The struggle for gender equality
By Iain Akerman
PR workforce being two-thirds female, the research revealed that 62 per cent of boardrooms were male-dominated. It also found that women were far less likely to receive a wide number of career focussed benefits, including mentoring, training and networking opportunities, work performance bonuses and promotion. Not surprisingly, “this is affecting the career progression of many women working in PR”, the report said. Within the Middle East, where cultural traditions continue to strongly define gender roles, it’s harder to gauge numbers or to obtain robust statistics. There are indicators though. Media and advertising agency guides, for example, reveal a concerning lack of diversity, with upwards of 80 per cent of leadership roles still held by men. Is this likely to change anytime soon? Probably not. In February, Taline Koranchelian, the International Monetary Fund’s Middle
East and Central Asia deputy director, said it would take another 150 years to reach gen-der parity in the Middle East and North Africa. Participating in the Global Women’s Forum Dubai, Koranchelian was blunt in her appraisal of the region, stat-ing that it was in the bottom 25 per cent worldwide for pay disparity between women and men.
It’s a fairly dismal picture, not helped by PWC Middle East’s ‘Women in Work’ survey, which revealed that $575 billion was
June - July 2020
being lost across the MENA region every year due to social barriers that exist for women to access jobs. Of the survey’s respondents, 66 per cent said they believed governments should intervene to set targets for gender diversity in private sector companies.
Gender equality is a multifaceted issue, encompassing everything from unequal pay and women’s representation at an executive level, to sexual harass-ment and even violence. Throw in flawed education and stereotypical gender roles and you begin to see the scale of the problem. With entry level jobs in the advertising industry fairly balanced between women and men, gender inequality is most acute at a senior level, says Gevresse, with men’s progression in both title and salary far outpacing that of women.
“Everything in this industry has been made based on the belief that agencies are men’s clubs,” says Remie Abdo, head of strategy at TBWA\RAAD. “As such, the women’s fight in advertising has a long way to go.”
There is a persistent bias against women when it comes to certain roles, especially those higher up the corporate ladder, says Layal Takieddine, head of marketing at OMD UAE. Women are perceived to lack the same assertiveness as men and are viewed as being hamstrung by motherhood. Twin accusations that not only hinder the progress of women, but undermine agencies by accelerating the loss of talent and heightening tensions between employees.
independence to women. Many agencies are already doing this, of course, including DDB, which has 50 per cent female representation at lead management level.
“It’s a collective responsibility,” says Takieddine. “Measures need to be taken by our industry to lead the economy by example.
Not only through internal policies, but also the messages we create for our clients. These messages can help in changing mindsets and redefine gender roles in our society.”
“My advice to all leaders is to help each potential female leader in your business find their way to the top,” says Ahmed. “That means planning that pathway early on and supporting along the way. Women need career breaks. That doesn’t mean their careers stop. We owe it to every woman who takes a career break to create a return plan that works for her. If we can all get this part right we will remove the biggest barrier and the result will be a win win for all.”
Not that everyone believes responsibility for gender equality lies with agency leaders. Some, like Abdo, believe it is up to women to help themselves.
“To ensure that the gender gap gets smaller – it won’t go anytime soon – women have to rely on themselves, and only themselves,” says Abdo. “No ambitious woman waited for someone to hold her hand. Women have to empower themselves, believe in themselves, and fight.”