The toll of success: Female leaders in the “women‐friendly” Greek advertising agencies

This paper examines the views and attitudes of senior female executives in Greek advertising agencies. Using intersectionality as a theoretic lens, the authors study the intersection of sex, age, profession, and ethnicity, within a patriarchal, Southern European society and a male dominated industry. Research findings from 12 interviews reaffirm the motherhood penalty but also demonstrate how successful women refuse to be part of the boys' club, deconstruct the male stereotype, and engage in fierce counter‐stereotyping while showing lack of solidarity and empathy toward other women. After years at the intersection of two male‐dominated cultural contexts, these women have limited visibility of the barriers they encounter and see themselves as an embodied exception proving the rule, not as agents of change. Thus, individual success leads to collective defeat and to the prevalence of male dominance. This research contributes by presenting the view of successful women in adverse intersections, who demonstrate accumulated frustration, lack of collective gender consciousness, and lack of a sense of self‐fulfillment. The paper calls for further research that combines intersectionality with emotional transfers and defense mechanisms; research that explores the influence of intersectional conscientiousness, especially in the southern context.