Epoch Films Founder Mindy Goldberg Talks Preserving Creative Agency in an Era of Industry Disempowerment on Ad Age

Let’s just say it: advertising is in a new era of disempowerment, and if you’re a woman, a person of color or someone who actually cares about the creative work, you’re feeling it.

This isn’t subtle anymore. It’s about wielding financial power, and nobody’s pretending otherwise. Business ethics and respect have left the building at the corporate level, and the rest of us are in survival mode—watching a political climate shift in ways that will cost people jobs, benefits and ground that took decades to gain. And yes, it will land hardest on the people who can least afford it. It always does.

I started a production company in 1989. I’ve been a woman in this industry for over 30 years, and I want to be clear: it was never easy. There was always some version of the same deal on the table: stroke the right egos, do the work, learn the craft, be capable and warm and non-threatening all at once—and maybe, maybe you’d advance. The business was 99% white, and women were largely expected to support the men in charge.

Read the full article on Ad Age!