Saatchi & Saatchi boss suspended following 'sexist' comments

The Executive Chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi has been put on leave, following comments suggesting that gender disparity in the advertising industry is “all over.”

Kevin Roberts, also Head Coach at Saatchi & Saatchi’s parent company Publicis Groupe, denied that the lack of women in leadership roles was a problem.

In an interview with Business Insider, Roberts said that female creatives are reluctant to move into top roles, as they just want to be happy and do great work.

He elaborates: “We have a bunch of talented, creative females, but they reach a certain point in their careers [...] [they get to] ten years of experience when we are ready to make them a creative director of a big piece of business, and I think we fail in two out of three of those choices because the executive involved said: 'I don't want to manage a piece of business and people, I want to keep doing the work’.”