La mujer en la industria publicitaria. La segregación vertical en la comunicación comercial: techo de cristal y suelo pegajoso

Abstract

Up until now, no studies with a gender focus had been made in Spain on the structure and work processes in the advertising field, a sphere that, driven by technological and structural advances, has undergone an enormous growth in the last decade. This article aims to describe the advertising work structure with a gender focus, and to identify whether in the work system we can find both the phenomenon of the tacky floor and that of the glass ceiling. On the basis of empirical research at the national level carried out between October 2004 and December 2005 with the advertising companies grouped in the AEAP (Spanish Association of Advertising Agencies), with the participation of 23 firms and 819 employees, this article describes the high degree of feminisation of the sector. The tests of X2, Odds ratio and logistical regressions show a vertical segregation by sex, in such a way that only 1% of female workers occupy management posts and, apart from conjunctural and structural factors, the probability of a man reaching management posts is eleven times higher than that of a woman. On the other hand, although age and training are factors with greater weight, sex also appears as a risk factor for remaining in lower level posts. The lack of formalisation and the weight of informal networks in access and promotion, together with the idiosyncrasies of the work routines and systems, appear to be the causes that make advertising a sector that is neither sexually nor generationally neutral.