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FOCUS ON HISPANIC AMERICA
FRIDAY / JUNE 23 / 2017 LIONS DAILY NEWS
MOVE OVER, ADMEN
Women leaders of Hispanic agencies insist that the more their gender is involved in advertising, the greater the talent on hand to create big ideas. Liz Unamo, editor of Hispanic and media advertising at Produ, reports 2
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1 Conill’s Verena Thompson
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2 Alma DDB’s Monica Marulanda
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DVERTISING continues to be an industry dominated by men. Women occupy only 30% of the leadership positions in the advertising world, according to data provided by the UK’s Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA). Initiatives like The 3% Conference and SheSays have helped highlight and even partially remedy the problem, but there is no doubt that women are still underrepresented. In an effort to promote gender equality, this year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has structured juries that in total are 43.5% female, which means that, over the past five years, the proportion of women judges has doubled from the 21% in 2012. “These initiatives must continue, because respect for women and recognising the importance of their contributions is not only good for the industry but for the world in general,”
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3 Lopez Negrete Communications’ Olga Reyes 4 Dieste’s Carla Eboli
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Richards’ Flor Leibaschoff 5
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says Monica Marulanda, senior creative director at Alma DDB. There’s a lot of work to do to attract a diversity of talented people and Verena Thompson, chief strategy officer at Conill, believes it all has to begin with a new attitude about what kind of action the ad industry must take to ensure a greater inclusion of women. “If diversity — including that of gender — becomes seen as a valued asset of the industry, that will attract talent,” she says. Multicultural agencies are leading the drive toward gender equality, thanks to the nature of the business. “But besides the corporate efforts, we must all act individually to create a richer, more diverse work environment,” says
Lapiz’s Luciana Cani 6
7 Casanova/ McCann’s Ingrid Otero-Smart
Dieste’s chief reputation officer, Carla Eboli. According to Flor Leibaschoff, creative director at Richards/Lerma, the industry is a monster that never takes a break — everything is for yesterday, so the hours and lack of routine don’t help if a creative also wants to be a mom and raise a family. “That’s what makes it so hard for many women to pursue a career in the industry,” she says. Ingrid Otero-Smart, CEO and president of Casanova/McCann, points to a recent study, which reached the conclusion
MONICA MARULANDA: “RESPECT FOR WOMEN AND RECOGNISING THE IMPORTANCE OF THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS IS NOT ONLY GOOD FOR THE INDUSTRY BUT FOR THE WORLD”
22/06/2017 20:44