Advertising is creativity. It’s rebellion. The industry thrives on disruption, on challenging the norm, on standing at the cutting edge of culture. It sells empowerment, reinvention, and progress. Women have been a part of advertising since its earliest days. In the 1880s, Mathilde C. Weil founded one of the first-ever ad agencies, proving that women weren’t just consumers of messages; they were creators of them. Over the decades, the number of women in advertising grew.
In the 1880s, Mathilde C. Weil founded one of the first-ever ad agencies, proving that women weren’t just consumers of messages; they were creators of them.
Fast forward to today, and nearly 40% of the advertising workforce in India is female. Women lead brainstorming sessions, drive campaign strategy, and shape the stories we see on our screens. The industry appears progressive, even feminised. But it is only when you look beyond the surface that you actually start seeing the cracks appear.
Women dominate entry-level positions but disappear as you move up the ladder. Only 30% of top management roles in India’s marketing and communication agencies are held by women. Globally, the situation isn’t much better. Women hold only 37.9% of C-suite roles in advertising, down from 43% just two years ago. Among the most powerful agencies – the ones that shape global culture and influence billions – not a single one of the Big Six has a female CEO.
This discrepancy results from deeply embedded systematic barriers, including workplace issues and structural biases that make it significantly hard for women leaders in advertising to break through at the top. Understanding and acknowledging these issues are the first steps to dismantling them and ensuring true equity in leadership positions.
The persistence of the boys’ club in advertising
A, a senior vice president at an advertising agency, explains, ‘I’ll tell you what happens because of these boy clubs in advertising agencies. Mother-sister abuses. Completely acceptable. Physical appearance comments. And just so, women tend not to feel comfortable.‘
Despite claims of progress, agencies remain deeply male-dominated. Leadership teams function like exclusive clubs where promotions happen over late-night drinks, and credibility depends on fitting in with the boys. Those who don’t are shut out.
‘When women tell the boy’s club ‘hey, you are wrong and have to make adjustments and changes, get better’, they tend to say that, ‘these days we can’t say anything. The workplace is not safe for us anymore. This is hostile work. Because every time I am being abusive, someone is telling me not to be abusive.’‘ says B, Vice President at an Advertising Agency.
C, a Copy and Content Lead at an advertising agency recalled,’At the end of the day, the boys went for a drink, and we weren’t invited. I think it’s little things like that.‘
C, a Copy and Content Lead at an advertising agency recalled, ‘At the end of the day, the boys went for a drink, and we weren’t invited. I think it’s little things like that.‘
For women, this means navigating an environment where speaking up could be perceived as “difficult” or “oversensitive.” Many adapt by staying silent, playing along, or working twice as hard to be taken seriously.
Empathy becomes the strength and the survival strategy
Empathy is often celebrated as a key strength of women leaders. Studies show that women in leadership positions tend to create more collaborative, inclusive, and psychologically safe workplaces.
‘I feel, with the female leader, there is a knack for caring by default. There is a knack for observation and having a keen eye for mistakes. It comes very naturally to a female leader, actually, because that’s how we are also built in a certain way.‘ says X, a Creative Studio client.
But this empathy is not always a choice. It is, in many cases, a necessity.
Women leaders have to walk a tightrope throughout their careers – the impossible balancing act of being “strong” but not “intimidating,” “assertive” but not “aggressive,” “direct” but not “rude.”
Women leaders have to walk a tightrope throughout their careers – the impossible balancing act of being “strong” but not “intimidating,” “assertive” but not “aggressive,” “direct” but not “rude.”
A, a Vice President at an Advertising Agency, explained, ‘I mean, the standards are massively different. When there’s a male leader who is not well-liked by their team, the usual idea is, ‘Oh, he’s a hard taskmaster.’ The problem is found in the team and their opinion of him. But for a woman leading, if her team doesn’t like her, she’s labeled a bitch to work with. That’s why her team doesn’t like her.‘
Motherhood is a liability in the advertising sector
The industry’s bias against women reaches its worst when they become mothers. Career breaks, maternity leave, or even the possibility of having a child become reasons to deny women leadership opportunities.
E, a marketing strategy lead at an advertising agency, shared, ‘Every time a woman goes for an interview, she’s asked this question, ‘Are you married? If not married, what are your plans for marrying?’ A man is never asked these questions.‘
Women returning from maternity leave often find themselves sidelined, treated as if they are less capable.
‘I had a two-year-old child when I returned to work after maternity leave. The stress was relentless. There were calls late into the night, early mornings, and no time for my child. There was no empathy or support from the organisation, which eventually pushed me to leave.‘ says F, Associate Vice President at an advertising agency.
The message is clear: you can be a leader, or you can be a mother. But you can’t be both.
The microaggressions and double standards in expectations against women
Women in leadership face harsher scrutiny, with little room for error. They must work harder to prove their commitment while navigating a culture that excuses abusive male leadership.
