My lifelong best friend, Sonya, delivered a surprise to my mailbox last week: A copy of Sheryl Sandberg’s topical book, Lean In. In it was a note encouraging me to continue to lean in to my career by working hard at this Annenberg program. She also called me a great mom, which is no small compliment when my sons are the lights of my life. A gem of a best friend, Sonya was the Matron of Honor at my wedding, and she was there 18 years later to help me organize my closets in my rental house after my marriage ended. One could never ask for a truer friend. Sonya also happens to be Co-Head of CAA’s Television Department and was named #77 on The Hollywood Reporter’s 2012 list of the 100 Most Powerful Women in Hollywood. She’s a highly engaged, wonderful mom to two teenage sons and wife to a great man.
(Sonya Rosenfeld, 2013; Source: The Hollywood Reporter)
Being an intelligent woman who values a career is not easy. You can pay a high price in the 21st century for working even part-time if you do it by choice. I can personally attest to that as I’m now a divorced single mom who has faced judgement from friends, neighbors and in-laws over the desire to use my brain and continue with an exciting, demanding career. Sheryl’s book has consumed and motivated me like no other in recent memory. It’s just so, well, true.
Searching for illustrative examples of Sandberg’s thesis, that we need strong leaders in powerful places in all sectors of society and we can’t ignore the deep talent that resides within 50% of the population, I found some stories about women in the advertising industry that are worth sharing.
Sandberg writes about how research has clearly documented that “success and likability are positively correlated for men and negatively correlated for women” (Sandberg, 2013). The more successful a woman becomes, the less both men and women like her. And, we all know that most human beings want to be liked.
(Source: www.jendauthor.com)
Interestingly, I found an article on a website called Ad Women (http://www.adwomen.org/) discussing Ogilvy & Mather’s Chairman, Shelly Lazarus, and her decision to retire after a distinguished 40-year career. Astonishingly, she climbed the ranks of this uber-agency through its creative department, a bastion of male dominance. What I found interesting about the piece was that the writer, most likely a woman (no name was given), ended the article by saying, “Beyond all the accolades what strikes us is her humility, love for what she does and her unwavering focus on people” (AdWomen, n.d., page 1). I highly doubt that an article praising a man for a similar career would have ended by emphasizing his humility.
(Shelly Lazarus; Source: www.leadersmag.com)
Working moms, in particular, are likely to rankle at the discrimination described by Roberta Cocco, central marketing group director at Microsoft Italy, during a marketing summit held in Europe to discuss inequality in business. Cocco explained that “in her country women are tops — if you’re a mom, that is. If you’re a working woman, “you’re here,” she said, indicating with her hands something in the middle. And if you’re a working mom? She lowered her hands further, her gesture indicating low regard” (Klaasen, 2011).
(Working Moms; Source: www.jpost.com)
An editorial written by an anonymous man in the blog, The Denver Egotist, agreed that the fact that only 3% of the nation’s ad agency creative directors are female when 80% of all household purchases are made by women is egregious (The Denver Egotist, 2013). The editor went on to point out, however, that women now fill approximately 60% of the in-house marketing positions in corporate America and they are the ones buying the type of advertising that takes no risks and portrays women stereotypically. His assertion was that no matter the gender ratio of ad agency creative departments, the same schlock we see wouldn’t change. I wonder what Sandberg would have to say about that?
(Women sponsoring women; Source: intralimina.livejournal.com)
So what can we do about this inequality and, more importantly, the fact that so many brilliant minds aren’t making it to the top of corporate board rooms, government, or agencies? The solution is too complex for one blog post, but I did like one practical idea espoused by writer Abbey Klaasen who covered a Cannes panel discussion about women in advertising. She reported on the suggestion that female executives who have “made it” need to sponsor younger, middle managers, and actively reach down and pull them higher up in the organization (Klaasen, 2011). Her suggestion made me think about contacting my agency, Ketchum’s, first female CEO of North America Barri Rafferty. Barri and I are contemporaries and she is a phenomenon. I bet she’d welcome more women in the board room and Sheryl’s urging, coupled with my now more well-rounded background in communications provided by Annenberg’s CMGT program, inspires me to reach for the stars. I have more to lose by not modeling the type of equality I hope to instill in my teenage sons.
(Sheryl Sandberg; Source: money.cnn.com)
I’d love to hear about your experiences, both men and women, with the gender make-up of the C-suite at your organizations. What have you seen?
Should be a lively discussion!
References
AdWomen. (n.d.) One of the most powerful female executives in advertising, if you can dream it, you can do it [Web site post]. Retrieved from http://www.adwomen.org/2012/05/one-of-the-most-powerful-female-executives-in-advertising-if-you-can-dream-it-you-can-do-it/
Klaasen, A. (2011, June 22). Cannes Panel: How Women in Ad Industry Can Increase Senior Ranks. [Web site post]. Retrieved from http://adage.com/article/special-report-cannes/women-ad-industry-increase-senior-ranks/228336/
Sandberg, S. (2013). Lean In. New York. Alfred A. Knopf.
The Denver Egotist. (2013, March 8). So, Only 3% of Ad Agency Creative Directors are Women. Is That The Real Problem? [Blog post]. Retrieved from So, Only 3% of Ad Agency Creative Directors are Women. Is That The Real Problem?
The Hollywood Reporter. (2012, December 5). THR’s Women in Entertainment 2012: Power 100. [Web site post]. Retrieved from http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/sonya-rosenfeld-397702
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