Publicis announced this morning that Saatchi & Saatchi executive chairman and Publicis Groupe head coach Kevin Roberts will resign as of September 1 – ahead of his previously scheduled May 1, 2017 retirement. Interviewer Lara O’Reilly wrote that she “remarked how the gender diversity debate rages on within the advertising industry”, and received the response “Not in my view”, from Roberts.
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Kevin Roberts, chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi, was suspended by owner Publicis after the legendary advertising boss said some women lacked “vertical ambition” and that low numbers of women in senior positions was not a problem.
He also noted that Saatchi is about 65 percent female, while parent company Publicis Groupe is split evenly.
A Business Insider article published Friday quoted Roberts saying that companies view success in “antiquated” ways, and that women at his firm are “happier” not taking on leadership roles.
Publicis objected to the remarks, saying in a statement on Sunday that they were not in line with its “celebration of difference” and placed Roberts on leave. Starting with Maurice Levy attending and speaking at the 3PercentConference in NYC this Nov 3/4 (where I will also be speaking) – the flawless platform to address the female talent and creativity in our industry and demonstrate how much he values it.
However, given he was forced to resign, PublicisGroupe would have made a far greater statement to every woman working within their network, at every client brand they represent, and to the industry as a whole, if they had fired him.
“I think the most important thing is encouraging women to be more vocal and more high profile, so younger women and women coming through the ranks can see that it is possible and there’s no reason they can’t take those jobs”.
“Diversity and inclusion are business imperatives on which Publicis Groupe will not negotiate”. While fostering a work environment that is inclusive of all talent is a collective responsibility, it is leadership’s job to nurture the career aspirations and goals of all our talent. Publicis said “promoting gender equality starts at the top”.
“I am sorry that the comments made by Kevin have reflected poorly upon the Groupe and our culture”.
Speaking in a recent interview with Business Insider, when asked whether he thought the gender diversity debate was still relevant in the advertising industry, Roberts replied: “Not in my view”.
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The interview caused consternation in Saatchi & Saatchi and the wider group, its chief creative officer Kate Stanners said, while provoking a storm of criticism on social media.
