I Am Female…In Advertising

Being a woman now is harder than it ever has been in my lifetime. Being told we can’t control our bodies means we can’t control our emotions or our minds.

Working in a male dominant, white male dominant industry isn’t easy. I’m fortunate enough to be in an era where women in advertising is becoming more and more the norm. However, the pay gap has not gone away in such a forward thinking, creative industry. An industry that insists on long hours and many missed dates and consistent cancellations on friends. Within the industry women make an average of 33.6 percent less than men. It's no wonder why tension exists. (SearchHermit)

I started my career working for a man who was actually very lovely. He was a good, honest family man trying to make it in America. He thoroughly appreciated my patience and help. I realized, however, that I needed a raise. I knew that I was just out of school and this was my first job in advertising, but the fact remained that I couldn’t eat by the end of the month. I was lucky if I could sneak in a PBR or two into my local bar and scrounge pennies together for some Top Ramen. If I had asked the man who I knew appreciated me, who recognized my value for the raise, I know I would have been successful, but those questions had to be directed to his partner at the firm.

When I asked her if I could have a raise at my annual review she practically laughed in my face. I was shocked.. The company had only grown, both internally and externally the entire time I was there. I also wrote all of the scopes which included the budgets. I knew I brought value to this company; I just wanted to see a little return on that value. Despite all that value, my request for a raise was denied and the next day she had the nerve to walk in wearing matching real fur boots with her new fur coat. 

From there it’s been hit or miss. I sort of lucked into most places I landed. Sometimes it was good luck and sometimes it was less than ideal. I’ve seen bosses befriend their team members, ignore them, or outright scream at them. I even had a bonsai tree thrown at me once, which is a longer story for a different time. 

Another common workplace behavior is cut throat between women in the advertising industry. Because there’s a disparity of men and women in the industry, it is common for women working together to be cutthroat. So often I have found women try to be combative or argumentative for the sake of trying to show they’re strong enough for a promotion to hit that top dollar salary where they thought I may be threatening their personal gain. 

That has never been my intention and I am finding as I advance r within this world that I’m able to stand my ground, work with other women, and stand up for my team members against less than ideal bosses. Other producers may disagree, but I strongly feel that is a huge part of the job. But there are still many issues within the workplace too. If you go to your typical large scale agency or small agency you will still encounter gross men with their idiocitic comments. 
Or in one unlucky case for myself a trip to the strip club with my first day on the job - full team and my overweight and very sleazy boss. Nothing quite like the grime of dirt being dragged in on the bottom of a high heel shoe.

I’d go into more detail about my first day on the job with an agency and the entire team, including my sleazy boss going to a strip club. I’d go into more detail about feeling like the grime of dirt on the bottom of a high-heeled shoe, but I talk about that story (and more)  in my upcoming memoir, And I’m Only 30.

If I had any advice for someone looking to get into the industry, it’s to ask for the compensation you deserve and if you find a team that works well together cherish that because there will be times where that will not happen. Oh, and always make nice with the female clients. hey feel the same way we all do; we’re just trying to be treated the way we deserve- which  hopefully will tip  the scale to equality or above ;)