Around the Net

Women Ad Execs Have Made Strides But Still Struggle

  • NY Times, Tuesday, November 22, 2005 1:15 PM
Adman Neil French recently stirred up a hornet's nest of controversy with his caustic and insensitive remarks about women in advertising. The WPP Group creative executive said women creative directors "don't make it to the top because they don't deserve to." His comments led to his resignation, but they also sparked some industry executives to revisit the issue of women in advertising in an attempt to discern exactly where they stand in a profession long dominated by men, especially on the creative side of the business. The apparent consensus is that while women have made significant strides, they still have a long way to go. "Thirty years ago we were nowhere," said Carol Evans, the chief executive of Working Mother Media and president of the Advertising Women of New York, an organization with more than 1,200 women members. "There were no agency CEO's, and it was a very bad business for women. But the Neil French incident shows how much work still needs to be done."

advertisement

advertisement

Read the whole story at NY Times »

Next story loading loading..