( OPRAH.com ) -- Men may rule the roost in AMC 's hit drama `` Mad Men , '' but behind the guys are a group of women whose lives shape the award-winning story . Writers from the TV show `` Man Men '' pick up awards at the Writers Guild ceremony in February . A young woman sits in a bustling office , wringing her hands as she waits to confront her boss . Nerves palpable , she is readying herself to demand four walls in a company where all the women sit at open desks . `` I need my own office , '' she says when she gets 30 seconds of face time . `` It 's hard to do business and be credible when I 'm sharing with a Xerox machine . Freddy Rumsen 's office has been vacant for some time . I think I should have it . '' `` It 's yours , '' her boss says matter-of-factly . `` Really ? '' `` You young women are very aggressive . '' `` Oh , '' she recoils a bit . `` I did n't mean to be impolite . '' `` No , it 's cute . There are 30 men out there who did n't have the balls to ask me . '' So goes a typical scene in `` Mad Men , '' AMC 's Emmy-winning mega-buzz drama about the inner workings at 1960s ad agency Sterling Cooper , which just began its third season . The exchange , from last season 's penultimate episode , is between Peggy Olsen , an up-and-coming copywriter struggling to get ahead in a man 's world , and Roger Sterling , a partner at the firm . True , the interaction is dated . You wo n't hear that kind of dialogue in today 's workplace -- not unless the boss wants a lawsuit -- but Robin Veith , `` Mad Men 's '' executive story editor , would argue it 's less a product of the decade than viewers might think . `` The truth is that a lot of these moments that seem period and horrible for women come directly from experiences that I and the other women writers have had in our lifetimes , '' says Veith , one of seven female writers on the show 's nine-person writing team . `` Like the [ first season ] episode 'Ladies Room ' where Peggy goes into the bathroom and there are women crying . That came from [ consulting producer ] Maria Jacquemetton 's life experience . '' That 's not the only office drama Jacquemetton says she 's seen firsthand . `` Peggy assumed that Paul Kinsey in Season One wanted to talk to her and valued her opinion , and it turned out he really just wanted to date her . That 's something that has certainly happened to several women on the staff , including myself , in our early days out [ in Hollywood ] , '' she says . `` Men like women , and women want to be valued for more than just being attractive , and sometimes those things intersect . That 's certainly not something that 's decade-specific . '' Oprah.com : How to speak up to get what you want . What is time-specific , Veith says , is the way the ulterior motives are communicated . `` There 's more decorum about it now , '' she says . `` People have trained themselves to hide it better . I 've worked in many offices , and that stuff still goes on . It 's just not as blatant , and women have learned to draw lines a little more strongly . '' Both writers are quick to point out that while gender biases still exist in the workplace , they do n't exist in their workplace . In the `` Mad Men '' writers ' room , a great idea is a great idea , they say , no matter who came up with it . `` We have a predominately female writing staff -- women from their early 20s to their 50s -- and plenty of female department heads and directors , '' Jacquemetton says . `` [ Show creator ] Matt Weiner and [ executive producer ] Scott Hornbacher hire people they believe in , based on their talent and their experience . 'Can you capture this world ? Can you bring great storytelling ? ' '' Much of that storytelling revolves around the three main female characters : Betty Draper ( wife of main character Don Draper ) , an unhappy suburban housewife who 's just learned she 's pregnant ; Joan Holloway , the sultry Sterling Cooper office manager who 's always dreamed of a husband and white picket fence but is suddenly having second thoughts ; and Peggy , the would-be careerwoman quietly climbing the agency 's ladder . Oprah.com : Behind the scenes with January Jones . All three seem to fit nicely into convenient 1960s boxes , but Jacquemetton says the fun is in showing the characters ' true complexities . `` Those are labels that we , as society , place on these three women , '' she says . `` But we never talk about the characters in those terms in the writing room . Joan wants certain things , and we 'll definitely discuss that she wants to move to the suburbs , she wants love . But they 're people ; they have different shadings . We do n't think of them as , 'Okay , Joan 's the sexy bombshell , so her storylines all have to be about using her sexuality to manipulate people . ' We start with , 'This is a person who wants this ... ' '' It 's all about staying true to the characters and the time period , Veith says , even when that means adding details that make the writers cringe -- say , putting a cigarette into the hands of an expectant mother . `` We always have to remind ourselves that we ca n't judge these characters . We try not to protect them , '' she says . `` Women did smoke back then while they were pregnant . They knew it was wrong on some level , but they did n't think it was that wrong . No one 's going to chastise another woman for doing it . So while it 's horrible for us to watch , it 's important for us not to change it , because it happened . '' Oprah.com : Why a writer should feel like he 's over his head . While the `` Mad Men '' writers try to check gender at the door when they enter the writers ' room , both Veith and Jacquemetton recognize that theirs is a highly unusual situation . According to a 2006 report from the Writer 's Guild of America , women are under-represented on TV staffs 2 to 1 . `` I do n't think [ having so many women ] influences the way the female characters are written , but I think you have a larger pool of experiences to draw from , '' Jacquemetton says . `` If you have a predominantly male staff , it 's their point of view of how a woman would react as opposed to the actual experience of being a woman . '' `` Occasionally , we 'll embarrass one of the guys by pulling the curtain back too far , and then they 're shocked to see how the female mind operates at the basest level , '' Veith jokes . `` But we sort of delight it in , and that 's when we know that we 're possibly saying something new . '' They claim that , when it comes to the job , being female is secondary . Still , when Jacquemetton mentions her anticipation of the upcoming season debut , you ca n't help but notice she chooses different words than her male counterpart might . `` It 's always like birthing a baby when you finally get to the premiere . '' Oprah.com Books that made a difference to Jon Hamm . From Oprah.com by Rachel Bertsche © 2009 . Subscribe to O , The Oprah Magazine for up to 75 % off the newsstand price . That 's like getting 18 issues FREE . Subscribe now ! TM & © 2009 Harpo Productions , Inc. All Rights Reserved .
There are 7 women on the 9-member writing staff of TV show ` ` Mad Men '' Some dramatic writing is derived from writers ' experiences . Producer : Women shock male viewers by showing how female minds work .