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Unemployed white male here. As I try to be an ally I also have secretly had the same fear-—the push for diversity will hurt my own chances in my job hunt
So I’ve tasked myself with counting all the times and ways (that I know of) that privilege has helped me succeed in this career in the first place. In my case, I wouldn’t have even made it into advertising without significant economic privilege (which relates strongly to generations of white privilege).
Really thinking about how much privilege has helped me, which is way more than the push for diversity is “hurting” me, renders any notion that I’m a victim incorrect.
One more thought: make sure your book, your interview skills, and anything else in your control are as strong as possible. Focusing on what’s in your control is a much better use of your time than worrying about what isn’t, especially when the thing that’s not in our control (the push for diversity) is a long overdue and positive change
Rising Star
Probably. I mean I’m a woman, and didn’t get my first job through a family business connection or from a base of economic privilege, so you probably don’t think we have all that much in common. Your circle-jerk banter isn’t strengthening your argument is all I’m saying. 😂
As an oldish (for advert) white guy it’s clear that there is less and less appetite for oldish white guys in exec creative positions. This trend has been growing for a while. It’s hitting maximum velocity lately. Anyone that says this isn’t true is a liar or blind. Anyone that sees it as a problem doesn’t get why it’s not a problem, it’s a solution. It may make things harder for me and other oldish white guys, but it’s long overdue that we even the scales and if that means oldish white guys like me have a tougher time of things then so be it. Thats a good thing. Progress isn’t easy and change is a verb. This is what evening the scales looks and feels like. I have a family to support just like a lot of you and it sucks for me, but if we want equality for all races, genders and sexual orientations, then oldish white guys are gonna have to get used to sitting in the back seat for a while. I care about these things and I’m good with that. If I have to leave advertising to make a living so be it. I’ll evolve and do what I have to do personally for me and my fam. Maybe I freelance. Maybe I take a job below my weight class. Maybe I leave advertising completely. It’s more important to me that I leave the world and culture in better shape than I found it for my kid. And a big part of that is smashing the patriarchy and making sure white straight males don’t hold all the cards anymore. Again, yes. Sucks for me. But it’s sucked for women, LGBTQ and POC a lot more than it’s sucked for me and for a lot longer. That’s why when I’ve been told (and I have) that oldish white guys like me are not being considered for certain exec creative roles, I get it and accept it and am more than OK with it.
^^^💪🏻💪🏻 This was my gut feeling and my ultimate conclusion after writing the original post, and reading all the very helpful replies. If this is “my time” to take a little bit of a hit for the greater good and to help those who have been kept out or kept down in this industry for too long, I am OK with that. I will just have to hope that my track record will help me keep freelancing until something good comes up.
This is currently happening overtly within my agency for an ECD job.
Discrimination is bullshit, end of story. There’s a way to solve the problem of inequality of opportunity, and it isn’t through more discrimination on the basis of skin color or sex.
This is the flip side of the past where you were able to be promoted into leadership while many POC (and women) got pushed out or stalled at lower levels. If not for that, demographics wouldn’t be so uneven at your level and this kind of focused recruitment wouldn’t be necessary for agencies to cover their asses. If it makes you feel better though this same dynamic means there’s also a much smaller pool of black CDs than white ones, at least for now. Straight white men will still get hired into these roles. But, you’ll have to compete harder with each other for them.
This is what equity looks like, and you have to understand that marginalized people have been getting the “need not apply” message FOREVER.
And to clarify they didn’t say “we will not hire you because you are a middle-aged straight white male, so f*ck off, fascist“...but it was very badly hidden in phrases like “We’re focused on a diversity hire for this one” and “(for this hire) We’re going to do our part as an agency to respond to the BLM movement”...so, it doesn’t take a WWII code breaker to know exactly what those statements mean.
Unfortunately for people like me—conversely good for others who have been marginalized over the years which again I fully support, even at my own (hopefully temporary; don’t wanna remain unemployed forever) expense—it’s just “bad PR” to hire me. And like it or not, agencies and brands want to/should fix things re: hiring, especially senior levels, because they also need be seen as “woke” or progressive for purely bottom line purposes—THAT and it’s just the right thing to do.
It’s gotten to the point where with online applications, I “choose not to self identify” race, hoping they will just look at my resume and portfolio. Knowing that at some point they will find out I am “just another” middle-age straight white male. 🤷🏼♂️
It may be illegal but both my husband and I, in our two separate industries, have been told in the last week that only POC will be our new hires moving forward, regardless if they are the most qualified.
I wonder if there could ever be a “Rooney Rule” like in the NFL, where agencies have to prove, not just lip service, but actively prove they interviewed non-white candidates for positions. not that the Rooney rule is perfect— you definitely see some of the same old tired boys club white man retreads shuffling around the league—But the number of Black head coaches and other high profile staff has certainly increased.
“Culture fit”=white fit a.k.a doesn’t act or think like a white person.
*I should also say, we want to keep it illegal. For obvious reasons.
Rising Star
In the US there are a number of Hispanic and African-American specialist agencies. Many top-tier clients include these shops on their roster as well. Prime example is the beer category where highly targeted work is the norm. Do these agencies exacerbate the issue and give ‘mainstream’ shops a pass on diversity? How should they participate in this debate?
Rising Star
...I’ll sum it up simply from a leadership clique perspective. If you’re not one of the boys, you’re not one of the boys.