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US advertising firms grapple with ‘Me Too’
NEW YORK, Oct 7, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Some of corporate America’s dirty
secrets were aired this week at a conference that overlapped the anniversary
of the “Me Too” movement and the contentious debate over Brett Kavanaugh, who
was confirmed as the latest Supreme Court justice on Saturday.
An Advertising Week session on human resources veered between confession
and crusading.
One speaker described the indignity of being harassed while pregnant.
Others discussed soul-crushing details of working on non-disclosure
agreements for harassment victims paid off to leave the company and keep
quiet.
Advertising — a field that like entertainment sometimes rewards those who
push the boundaries — is yet another industry that has seen executives
pushed out of major firms following allegations of sexual misconduct.
“There are a lot of ways in which HR has been complicit,” said Rebecca
Weaver, cofounder of HR Uprise, an activist group launched over the last
year.
“If you’ve ever sent out that email saying ‘so and so has resigned to
explore other opportunities,’ you’re lying to your team,” said Weaver, who
called for a “reckoning” in HR policies for the longtime good of the
industry.
The conference was held as the US reeled over the nomination — and
eventual confirmation — of Kavanaugh to a lifetime position on the Supreme
Court after several women accused him of sexual assault while in the 1980s.
The Kavanaugh allegations came a year into the “Me Too” uprising spawned
by horror stories of Hollywood executive Harvey Weinstein and other serial
harassers usually aided by a phalanx of corporate henchmen.
Senior female advertising executives came together earlier this year to
form Times Up Advertising to “create equitable and safe cultures within our
agencies,” according to a mission statement signed by 180 women.
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“Sexual harassment is not OK. Never. No exceptions. No amount of talent,
missed cues, or being great in the room unchecks the No Sexual Harassment
box,” said the letter. “Time’s up on silence.”
The more anarchic Diet Madison Avenue, an anonymously-run Instagram
account, also is pushing for changes in the industry, calling out agencies
and alleged individual harassers, leading to some dismissals.
One of those executives, Ralph Watson, denied the allegations and sued
Diet Madison Avenue in a California court for defamation after he was
dismissed from Crispin Porter & Bogusky.
Lawyers in the case for Watson and Diet Madison Avenue are sparring over
whether Instagram should be forced to respond to a subpoena that could unmask
the group.
– Ending ‘whisper networks’ –
Industry officials say they are rethinking workplace policies, including
teaching bystanders to speak up, and allowing victims to feel safe filing a
complaint.
Experts say behavioral remedies could be far more critical than tweaking
written policies in turgid employee handbooks.
One focus is on “bystander training,” getting employees to call out sexist
or racist statements made by colleagues.
In the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape in which Billy Bush laughed as US
President Donald Trump made lewd comments about women, “You’re really trying
to reach Billy Bush and not Donald Trump,” HR expert Weaver, who works at a
Seattle advertising firm, told AFP.
Interpublic Group has used anonymous surveys to try to find trouble spots,
and explicitly encouraged people who have suffered harassment to come
forward.
The agency hopes employees will no longer feel the need for a “whisper
network” in which employees exchange horror stories but nothing is done
institutionally, said Heide Gardner, chief diversity and inclusion officer at
Interpublic.
“We want to be sure that people feel safe stepping up,” Gardner said in an
interview. “I would like to see us shift the tone so that when we come to
work we set up everyone for success.”
Other sessions during the conference covered challenges facing women,
including non-white or gay women.
Speakers described the frustration of not receiving promotable projects,
and called for women to be protagonists in advertising, rather than
subservient or sexualized roles.
Another panel explored questions about why white men are usually picked to
succeed other white men, and fears among men of being falsely accused of
harassment.
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