Women Creatives and Machismo in Mexican Advertising: Challenging Barriers to success

Abstract

This study explores the experiences of women working as creatives in Mexican advertising creative departments. It is based on 22 in-depth interviews and suggests that these women face significant challenges within the machismo culture, which permeates Mexican advertising creative departments. Mexico plays an important role in global advertising, particularly in Latin America, but in this country female workers only represent five per cent of those working in creative departments. This is the first study focused on Mexican women creatives in advertising, highlighting the confluence of advertising women creatives and Mexican culture. Analysis reveals ten subcategories which articulate the horizontal and vertical barriers women creatives in Mexico face. Additionally, two broad workplace cohorts emerge: "old glories," the misogynist men creatives who have historically managed advertising creative departments; and "forward thinkers," young women and men who work side-by-side within advertising creative departments, disregarding or embracing gender differences. The findings, contextualized by cultural and organizational feminist theories as well as power theory, expose a machismo environment within Mexican advertising creative departments.

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

“…Indeed, the number of women in advertising creative departments, globally, is only 23.5%, while the number of women creative directors (managers) is just 16.1% (Deng and Grow, 2018). Chile has just 4.7% creative women (Mensa and Grow, 2019).…”

“…Five common practices or codes frame the experiences of women working in advertising creative departments in Mexico, namely, male power, exclusionary practices, gender-bound hiring and promotion practices, sexual harassment and work/life imbalance (Mensa and Grow, 2019). These practices are particularly pronounced in the Chilian experience.…”

“…According to masculinity theories, men fight among themselves to secure ever larger territories in which to spread their power (Connell, 2005;Ralph and Roberts, 2020), while women tend to share power through inclusive socialisation (Coveney et al, 2019;Vianello and Caramazza, 2005). In advertising creative departments, men have the power and they externalise it by touting their achievements (Mensa and Grow, 2019), winning awards (Mallia, 2009), often rejecting creative women's ideas in the process Grow and Broyles (2011) as they amass more power. This hegemonic masculine externalisation of power is reflected in a boys' or Tobbies' club culture (Stapleton and Michelson, 2021).…”

“…When women are excluded from the "boys' club", their ideas are neither heard nor valued (Mallia, 2009;Nixon and Crew, 2006). Exclusion in advertising creative departments includes not being invited into brainstorming sessions or not being assigned to key assignments or teams (Mensa and Grow, 2019). This exclusion is usually driven by men's desire to only work with other men.…”

Portraits of Women: Mexican and Chilean Stereotypes in Digital Advertising

“…This idea is connected with machismo culture in Mexico, where the country expects that women are submissive and soft-hearted. They must care for home and family, which includes staying at home with children (Mensa & Grow, 2019). Ultimately, women are seen as nurturers, while men have to be commanding and commonly demonstrate their dominance with assertive competitiveness (Agoff, Casique & Castro, 2013;Mollett, 2017).…”