'No More': This Declaration, Written by Women in Advertising, Puts All Harassers on Notice

More than 15 years after the initial onset of the Me Too movement, women across multiple industries are still speaking out regarding the misogyny and sexual abuse they've endured in the workplace. This week, one group is pointing an even stronger spotlight on insidiously enduring sexism in the ad industry. A group of women in marketing today issued a declaration aimed at putting harassers throughout the industry on notice. The statement derives from a revelatory essay that Zoe Scaman, founder of U.K.-based strategy firm Bodacious, released on July 4 via Substack titled "Mad Men. Furious Women." In the essay, Scaman details the misogynistic abuse that still exists within advertising, based on her experiences and the perspectives of women who continue to endure it. Firm and unyielding, the declaration promises a reckoning that will not only hold abusers accountable, but will also escalate harmful incidents beyond the confines of individual agencies. "We will have a zero tolerance approach," the statement reads. "We won’t escalate internally. We’ll escalate to the police." While she helped draft the declaration, Scaman says that the final product is a culmination of the many stories women shared with her as her story unfolded. While many of the industry's survivors still feel silenced by nondisclosure agreements or the general threat to their jobs, the anonymous women say they intend to unite and protect themselves if the culture doesn't change. "As the conversations began, the stories were shared and the culprits were named, a collective of us came together via DMs, emails, Slack and more, to draft what we see as a line in the sand," Scaman said. "We may not be able to make them pay for what they've done in the past, but we can damn well ensure that we're watching their every move in the future." Read the full statement below: This is the moment you never wanted to come.The line in the sand you never thought anyone would draw.The chorus of people rising, one by oneEach saying, ‘No more’.No more will we let you get away with your behaviour.No more will we bury the stories and suffer in silence.No more will we let you hide behind your wives and your daughters.No more will we accept your online virtue signaling as a sign you’ve changed.No more will we let you be heralded as CEO’s, founders, ECD’s and leaders of this industry.Moving forward your reputations will be forever scarred.As we are.If you are worried your name has been shared—it has.If you are worried people are talking about you—they are.And a lot of us have receipts.Your NDA’s may protect you for now.And the law may be on your side.But what is not, is us.The people you have hurt. Degraded. Fired. Assaulted. Raped.You may not believe that happens here.But it does.All. The. Time.You and the people put in place to protect you have just made those stories disappear.You have all persuaded yourselves that it’s "not that bad."But who gets to decide what is good and bad?Who gets to decide what is right and wrong?Who gets to play judge and jury?It was you.But now it’s us.We have recognised that Management teams and HR departments protect businesses.So, from now on, we will protect ourselves.We will have a zero tolerance approach.We won’t escalate internally.We’ll escalate to the police.We won’t sign your silencing documents.We’ll shout your names from the rooftops.We won’t cower under your threats of reprisal.We’ll stand tall with an army at our backs.We won’t take your money to stay quiet.From now on, there’s no price you can pay to keep our mouths shut.While we may not be able to hold you accountable for your actions of the pastWe can hold you accountable for your actions today and tomorrow.Think of this as your point of reckoning.A moment in time where you have a choice to make.To hold yourself and your behaviour accountable.To learn and grow and change.Or to keep doing what you are doingAnd to push against the turning of the tide.But trust us when we say, if you do, we will pull you under.Because now you won’t be able to squash one person and their experienceYou’ll have to take on us all.You ignored Times Up and Me Too, narrowly, and laughed about it in bars (yes, we know).But you should be more scared of this.Now you won’t even get away with so much as a stray wink.Good luck out there.Accountability is a bitch.And now all eyes are on you. 7 Changes That Would Offer More Support for Women in Marketing