After ad boss’s ‘sexist’ comments, we ask: are women happier NOT being the boss?
Two female writers respond to Saatchi & Saatchi chairman's claim that women lack ambition
THE chairman of top ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi has been suspended in a sexism row after saying women lack ambition to get to the top.
Kevin Roberts, 66, said he did not believe the small number of women in senior roles in his industry was a problem because they were “happy” where they were.
Roberts claimed they shy away from “vertical ambition”, preferring “circular ambition” instead to achieve their happiness.
Here, two female writers respond to his comments.
Yes
says Samantha Brick, writer and broadcaster
A DECADE ago I was a 35-year-old working as a television boss on a juicy, six-figure salary.
A walking, talking advert for gender equality in the workplace, I was a working- class girl made good, with the Merc and three-storey house near the Thames.
I lorded it up with my male colleagues — working hard, playing hard.
But it was all a big fat lie and “vertical ambition” came at a massive price.
Privately, I was a mess. My hair was falling out due to stress. My workaholic ways meant my first marriage was over before it began.
When I turned 37, I walked away from the male-dominated boardroom and never looked back
I learnt from brutal experience that it isn’t in our feminine DNA to push everything else to one side.
The fact is men ARE brilliant at focusing single-mindedly on their careers.
At 19 though, I was a starry-eyed, tub-thumping feminist who relished the prospect of taking on men at their own game.
And I was determined to be that ball-busting Jackie Collins heroine.
I hadn’t clocked that those bonkbuster characters are fictional heroines with no place in modern society. I was so fixated on smashing down the glass ceiling that I missed the boat to become a mum. When I turned 37, I walked away from the male-dominated boardroom and never looked back.
Today I live on a small-holding in rural France.
While I’m on a third of my former income, I have blossomed into the woman I was meant to be.
I have remarried, and in focusing on my feminine qualities I am not just a doting wife and stepmum, I am a loyal friend who always puts her family first.
Former colleagues think I have gone la-la, but who cares?
Granted, I won’t ever win a businesswoman of the year award, but I would wager that most men (and women) adore the steady presence of someone like yours truly in their lives.
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No
says Dulcie Pearce, Sun Woman Editor
WE need to talk about Kevin.
The 66-year-old businessman is a threat to us all, as he clearly has capabilities far beyond any normal man.
Not only has he risen to the heights of chairman at one of the world’s biggest advertising companies, he is also able to read the minds of working women.
Because, ladies, he has spoken out for us all. And his conclusion is: We just want to be happy.
So put down those books, tuck that ambition away in the drawer (next to your aprons and lipstick) and be happy. That’s it. Don’t you feel better now?
Kevin has no idea what it's like to lose out on a job because you're a maternity-leave risk
Well of course you don’t, because obviously these are the ramblings of a man who thinks he’s in Mad Men.
Contrary to Kevin’s beliefs, a promotion has always caused great happiness in my life. It means my hard work has been recognised and rewarded.
The idea of never having one ever again makes me feel very unhappy indeed.
What Kevin — the wealthy, white, powerful, OAP — doesn’t understand is what actually makes women in the workplace happy.
And that is to be paid the same as a man in the same role and for our gender, ovaries and age not to be discussed at work.
I highlight that Kevin is a rich, white, powerful old man because he knows as little about discrimination as I do about quantum physics.
He has no idea what it is like to go for an interview as a woman of childbearing age and lose out on the job because you are too much of a maternity-leave risk.
Or to have people immediately assume you must be a massive bitch rather than an assertive boss because of your gender.
In Kevin’s rose-tinted world the “debate is all over” on gender diversity.
But here’s a thought, Kevin. Perhaps it’s not those promotions women are rejecting at Saatchi & Saatchi. Perhaps it’s the idea of working for you.