency side. We may choose to gloss over this but it's
evident even in conversations with clients, etc. Sometimes your own junior
male colleagues can be a little cocky or aggressive because you're a female
boss. It's cute to a point but then you ask them to shut the f**k up!“ And god
forbid if you don't indulge in some weekly drinking and debauchery with the
boys, you are likely to miss the next big professional opportunity of your life.
Says KV Sridhar, chief creative officer, Sapient Nitro, “Often, by default,
women are alienated and lose out on great work because an idea came up
and was passed on to the person sitting beside you.

11. Contd..
“ To add insult to injury, women often get typecast. Sanitary napkin ac count?
That's a woman's job. “It's usually left to women to do the kind of advertising male
creative hot shots don't want to do. Type casting stifles the creative spirit of the
organisation,“ warns Srid har. To top it all, agencies missed the memo on equal pay.
Havas World wide's Shavon Barua, admits that if a man were in her place he'd be
earning more than her. “If there are four VPs of which one is a woman, she will be
making a lakh or two less than her male counterparts. I have been told very often
`Why do you need more money? Your husband earns so well.' They all think you're
in your career because your money is pocket money and your husband pays for
everything.“
The situation started deteriorating faster when the business moved from being
process driven to personality driven. As Publicis' Bobby Pawar says, “It must all start
with leadership. While we've acquired a more business-like demeanor, the business
is still run like a cottage industry.“ Says independent marketing consultant, Tarun
Chauhan;

12. Contd..
“Everybody wanted to ape a Balki. But what they didn't understand is that
while he's huge on ability he's bigger on discipline. When attitudes and
abilities don't match you get a mess,“ and working conditions -hours,
language, respectful professional relationships, sense of decorum, etc., go
down the crapper. “No one wants to deal with that kind of s**t. The payoff
isn't worth it.“ Some women who stick around at the top, he says, “become
slaves of the environment and behave like the men.“
Now, let's get some things straight. We're certainly not saying that all ad men
are insensitive, sexist pigs and women are benign victims of a necrotic
system. Nor are we saying that women should be afforded “special
privileges“ based on anatomical differences alone. And we can only hope
agencies aren't strong-armed into adopting haphazard quota-systems to
recalibrate gender imbalances. In a utopian world, merit alone decides who
gets the cubicle or corner office. And yes, we understand the dilemma.

13. Contd..
You say women must toughen up because advertising is tough. With its demanding
schedules, the precarious state of the industry, and balance sheets, smothering
clients, boogeyman and what not. It's a high stress job. Hell, bomb disposal
specialists have it easier, if agency rants are anything to go by . All we're saying is
this; if life in advertising is hard, make it equally distressing for all, man or woman,
and not harder for the chosen people. After all, no one likes an equal opportunity
offender.
However, there's an alternative. Tiffany Rolfe, ex-CP+B , in an article she wrote for
Ad Age provided the obvious, and seemingly best, solution: “If every female
creative in a management role could mentor and promote just five other women,
each of those can help five more, and onward, and before long we'll be in the
hundreds. Call it a pay-it-forward meritocracy .“ It's never too late to start, right?
So, gussy up, make yourself a cocktail, strap some TNT to that glass ceiling and
watch the fireworks, missy .

14. For details and bookings contact:-
Parveen Kumar Chadha… THINK TANK
(Founder and C.E.O of Saxbee Consultants & Other-Mother
marketingandcommunicationconsultants.com)
Email :-saxbeeconsultants@gmail.com
Mobile No. +91-9818308353
Address:-First Floor G-20(A), Kirti Nagar, New Delhi India Postal Code-110015