Female Representation among Advertising's Creative Elite: A Content Analysis of the Communication Arts Advertising Annual

This study examined issues of the Communication Arts Advertising Annual in 1984, 1994, 2004, and 2014 to assess women's inclusion among award winners, which represent the upper echelons of the advertising industry's creative ranks. Findings showed that women have token status, as they represented 7% of all creative award winners in 1984, 11% in 1994, 6% in 2004, and 11% in 2014. Creative women in advertising have not made much progress toward equity in the past 30 years. This has implications for the ads that get made, the culture of the agency creative department, and the career prospects of advertising students. This also demonstrates a continuing disconnect between female consumers and the agency personnel developing the advertising targeting them.