Digital transformation in the advertising industry from a gender perspective: an analysis of the top agencies

This research departs from the strategies debated in an international framework for the achievement of gender equality through digitization and education, focusing in particular on the advertising industry. The advertising sector is immersed in a process of technological transformation that is precipitating substantial changes in companies, viz. advertising and media agencies, which are now demanding new professional profiles and adjusting traditional ones to the new media ecosystem. At the same time, and despite the feminization of the studies and workforce in this field, there is an unequal vertical and horizontal distribution by sex in Spanish agencies. Despite the previous evidence on the implications of the digital transformation for the work processes of agencies, no studies have explored this aspect from a gender perspective in Spain. In this context, this study investigates the roles and services of the leading agencies in the advertising industry more deeply, with the aim of evaluating both the digitization process and tasks close to R+D+I, and the roles of women therein. The results reveal parity in the sector and that the Digital and R+D+I areas play a central role in the agencies. There are no significant differences by sex, either in Digital profiles or in the area related to R+D+I, but women occupy fewer positions on management boards and in the Creative area. In short, this study provides evidence regarding the professional reality in the advertising sector, in order to delineate actions in the educational field to respond to the needs of the economy and society in line with the gender equality project.