Not getting an offer because of an anonymous soft reference

After 5+ interviews with executive management at an agency for a Head of Production role, I was told that I was not getting an offer because of an anonymous ‘soft reference.’  In my opinion, it’s pretty evident and obvious that it came from my former employer.

What this situation boils down to is that I have no recourse unless the hiring agency is 1. willing to name the ‘soft reference’ and 2. admit the ‘soft reference’ was the primary reason I was not offered the role.  I asked the hiring agency to provide me with the name of the ‘soft reference’ but they have refused to do so.Essentially, an anonymous man defied a binding legal agreement to intentionally ruin this opportunity for me and other men are aiding and abetting him by refusing to provide his name – in my opinion. 

While I search for a new career, these men will maintain the good ole boys club status quo, continue to work on Fortune 500 brands, be written about in Adweek and other industries publications, sip Rosé at Cannes on yachts and secretly derail women’s careers.

Agency culture has not changed for the better and for me it’s far more critical than a sense of discomfort; it’s that perpetrators are allowed to maintain positions of power and to end or irreparably damage the career of anyone who stands up for his or herself. 

This is a lose-lose proposition for the person and the industry as a whole.

Throughout my career, I have been penalised for being a confident, outspoken and assertive woman, held to much higher standards and significantly underpaid relative to my white male peers (which in the world of production is nearly all of my peers). 

Frankly I have more respect for myself than to beg an industry to respect and value me as a human and producer because I excel at both. I don’t know what’s next me for me but whatever it is I know I will continue to be a leader who makes the impossible happen on time and on budget because that’s who I am.