Adweek spoke with Deutsch NYC CEO Val DiFebo at Cannes, and the discussion included the dearth of dames on Madison Avenue. DiFebo believes “women still face obstacles” securing positions of power—particularly in the creative department—yet she seemed clueless on solutions to the alleged dilemma. When asked directly, “Do you actively seek female creatives?” she passed the buck to her agency’s recruiter, who apparently seeks out the best talent, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, etc. The CEO added, “[The Deutsch recruiter] just can’t find [female candidates], to be honest.” Her statement, of course, is the stereotypical most popular excuse delivered for all diversity-related inquiries. Like nearly every industry leader, DiFebo doesn’t realize recruiting candidates who are not White men requires tactics beyond the norm. She also doesn’t realize the norm—in terms of hiring practices for the advertising field—is outdated, exclusionary, sexist, racist, discriminatory and more. And she absolutely doesn’t realize the real answers—as well as potential candidates—won’t be found at the cliquish confines of Cannes. If DiFebo is typical of her high-level peers, she will probably suggest that ad agencies should start grooming future creative directors through the Girl Scouts.
1 comment:
WTF- So the smartest people in the room dont have a clue on how to recruit diversity, and when all else fails they pass the torch to their recruiters who then in turn to cover their ass say " they cant find any talent". Thats all they have to do is say we cant find any talent. Problem solved and no one questions if they even give a damn.
Classic. And these are white women! Their not even trying to find their own, and she's the CEO of the agency! This lady was also honored by the ny urban league for diversity initiatives. -u cant make this stuff up. http://www.nyul.org/diversity
Just imagine for a sec if they could care less about white women,-blacks & latinos as screwed. This is why diversity initiatives are pointless. These people have no clue on solving madison aves biggest problems but yet they are being honored and awarded for doing absolutely nothing at all. They are supposed to be the most brilliant people in advertising, yet they are the most clueless. They create these forums, panels,bootcamps,diversity committees but its as useless as counting sand at a beach.
The sad part is no one really cares about diversity.They are more about their Cannes awards and looking good in front of the camera. Then they fly back to their agencies and wonder why their meetings are still filled with only white men.
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