FEATURE6 June 2019

Cindy Gallop in seven

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Cindy Gallop is founder and chief executive of MakeLoveNotPorn and IfWeRanTheWorld, and former chair of BBH New York.

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1. You’ve been a vocal critic of the lack of inclusion in the advertising and tech industries, and progress remains depressingly stagnant. What’s the most urgent issue for businesses to address?


It’s very simple. They need to listen to their employees about what is causing them to be excluded, believe them, and act to change those excluding dynamics.

2. Has the #MeToo movement led to behavioural or structural change? 


No, because in an industry dominated by a closed loop of white guys talking to white guys about other white guys, sexual harassment is systemic and the culture of harassment is driven from the top. The men at the top have been harassing and protecting their own for decades. Right-minded leadership needs to ensure – and clients need to demand – that agencies are gender-equal or more female than male. Sexual harassment magically disappears in gender-equal environments, because there is no longer the implicit ‘bro’ endorsement that it’s OK to ...