Advertising: A Weapon for Feminism

Mercedes Erra is the president of BETC Euro RSCG, the first and biggest advertising agency in France, and executive president of Havas Worldwide, while bringing up her 5 children“It’s just a matter of organizing. I can’t see why a career could prevent me from having children.”she simply put it that way, which allows her to be in a leading position that used to be dominated by men. Being an earnest defender of women’s rights, she has been constantly fighting for quotas for women in companies. She proves that women can and should have the right to access to management positions.

Mercedes clearly claimed herself to be a feminist. “It’s really annoying that people are afraid of feminism. It refers to an image of the tough women who are always against men. But it’s because that being a feminist is like having a battle. Even until today, we are still not able to reach equality between genders. Therefore gaining the rights of women remains a real challenge. So yes, I have to be a feminist.” She is a supporter of the association Ni Putes ni Soumises and member of Conseil d’Administration de Force Femmes, an organization that helps women of more than 45-year-old for employment problems. Also she is one of the initiators of the Women’s forum for the Economy and Society, the world’s leading platform featuring women’s views and voices on major social and economic issues.

airf_1501170_uk_destinations_paris_287x215_pq_aotw

The latestest campaign of AIRFRANCE “France Is In The Air” by BETC

It has been more than 20 years since Mercedes first joined BETC. The company has also signed “La Charte de la Parentalité and “Le Label Egalité”. But for Mercedes, if there are so few women in senior positions, and it is first and foremost their own fault. “They don’t position themselves at a leading position in the companies. And it is themselves who decide to stop their career for their children. But me, I have raised my 5 children from the very beginning and they all have been doing really well!”

“I’m not satisfied with who I am. I try to go further.” Mercedes has been a literature teacher for two years but eventually she left because of unequal payment and evaluation between men and women. Later she joined HEC, then entered Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising as an intern, where she became the general director after eight years. But then she discovered that she was not paid as much salary as her associates. “I was totally shocked! Women should really defend themselves. The head of a company only values those who make the requests.”

evian-lisetteambre-6

EVIAN campaign “Live Young” by BETC

 

We might wonder that how does Mercedes combine her commitment to women with the advertising business“Remember that above all, our clients want to sell their products. So they always present the image of women as they wish to become themselves. What stands out in and advertisement is the feminine ambiguity. For example, even it’s the women who do the housework, they don’t want to see a woman sweeping the floor with a broom in hand.” Besides, for Mercedes, advertising is becoming less and less sexist, subject to many rules. Better still, it can even become “a weapon for feminism“It’s important to work on role models and show how great the commitments could be! And advertising can be used for this issue.”

Photo: Mercedes Erra, president of BETC Euro RSCG, executive president of Havas Worldwide

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published.

*