In Europe, 76% of Gold and Grand Prix awards go to men. Rochanak Fatahian, Client Director and DEI Director at Nord DDB, revealed this alarming fact – drawn from a recent study – to start a talk at the Open House For Good in the Palais yesterday.
It’s an important figure because, as panellist Chaka Sobhani, President and Global CCO of DDB Worldwide, pointed out: “Awards are an acknowledgement of our peers. As creatives they’re our calling card. Your work gets seen and talked about. They’re how you get known.”
Of course, as the French say, one train can hide another. The problem is not awards juries, which generally focus on the work rather than the people behind it, but a lack of gender diversity in agencies. And when women are present, their voices are suppressed.
As Jo Wallace, Global ECD of Jellyfish, cited: “If women (in a meeting) speak for more than 30% of the time, they’re seen as dominant.”
Kyoko Yonezawa, Head of Innovation at TBWA/Hakuhodo, agreed: “It’s important to make people feel comfortable to speak up about this issue.” She confirmed that this was rare in Japan, where there are very few women in leadership positions.
It’s vital that the balance in agencies is fixed, added Kate Cronin, Global CMO at Moderna, “because great work comes from diversity”. Has there been an improvement in recent times? Jo Wallace thinks not: “I have been doing this job for 20 years and the conversation remains the same.”
All the panellists agreed that women in leadership positions should drive change through hiring choices and by supporting female staff, encouraging them to have the first word, argue their case and, as Chaka Sobhani put it, “find their voice”.
But clients have a key role to play too. Some of them, like Moderna, are already telling agencies: “I am not going to work with you unless you have a more diverse perspective.”
Mark Tungate
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