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Maurice Levy moves to distance himself and Publicis Groupe from Kevin Roberts controversial gender debate comments

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By Stephen Lepitak | -

July 30, 2016 | 2 min read

Publicis Groupe's chief executive Maurice Levy has distanced himself and the company from the controversial viewpoint expressed by Saatchi & Saatchi chairman Kevin Roberts that the gender debate was 'over'.

Maurice Levy

The statement, released the day after Roberts was reported to have also criticised the work of Cindy Gallop and 3% Conference founder Kat Gordon who have battled gender inequality in advertising for years, was brief but saw Levy disagree entirely with Robert's viewpoint.

"The opinion expressed by Kevin is neither shared nor supported by myself or the Groupe. It is his own, expressed in his unique and provocative way and does not reflect the Groupe opinion or policy," said Levy.

Roberts has come under heavy criticism following the interview with Business Insider which included him claiming that the gender divide issue was much worse in other sectors such as finance services.

Following the comments some have turned to social media to call for Roberts to resign or be fired by Publicis Groupe however there was no indication that any action will be taken at the time of writing.

Cindy Gallop Kat Gordon Publicis Groupe

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