The Saatchi Ouster Shows Leaders Need to Be Gender Smart, Not Gender Blind

Kevin Roberts, the chair of advertising company Saatchi & Saatchi, probably still doesn’t know what hit him. He announced his resignation today after being put — very publicly — on a leave of absence for being gender blind. Like most executives I work with, he probably was proud of his blindness. We’ve raised a generation of men — and many women — who pride themselves on ignoring gender totally. In their minds, like Roberts’s, “the fucking debate is all over.” The global outcry over his remarks, and his quick dismissal from power by parent company Publicis, shows that the debate is far from over. If anything, its ferocity is growing, as are the stakes. Roberts is representative of a kind of leader I see more often these days: proud of positioning himself as an enlightened futurist, saying that power and hierarchy are an antiquated concept that women are too wise to submit to. It’s paternalism and a put-down in one. He told Business Insider on July 29: So we [men] are trying to impose our antiquated shit on them [women], and they are going: “Actually guys, you’re missing the point, you don’t understand: I’m way happier than you.” Their ambition is not a vertical ambition, it’s this intrinsic, circular ambition to be happy. So they say: “We are not judging ourselves by those standards that you idiotic dinosaur-like men judge yourself by.” I don’t think [the lack of women in leadership roles] is a problem. I’m just not worried about it because they are very happy, they’re very successful, and doing great work. I can’t talk about sexual discrimination because we’ve never had that problem, thank goodness. This in an industry so redolent with outdated gender stereotypes of both men and women that it succeeds mostly in alienating everyone. An industry in which 94% percent of creative directors were men in 2010, a figure that has since dropped to…89%. The debate is over? Some would say it’s hardly begun. Roberts’s kind of willful blindness (in Margaret Heffernan’s wonderful phrase) is widespread. We have heard it all before: leaders who say their marketing messages to female clients and consumers must be gender appropriate because their marketing departments are dominated by women (although led by men). Those who explain the dominance of men in leadership by citing women’s “personal choices,” which of course they respect and have no wish to influence. Others who make a fuss of visibly promoting alpha females (usually without kids) to prove their gender neutrality, while alienating the next generation of women. Those who proudly say they hire the best candidate regardless of gender, without ever considering that their definition of “best” might be rigidly male. That’s where many managers still are, mostly unconsciously. Denying differences. Some, like Roberts, use the differences to rationalize the gender gap. But without understanding all the issues that affect, influence, and irritate women, it’s pretty hard to create gender-balanced workplaces or to connect with female consumers sustainably. Rather than ignoring gender issues, it’s increasingly important for 21st – century leaders to understand them — deeply. When you can speak to both men and women, without alienating either, that’s “gender bilingualism.” It has nothing to do with Men Are from Mars–esque stereotypes, and everything to do with embracing gender differences along a whole range of masculine and feminine career cycles, communication styles, and differing attitudes to power. And in the world Roberts describes, “a world where we need, like we’ve never needed before, integration, collaboration, connectivity, and creativity,” gender bilingualism is increasingly a leadership skill. This goes well beyond unconscious bias training for middle managers. The companies that understand this are finding strategic opportunities in designing gender balance into all their business areas — talent management, customer connections, and marketing to an updated definition of gender. What do they do? They make leaders (not out-group representatives or heads of diversity) accountable for balance at all levels and across all functions They shift cultures to embrace gender differences rather than deny them They redesign systems and processes (like promotion criteria, performance evaluation systems, or retention policies) that prefer one gender’s traits over another’s Too often I hear companies crowing that they have achieved “balance” if half of their workforce is female. But having 65% women at the bottom and a dominance of men at the top — as Saatchi does — or having an all-female HR department and an all-male IT department is short-sighted. Too many women in a sector or function makes it hard to recruit talented men; too many men makes it tough to attract talented women. Moreover, the best evidence we have suggests that gender balance really does lead to better performance: teams are smarter, for instance, and companies more profitable. So we need to go beyond the #HeForShe arguments, inspiring as they are. We need today’s male leaders to become really convincing in proving that companies balancing their workforces isn’t good just for women. It’s good for men. It’s good for business. It’s good for everyone. Doing this requires acknowledging and accepting reality. Not pretending that the debate is over.

The Saatchi Ouster Shows Leaders Need to Be Gender Smart, Not Gender Blind

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