I was very surprised, and rather bored, to see that this year’s D&AD
jury comprises 130 men and only ten women, with no women whatsoever on
the executive board.
And this after reading in Campaign that Graham Fink has been voted in
with so-called innovative ways to move things on.
Mel and Griff are all very well, but what about Caroline Quentin,
Caroline Hook, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders? They’re the ones
winning this year’s accolades.
Yes, we all know that men outnumber women in creative departments. But
only one woman out of 31 judges in the TV and cinema advertising and
craft section? It doesn’t look as if anyone is trying very hard here.
And it’s self-perpetuating - men judge advertising awards, so the ads
they like will win. And they’re likely to be the ads that men write. So
more men will win awards and more men will be invited on to future
juries.
This is what has happened since advertising began.
What’s needed in 1996 is a wider view of quality that reflects the way
women think; after all, they make up 52 per cent of the population.
Awards, by their very nature, are backward-looking. By inviting women to
make up a sensible representation, we can start to look forward.
Liz Whiston, HHCL Brasserie, London W1
