“Now I can see”: creative women fight against machismo in Chilean advertising

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore sexist codes in the creative departments of Chilean advertising agencies, where women represent only 4.7% of all creatives.

Design/methodology/approach

This study provides new insights into the experiences of women in advertising through 18 in-depth interviews with Chilean creative women.

Findings

The results show that gender discrimination begins in universities, where male professors are often the same people who hire creative talent into the advertising agencies and prefer men, which continues throughout women’s careers.

Originality/value

While there are numerous studies of advertising creative women in North American and European agencies, there are few on creative women in South American and virtually none on creative women in Chilean agencies.

Citation

Mensa, M. and Grow, J.M. (2022), "“Now I can see”: creative women fight against machismo in Chilean advertising", Gender in Management, Vol. 37 No. 3, pp. 405-422. https://doi.org/10.1108/GM-04-2021-0098