How To... Make it as a Woman in Advertising

Don’t be a man

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There has never been a better time to be a woman in advertising than right now, and a proud woman at that. We have a fuck of a long way to go, but the tide is turning sloooowly. 3% conference started sixyears ago and now we’re up to 11% CD’s as women. I also grew up in an era of the godawful “Ladette”- a way of behaving more like a bloke so you’d fit in. S’gustin’. I’m very proud of myself, my Vix [Grey CO-CCO, Vicki Maguire] and all the other women who have made it to the top in some of London and the world’s best agencies. We don’t play on our girliness. We also don’t try and be one of the lads. We are just very happy to be ourselves, and that’s really my point. Man or woman, be your authentic self and you will thrive. If you find yourself having to act a certain way to ‘fit in’ at your agency, or curry favour with your boss, get the fuck out of there.

Parent and proud.

One of the biggest influences on my career, and the single most important thing that helped me fast-track up the ladder, was becoming a mum. It gave me discipline beyond my wildest dreams. Truckloads of perspective. Enabled me to set boundaries between work and real life like never before. And above all else it made me SO bloody-mindedly determined to disprove the theory that you can’t get to where you want to go once a child comes out of your fanny. Bullshit. Just make sure you ask for help and be sure to accept that help. Surround yourself with family, friends and most importantly a partner who wholeheartedly agrees that parenting is 50:50. That bit is non-negotiable.

Call it out.

I’m super annoying as I just can’t let things lie. If something feels not quite right to me, I’ll call it. Every time. I call it ‘Truth Tourette’s’. I just can’t hold it in. This helps when I feel someone is trying to be too-PC as well as when people are just downright sexist, homophobic, racist or just plain fucking rude. Embarrassing the unconscious bias out of the system seems to be pretty effective every now and then. In one of my old agencies, one of the girls on reception was leaving, so they automatically looked to hire another girl. ‘More of the same please’ – yawn! I called it with the CEO who rightly said it goes to the best person for the job. The best person for the job happened to be Marc Davies- ex-Australian Motocross Champion, all-singing, all-dancing Britney fan and father of Cyril the Griffon Bruxellois, basically the most gremlin-like dog to ever scamper the earth. They’d definitely never seen anyone like him before…

Never work the same day twice.

We’re definitely living in an era of two camps. One side is holding on as tightly as they can to the way they have always done things. One side is galloping, arms linked into the great unknown. Ensuring I’m always slightly scared, slightly uneasy, a little bit unsure is what keeps me going day in day out. Repetition and routine never lead to greatness. Traditional theories say that men use the left, logical side of the brain, while women use the right, more creative and chaotic side.  I call bullshit. It’s youth that likes chaos, and age that likes routine, because generally people hate being scared. I, however, love it.

EQ beats IQ, every time.

Luckily for me, being hyper-ware of how other people are feeling keeps me up at night, most nights. I care way too much, but I guess that has helped along the way. Being able to read a room, draw a voice out of people who may be too scared to speak up, recognizing when someone needs a chat, a hug, a walk around the block, a strong gin-based beverage is such a key part of the job - now more than ever. Truth is, I love an awkward, uncomfortable conversation. I like to tackle things head on and hope to get them sorted as soon and as smoothly as possible.