The shEqual project led by Women’s Health Victoria has today released the Behind the Ads report which identifies significant barriers faced by women and other marginalised groups working in the advertising industry, as well as solutions senior leaders can take to greatly improve gender equality outcomes.
Behind the Ads: Advertising Professionals’ Perspectives on Gender Equality in the Workplace has uncovered firsthand accounts of how gender inequality plays out in workplaces in the advertising industry, the devastating effects it can have on women’s careers and wellbeing – and the risks of speaking out.
Respondents to the survey on which the report is based, spoke of widespread sexism in their workplace cultures, where gendered division of labour and male dominated leadership teams that create, reinforce and protect gender inequality are rife. Overall, less than two in five respondents agreed that the advertising industry prioritises gender equality in advertising content, or as a workplace issue.
