Close-Minded Creativity

            For an industry that prides itself on its creative abilities, creative solutions to add diversity to the workplace seem to be few and far between. By coincidence, diversity became the topic of conversation in two of my courses this week. According to frist hand reports, the sterotypical advertising "Boy's Club" is still present and powerful.

During a Law & Ethics lecture, Professor Drumwright discussed the 2006 NYC Commission on Human Rights investigation of 16 advertising agencies. After significant pressure, each company signed agreements with diversity commitments and most exceeded their goals by 2010. Having worked as a professor at Harvard, Drumwright was able to personally describe the environment as “white, male, and protestant.” She also introduced an article from AdAge titled New York City Comptroller Pressures Ad Holding Firms to Release Diversity Stats (adage.com/u/gwLD9a ).  Omnicom Group was noted for refusing to release a diversity report earlier this year. Their chief diversity officer mentioned it was not in the company’s best interest to reveal this information and referenced a proxy statement to answer further questions. The company’s own statement describedthe data as an unreliable “measure for their commitment to equal opportunity” and believe it is “susceptible to misinterpretation.” The fact that such a prestigious holding company went to such length to conceal their employment records was alarming to me. I understand statistics are easily manipulated but diversity is diversity.

In our Integrated Communications Management course, Dr. Lewis invited +Stefani Zellmer to discuss her career in advertising. As a graduate of the UT Advertising Program, she was incredibly relatable and described the struggles she encountered as a female copywriter. At the time, women creatives were a rarity. Even as research began to show that women made the majority of household purchases, men were hired to fill creative positions. After building an impressive list of agency experience, she wanted to move up in management and encountered evidence of gender discrimination for creative director positions. In response, she stopped searching the illusive “equal opportunity” workplace and two agencies in Austin with the purpose of empowering women. She cited that only 3% of Creative Director positions were held by women… in 2011. 

Although I am an advocate for diversity within the industry, I am cautious to offer a solution to this problem. I feel that hiring initiatives or cultural audits alone will not make a significant difference when combatting this problem. Resistant to public outcry even during the Civil Rights Movement, the "traditions" that have influenced agency composition appear too strong to break.