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'It's unacceptable': landmark report reveals extent of leadership gender gap in marketing and media

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By Jennifer Faull, Deputy Editor

October 30, 2018 | 4 min read

A study commissioned by industry group Wacl (Women in Advertising and Communications London) into nearly 600,000 people in the marketing, media and communications sector has revealed a 'leadership gap' of 14% between men and women in the industry's top roles.

WACL

WACL

The research was conducted by LinkedIn, which delved into profiles of 593,000 people in the marketing, media and communications (MMC) industry, comprising newspapers, publishing, market research, marketing and advertising, public relations and communications, writing and editing, online media, and printing.

It marks the first time that a figure has been pinned on the 'gap' that exists between men and women in leadership roles across all of these sectors.

Though gender parity has been achieved in the number of women in the sector as a whole, they do not dominate leadership roles in any of the industries, with women in only 36% of roles at director level and above. This has resulted in a 14% 'leadership gap'.

However, in contrast to other sectors within UK businesses, the number of women in MMC roles overall compares favourably to finance (37%), software and IT (29%) and manufacturing (24%). It lags behind education, where 53% of roles are filled by women.

“It’s no surprise that the study has uncovered a gap in the number of women in senior positions," said Pippa Glucklich, Wacl president and chief executive of Amplifi UK, an agency that is part of the Dentsu Aegis Network.

"At WACL, our purpose is to accelerate gender equality in this industry, so having a benchmark of where we are and how far we have to go is critical in our mission."

LinkedIn suggested that hiring processes are at the heart of the gap, with women being hired into just 40% of leadership positions in the UK’s MMC industry. But, that is an improvement of just 19% in 2008.

Lisa Thomas, vice president of Wacl and chief brand officer of the Virgin Group, called the findings "unacceptable" and said "much more" could be done to promote equality across the board.

"I would urge leaders across the sector to support the Wacl commitments and bring about systemic change," she said. "We need to ensure our creative output, and our internal culture, mirrors the diverse world we live in. This is top of our agenda at Virgin and by working together we have the power to bring about societal change by influencing representation norms.

"This isn’t simply about closing the gender gap, it’s about a fundamental shift in attitudes for the future.”

The sentiment was echoed by Diageo chief marketing officer Syl Saller

“Today we are calling on the marketing, media and communications industries to invest in female talent and close the leadership gap," she said. "The evidence is clear – diverse teams produce more creative work and diverse businesses perform better. It’s time for everyone to work together to create more gender equal workplaces – because when we do, all boats rise.”

In light of the findings, Wacl is asking businesses to pledge support for a set of best practice commitments. These include setting gender equality goals and ensuring a diverse pipeline of talent with proactive recruitment processes and policies.

These commitments have been welcomed by a number of industry trade bodies, including the Advertising Association and Nabs.

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