Coverage: Ad giant places executive on leave after gender comments

Advertising giant Publicis Groupe has placed executive Kevin Roberts on leave following controversial comments he made that were dismissive of the raging debate over gender diversity on Madison Avenue.

Suzanne Vranica of The Wall Street Journal had the news:

In an interview with Business Insider published Friday, Mr. Roberts said the debate about gender equality is “over” and he doesn’t spend “any time” on the issue at his company. Mr. Roberts, who is currently executive chairman at Saatchi & Saatchi and head coach at the ad agency’s parent company Publicis Groupe, said the gender issue is “way worse” in industries such as financial services.

“We have a bunch of talented, creative females, but they reach a certain point in their careers … 10 years of experience, when we are ready to make them a creative director of a big piece of business, and I think we fail in two out of three of those choices because the executive involved said: ‘I don’t want to manage a piece of business and people, I want to keep doing the work’,” Mr. Roberts said in the interview.

Publicis Groupe Chief Executive Maurice Lévy condemned Mr. Roberts’s remarks.

“It is for the gravity of these statements that Kevin Roberts has been asked to take a leave of absence from Publicis Groupe effective immediately,” he said in a statement Saturday.

David Griner of Adweek reported that Saatchi & Saatchi worldwide CEO also condemned Roberts:

Saatchi & Saatchi’s own worldwide CEO, Robert Senior, has also released a statement disavowing Roberts’ comments:

“Kevin has given what are his personal views on the subject of gender diversity. However, those views are not mine, and nor are they the position of the agency.

“Saatchi & Saatchi is, and has always been, a meritocracy. We live and die by our people, our talent, and it makes no difference to us whether that talent is male or female. Indeed, I’m very proud to be able to say that 65 percent of our staff are female, and it is to our great benefit that we have women in senior leadership roles across our business.

“However, the issue of gender diversity is not in any way over for our industry. It is live, emotive and vital for the communications business that we continue to insist that the best people, whatever their gender, are able to achieve their potential. This is what we strive for at Saatchi & Saatchi, and is what we will continue to strive for alongside all of the best agencies in our industry.”

Shareen Pathak of Digiday reports that Publicis has had other embarrassments:

Sources said that Publicis Communications CEO Arthur Sadoun also sent a memo to employees following Roberts’ comments that said, in part, that he found Roberts’ remarks offensive and that this behavior was not acceptable within the Groupe. “I am sorry that the comments made by Kevin have reflected poorly upon the Groupe and our culture,” he wrote.

It’s the latest embarrassing public statement from a Publicis exec. At the 4A’s conference in Miami in March, Lévy himself came under fire for saying that the case of Gustavo Martinez, the JWT CEO ousted after he was accused of racial and sexual harassment, was a one-man case and not indicative of wider problems in the agency world.

Only 11 percent of the executive and management positions inside the ad industry are held by women, according to industry averages. And women continue to come out to speak about the rampant sexism when it comes to working and being promoted in the industry.