A Thank You Note to Saatchi & Saatchi's Kevin Roberts

Dear Mr RobertsLast week you took a bold stand when you publicly stated that gender diversity is an quotissue that isn39t really therequot When an esteemed industry leaderamp160and officer of one of the six major holding companies announces that he doesn39t spend any time whatsoever on quotsupposed gender issuesquot it is a gamechanging revelationOn behalf of women in our industry thank youThank you for your candor And thank you for giving voice to a belief many men in our business share with you Women who speak out against the discrimination we39ve experienced are quotmaking up a lot of stuffquotThank you for openly stating that quotI don39t think the lack of women in leadership roles is a problemquot because you validated what many women sense and heretofore couldn39t prove even as we see nothing but men at the very top of the holding companies sit as tokens in conference rooms or follow reports of harassment at one agency or anotherWhen someone of your rank and stature makes openly misogynistic declarations that women lack quotvertical ambitionquot and in fact don39t want to lead they just want to quotbe happy and do great workquot it furthers the cause These sentiments are generally only expressed in meetings we are not invited to But your words corroborate the worst of our experience and attest to the unconscious bias women endure every day Thank you Mr Roberts for vindicating so many women in one interviewAs an advertising strategist I know that a problem well stated is partially solvedamp160 And you sir in having illustrated the problem so beautifully have provided the industry an unprecedented opportunity to solve itamp160 Unconscious bias is no longer a phantom issue We must confront it wholeheartedly and demand that agencies create structural change to finally move beyond bias towards gender equality As the author of quotLovemarksquot a theory that expounds values of respect empathyamp160and passion you are the ideal person to champion diversity amp160now that your own bias has been made evidentYour colleagues at the holding company have disavowed your comments But I hope that after deeper reflection they will be as grateful to you as women are Because you39ve acknowledged an ugly truth that many people in our industry privately think unintentionally demonstrateamp160and continually denyAdvertising agencies have the ability to seed ideas that move brands build businessesamp160and make a difference in the worldamp160 There is no industry better positioned to lead the diversity movement and create a new order I hope that you Mr Roberts will be the redeemer who inspires dynamic and immediate change First in your own heart and mind Then in your organization And finally in our business at largeYou are in a uniquely powerful position to put your Lovemark on gender diversity and enact policies to propel progress Women who create and consume advertising would benefit from an advocate like you amp160SincerelyKristi FaulknerCofounder Beyond BiasThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated bloggers

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A Thank You Note to Saatchi & Saatchi's Kevin Roberts

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Kristi Faulkner

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