It’s a mighty fine time to be a professional woman in the advertising industry in 2022. The pendulum has swung so far to the left that the path is clear for meteoric rises, warranted on merit or not. Step aside gentlemen, it’s our time. 

Preparing for a pitch – oops, we have too many men in the room. Let’s swap out Ben for Jane so we have more women in the meeting. Even though poor old Ben’s done the work, we can’t show the imbalance. This is the modern-day reality of agency life in 2022. And it’s not ok.

But the worst bit? It’s not ok to speak up about it. There is no way that I would identify myself as the writer of this piece as I value my role in the industry, and I wouldn’t feel safe for my own role in speaking up. How’s that ok?

It’s an unwritten rule that  recruitment rules in management are skewed to women – i.e., try for a woman first and if you have no luck then go for a man. In trying so hard to appease the female gender we’re now in danger of discriminating against men. 

Personally, I think the basic qualities of individual respect and merit-based performance should be our first order principles, regardless of gender.

Happy International Women’s Day. X