Today is International Women’s Day and to mark the event WMM attended an IWD event yesterday that focused on the “Conscious Leader.” During the day we explored topics facing leaders in the rapidly evolving world of AI, tech and environmental issues. We are on the cusp of a new era of humanity, where for the first time we may have computers more intelligent than we are. We explored how to navigate the crossroads between inner wisdom, compassion and awareness with the impact of an artificially intelligent world, and why it’s essential for women to step up, speak up and inspire new workplace cultures.

The inspirational event held in Manchester, UK featured talks from women in the business world who gave thought-provoking speeches that challenged us to think about what it is to be a leader, and what purpose we can bring to the role. Sandra Pinnington, leader of the WLA, kicked off the day by exploring the topic of being conscious, adding a strong element of sustainability to the agenda. We are operating in a world with a growing population, hotter temperatures and unsustainable growth. The demand on resources is at a point where, for the sake of future generations, we are required as leaders to bring sustainability to the board room. As female leaders, we have unique characteristics that can help by collaborating with competitors in our industries and empathically shaping a future of business that incorporates growth but not at the expense of our planet.

Lindsay Nicholson, former editor-in-chief of Good Housekeeping, boldly reminded us of the importance of teams, and that “the best person doesn’t always get it right.” It’s our task as leaders to find the right person and encourage them to input their thoughts and ideas into decision making.

The opportunity to celebrate International Women’s Day is of special importance to WMM being a female-led business. It’s a chance to celebrate women and acknowledge the issues we still face, even in 2024.

For women working in industries like digital media, those stereotypes are all too familiar. Although women working in the industry has grown to almost half (48%), statistics show that women hold just 37% of leadership roles in media and comms in the U.K.

Digital marketing and ad agency industries have traditionally been dominated by men at the top. They claim to be committed to closing the gender pay gap, but EssenceMediacom UK, a giant in the industry that many of our WMM employees have worked at, have an almost 10% higher than the U.K. average pay gap which is growing year over year. The gender pay gap at EssenceMediacom grew from 14.7% in 2021 to a whopping 23.1% in 2022 and women in senior roles decreased during the period despite women making up 53% of their workforce.

EssenceMediacom stated in their latest gender equality report that the reason for the widening pay gap and fewer women in senior leadership roles is that they “…experienced an increased churn of senior female talent, which changed the makeup of the leadership team”. However, what is being done to stop senior women leaving digital marketing agencies?

It’s not all bad news. We’re proud to see that women are no longer putting up with unacceptable behaviors in their workplace or being paid less for their work. Many are speaking up and stepping out on their own to forge new ways of working that are inclusive. A record number of women are starting their own businesses in the UK: more than 150,000 new businesses were started by women in 2022, a historic high and “all female”-led companies now (2023) represent more than 20.5% of all UK businesses, up from 16.7% in 2018.

At WMM, our brilliant team is made up of a diverse range of skills and personalities, male and female, and every employee plays a key part in growing our clients and our company. To celebrate this year’s International Women’s Day, we would like to shine a light on the difficulties faced and offer tangible initiatives to help overcome them.

Step One: Acknowledge bias. As highlighted in this clever campaign from 2022, bias is present. It’s ok guys, we women visualize this too!

 

Step Two: Acknowledge challenges faced by women working in digital marketing including:

  • Gender bias in women earning higher salaries.
  • Women are underrepresented in leadership positions.
  • A male-dominated culture is not always welcoming to women, which creates a lack of support and prevents women from being able to flourish.
  • 67% of women have experienced gender discrimination in some form at work, creating a hostile environment for women that diminishes their ability to shine and limits their opportunities for growth.
  • Due to the lack of women holding senior positions they can often struggle with self-doubt and imposter syndrome.

Step Three: Level up on pay and opportunity. Women have not spent years working on improving their experience and expertise to still get paid a fraction for equal work.

Step Four: Demonstrate intention to get it right through pay transparency to build trust into the business culture.

The agencies that appreciate differences and implement systematic changes to aid the challenges women face everyday are set to win in the future. Those that don’t will be left by the wayside.

If you are a female-led business or a female-friendly business and would like to find out how the WMM can help your business grow via paid media channels in 2024, get in touch with us today.