For the first time, SA adland is setting a benchmark for the percentage of men and women working in the industry, across all agency departments, from creative and strategy to digital, finance and client service. The report is a partnership between SheSays Cape Town and M&C Saatchi Group South Africa.

The findings of the first SheSays Gender Representation Survey will be officially revealed on 27 August to coincide with Women’s Month, during a virtual event where industry leaders will discuss the numbers and what an inclusivity agenda should look like in 2020. The survey was conducted by the Cape Town Chapter of SheSays, the biggest global network of women in the creative industries, in partnership with Kantar.

According to SheSays Cape Town director Johannie Van As, “This is no longer a conversation for women to have amongst themselves. For this event, we’ve invited men and women to chat about where the gaps are (and why), what is being done to promote inclusivity in our industry, plus the practical ways in which we can change the script.”

M&C Saatchi Abel was the first agency to help SheSays promote the survey industrywide. “The advertising industry has made strides to diversify, but it is vital to see an organisation such as SheSays actually working to quantify these changes,” says Mike Abel, Founding Partner and Chief Executive Officer of M&C Saatchi Abel.

“We wanted to get involved because the survey speaks directly to one of our core principles, Diversity of Thought, in culture, race and gender,” said Makosha Maja-Rasethaba, Head of Strategy at M&C Saatchi Abel. “Women make up over 60% of our agency across all departments, while over 60 % of our agency are people of colour. It is not possible to believe you are thinking creatively if that thinking is made up of only one half of the population.”

“This is long overdue research that will not only hold the industry accountable, but will allow us to ensure the conversation happens across gender and not only women-led.”  

The findings of the survey will be discussed by a panel of industry leaders including Mpume Nkobese (Joe Public Connect), Neo Mashigo (M&C Saatchi Group South Africa), Camilla Clerke (HelloFCB+), and Jarred Cinman (VMLY&R South Africa). This panel will be moderated by Pride Mautatlala (Foschini Group).

The virtual event will be at 16h30 on 27 August on Zoom. It will be open to the public and admission is free. You can book here to attend.

On behalf of Eclipse
Patrick Domburg
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