Isolated or Endemic? 4A's Speakers Publicly Spar Over Ex-JWT CEO's Alleged Sexism, Racism

Nancy Hill and Maurice Lévy weigh in

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4A's president Nancy Hill had some stern words for the industry on the opening day of the organization's Transformation conference in light of recent allegations against J. Walter Thompson's former CEO Gustavo Martinez.

JWT chief communications officer Erin Johnson recently filed a lawsuit against the global CEO, who has since stepped down, alleging that Martinez routinely made racist comments and joked about raping female colleagues.

"Unfortunately, the alleged behavior does happen. And it happens more frequently than we think," Hill said today.

She noted that while the industry has made progress for women and people of color through initiatives like ADCOLOR and the 3 Percent Conference, it hasn't been enough.

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