Does Gender Matter?

N eil French’s sexist comments about women in advertising delivered in Toronto in early October have sparked another debate: Do men and women think differently? Or, more specifically, do male and female creatives work differently?

It turns out this may be an even touchier subject than the well-worn conversation about women and their agency roles. In fact, it’s so sensitive that some people in the advertising industry were unwilling to talk openly and on the record about it.

One male chief creative officer who, in the process of explaining that women can add a more feminine perspective to the creative process—but that he’s also known some who excel at acerbic humor—stopped himself midsentence, saying, “I’m afraid I’m sounding sexist just saying that.”