Post by Marketing Week

Why pay is only a symptom of the marketing industry's 'power gap' 🗣️🛑 In her latest column, Helen James takes a look at the 'power gap'; the broader disconnect between where women sit in this industry and what they are permitted to shape within it. Referencing Marketing Week’s 2026 Career & Salary Survey revealing the mean gender pay gap for full-time workers now stands at 21.7%, up from 17.8% in 2025 and 16% in 2024, she argues that while pay is merely a symptom, the underlying condition is about who holds influence over the work itself. James notes that the same forces which shape how brands speak to women are operating internally too, quietly determining whose judgement gets trusted and whose voice carries weight in the room. Pointing to campaigns like This Girl Can, Dove's ‘Real Beauty’, and Always’ ‘Like A Girl’, she highlights that the marketing industry has the tools to understand this problem, but must find the willingness to turn those tools on itself to audit its own decision-making. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/eQdtaFh7