Advertising, Female Professionals in

When modern advertising developed in the United States in the late-19th century, the industry was open to a variety of enterprising individuals, including females. Since then, women have distinguished themselves in all facets of the business, creating original and profitable campaigns, and even heading important [Page 34]advertising agencies. By 2008, women comprised half of all employees in advertising and related professions. Nevertheless, agencies in the United States, England, and elsewhere remain bastions of gender inequality, particularly in creative departments, where men outnumber women more than two to one.

Ironically, many of the females who have achieved career success in the field have done so through exploiting sexist stereotypes. Advertisements are among the most pervasive transmitters of cultural messages in modern societies, and limitations on women's ...