The Advertising Association, Nabs and Wacl, backed by the IPA and ISBA, have called #timesup on sexual harassment in the UK advertising and marketing industry.
Today, they published a report which contains some disturbing statistics, reflecting the scale of the problem. They also set out a new Code of Conduct for the industry, which is designed to tackle it head on.
Among other things, the research revealed that 26% of respondents have been sexually harassed while working in the industry – 34% of female respondents and 9% of male respondents.
The great majority (72%) of those who have been sexually harassed have been harassed more than once, and of them a quarter have been harassed six times or more.
The vast majority of those who have experienced sexual harassment have been harassed by someone senior to them (82%).
Sexual harassment had a similar level of prevalence across all company types surveyed; brands, media owners, media agencies and creative agencies.
We welcome the report and Code of Conduct.
Find out more at www.timeTo.org.uk
As is mentioned in the Code of Conduct, employers can find free guidance and policy documents to help them make a lasting change, here.
The research, based on a survey of 3,580 people working in the UK advertising and marketing communications industry, revealed that sexual harassment in advertising is far from being a past relic of a bygone age. Kerry Glazer, president of Nabs, outgoing president of Wacl and chief executive of AAR, urged the industry to take positive steps forward in making things better, safer, respectful and equal for all. "By having a clear code of conduct we aren’t setting out to create controlled, humourless offices but to ensure that no one’s dignity is undermined by some else’s behaviour," Glazer said.
https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/timeto-calls-timesup-sexual-harassment-ad-industry/1486271