M&C Saatchi Abel has pledged its support of the first gender diversity survey in South Africa’s advertising and marketing sector.
The research was initiated by the Cape Town chapter of SheSays, the world’s largest network for women in creative industries, and done in partnership with Kantar.
“We are delighted to have the support of a number of leading agencies in South Africa, including M&C Saatchi Abel, and hope that many more will show their support by taking this survey,” said SheSays director, Anelde Greeff.
“As an organisation committed to empowering, educating and advancing women in creative industries, it’s vital for us to understand the actual state of affairs and measure our progress. Advertising informs societal views and if the people behind these advertising campaigns are not representative of society, these views are skewed,” she added.
The SheSays Survey on Gender Representation will engage the local industry about the improvement of gender representation and diversity within the creative sectors. It anonymously surveys male and female staff numbers by rank and department, and results will be presented in an aggregated format.
“People from different cultures, races, genders and ethnicities bring a diversity of ideas and fresh ways of thinking to the table. Gender representation, particularly female representation, within the creative and advertising industries is a massive issue in South Africa,” said Mike Abel, founding partner and chief executive officer of M&C Saatchi Abel.
“Diversity of thought and gender representation has been key to the success of M&C Saatchi Abel. And while we’re proud to be recognised as one of the companies leading this change, it’s going to take all of us working together to really create a meaningful and visible change throughout our industry. We want to urge all agencies to take part in this survey so we can get a first glimpse of the true numbers,” he said.
Agencies can pledge their support for this cause by taking part here before 28 February 2020.
Only one person from each agency, such as an HR professional or CEO, needs to share agency staff numbers. All participants will remain anonymous and data will only be reported in an aggregated format. Any queries can be directed to capetown@weareshesays.com.
SheSays, the world’s largest creative network for women, opened its Cape Town chapter – the first in Africa – in April 2018. It focuses on the engagement, education and advancement of women creatives. With a presence in over 45 cities around the world, it is run by a volunteer network of women.
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