They must work harder to prove their commitment while navigating a culture that excuses abusive male leadership.
G, a group lead at an advertising agency, recounted, ‘In the last two weeks when my team and I had left for home, there was this one team call that happened. The group ACD, who is a male boss, was screaming, shouting, yelling, and abusing us on the call just because we had left for home. On the contrary, I was the one taking a stand for my juniors because I know the background they come from, and I know that reaching home at a certain time is essential for everyone. But the group ACD, the male boss, did not have that decency or understanding that these are women, and they need to be home at a certain time.‘
Male leaders are given unquestioned authority, even when their leadership is hostile. They can shout, curse, and intimidate, and it’s written off as “strong leadership” or “being tough.”
‘I faced sexism when I held my team accountable and was labeled a bad person for doing so. Meanwhile, in a meeting, the CEO – a man – used abusive language in front of women, including mother-sister slurs, and no one raised an issue against him.‘ says H, an Independent Creative Director
HR policies are for the optics
Every agency claims to have strong HR policies for workplace safety, sexual harassment, and gender equality. But in actuality, HR is often complicit in protecting the status quo.
J, a co-founder of an advertising agency, stated, ‘Every agency has its own sexual harassment policy. I think it’s only for optics. I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen it being enforced, even when I’ve had people face it.‘
Women who report inappropriate behavior don’t get justice – they get branded as “difficult” and find themselves pushed out.
Women who report inappropriate behavior don’t get justice – they get branded as “difficult” and find themselves pushed out.
‘In the last 10 years, I’ve seen a bunch of harassment cases that were brought to the notice of HR. First, they didn’t know how to deal with it. They’d made a POSH committee because it’s a requirement, but they didn’t know how to deal with a complaint when it came in. They didn’t know the steps. They had to figure it out. They had to Google it. It’s just crazy, ridiculous.‘ says K, an Executive Creative Director at an Advertising Agency
Gender shapes what accounts you are assigned in advertising
Gender dictates account assignments in advertising. The industry quietly sorts women into “softer” brands – beauty, luxury, home care – while male professionals are given the more “serious” work: automobiles, finance, real estate, and technology.
‘People do prefer having men on the brand.‘ says M, Group Head at an advertising agency.
This has nothing to do with expertise. It’s about a bias so ingrained that even the most talented female creatives and strategists aren’t considered for brands that sit outside the gendered mold.
As N, a former executive director at an advertising agency, shared, ‘I used to handle a trucks business. And because it’s commercial vehicles, I think they pick men because their teams are largely men. They prefer speaking to men. That’s just how it is.‘
The workplace is built for men, and women just have to adjust
The workplace is designed for men, leaving women to adjust. A “good” employee is expected to be always available, with no regard for safety, caregiving, or work-life balance.
A “good” employee is expected to be always available, with no regard for safety, caregiving, or work-life balance.
‘My boss was rude and imposing. He said, ‘You live alone; why do you need to go home early?’ He expected me to stay until 1 am just because I didn’t have a family at home.‘ says O, Marketing strategy lead at an advertising agency
Women are expected to overcommit in ways men aren’t, and their responsibilities outside work are dismissed as personal choices rather than systemic challenges.
P, a marketing lead at an advertising agency, observed, ‘There are certain people, certain men, who generally don’t understand women or how a woman’s body works. They do not come from a family background where men and women are treated equally. They come from a background where women belong in the kitchen.‘
And the tokenism never ends
Women are often given leadership positions as tokens, with limited authority or decision-making power. This practice undermines their role and reinforces gender stereotypes.
A, a senior vice president at an advertising agency, shared, ‘Women are often given a seat at the table as tokenism to specifically represent their gender, but not given the power that comes with that seat. That happens all the time. I have seen it. I have been subjected to it. I have often been called into presentations at the last minute. I have often been called because I would play well to the audience due to how I look, how I talk, the fact that I’m a woman and that I’m younger.‘
The pattern is clear – women in advertising fight a system stacked against them. They’re excluded from key decisions, denied high-impact accounts, and expected to balance likability with authority while shouldering invisible emotional labour.
This isn’t a pipeline problem; it’s a power problem. Women have always been here. The real question is why the table is still designed to keep them on the margins.
The industry that prides itself on shaping culture needs to take a hard look at its own. Real change won’t come from diversity statements. Agencies must dismantle the barriers holding women back. HR must enforce policies, not protect perpetrators. Emotional labor should be recognised, not expected. Account assignments must be based on skill, not gender. Late-night meetings can’t be the price of ambition. Leadership shouldn’t just be accessible to women. It should be structured to retain them.
It’s not enough to say women are welcome at the top. The industry needs to make sure they can stay there. Advertising has spent decades selling progress. It’s time to prove it can actually deliver.
Names have been withheld to protect identity.
