And there would be some who would stop reading this opinion right from the headline itself. It is true that our industry has formed a habit of either looking at politically correct replies or skirting issues of any kind of bias. The J. Walter Thompson sexist and racist scandal that led to the ousting of its global CEO Gustavo Martinez, forced many to think differently.
A word war that ensued between holding company CEOs Martin Sorrell of WPP and Publicis Groupé’s Maurice Levy kept the issue in the news for longer. At an industry conference in Miami, Mr Lévy referred to the instance as a “one-man mistake”. His comment as quoted in media reports was “I don’t believe what happened at JWT is exemplary of what’s happening in our industry”. Mr Lévy later clarified in a memo sent out to Publicis Groupe staff that the content of the complaint was of an extreme that could not be the nature of this industry. The comment had however not gone down well by many who were citing the Erin Johnson case as an example of the issue that the industry has not only failed to address but in some cases has also shrugged off as demons of a less progressive world.
WPP is J. Walter Thompson’s parent company. Mr Sorrell’s reply to Mr Levy’s comment at the event was “I disagree violently with what Maurice said about it being a one-off. Maurice has a habit of ignoring the facts”.
Even as the lawsuit against J. Walter Thompson has been filed in the US, where the complaint had originated, sexist bias is an issue across the globe. In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, the issue has been tabled at very limited forums despite a focused move towards women empowerment.
Holding companies such as the IPG, interestingly where Mr Martinez was employed with a year ago, have been speaking on gender equality and diversity issues for long, not only in global industry forums but also in practices in the agency. The holding company’s CEO, Michael Roth, has led some of these discussions ensuring his top managers across businesses too are involved in IPG’s endeavor. But there aren’t too many such examples.
The point to note is that whatever it is that the industry has been doing to solve the issue is not working. This is the only explanation why there was still place for a lawsuit such as this, directed to one of the biggest agencies in the largest holding company of the world. The time calls for different, stronger measures to bring about equality in the industry, and the starting point is admitting that there is a problem.
