“Our daughters continually get messages that power comes
through powerful men. And unfortunately being pretty is still a quality that
can get you on the ladder though it still won’t take you to the top.” In her
op-ed piece for the Washington Post, Marie Wilson hit the nail on the head for
inequality in work places from Utah to Florida.
Mad Men was top of the charts when it comes to a television
series that showed how far we’ve come for women in business. However in a world
of budding entrepreneurs, why is it that we see so few women taking the initiative
to start an advertising agency of their own?
Milestones, but No
CEOs
The ad world reached a milestone unlike any it had before
when Kirsten Flanik was promoted to be the president of BBDO’s New York office.
There is now a majority of female presidents and creative directors on the advertising
agency lined Madison Avenue.
Yet, there are still hardly any women CEOs from Utah to the
East Coast. At the top of the food chain, or rather the ad chain, the gender
gap is still very real. When it comes to starting their own advertising agency,
even with all the affirmative action, the real world is still a place where
“boys’ clubs” exist. Women find it more difficult to be included in networking
or even just spending time with the clients on the golf course.
Women, Naturals in
the Business
Ann Rosenblatt, the author of “The Ambitious Woman in
Business” was quoted as saying, “Women’s native knowledge of how to appeal to
consumers, a woman’s better knowledge of merchandise, her natural talkativeness
which makes her a better descriptive writer than a man, all develop what one
advertising expert calls a ‘natural-born copy-writer’.” Though written in 1916,
women of Utah and all across the U.S. find her words to ring true.
With the advertising agency world in dire need of new faces
and fresh ideas, lady entrepreneurs are so essential. Women are responsible for
making or influencing up to 80 percent of all purchasing decisions in homes.
Who better to get into the head of a woman than another woman?
Not only will women in the office bring the diversity so
many of the companies are in need of, but also a new and inclusive culture that
hadn’t been attained before. Girl power isn’t dead. Women of Utah should be
proud. Perhaps having a woman’s advice at the helm of the advertising ship
isn’t a bad thing.
Kenadee Hatch writes for Fusion 360, an SEO and content marketing
agency. She writes for many other clients as well. Follow
on Twitter.
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