3 (More) Ways to Bust Bias in Advertising

The responsibility of the advertising industry is a big one--by constantly seeking new ways to tell stories and present fresh ideas, we're shaping how people see the world. As such, the messages we choose to share carry weight and need to align with the future we want to create. While working toward gender equality in the workplace should be a priority for every company, its importance is even more magnified within our industry, as a more diverse pool of perspectives produces more creativity and better solutions (which is why we're here in the first place, right?).

With 66% of our executive-level leadership roles held by women, we know a thing or two about what can happen when a woman has the resources needed to lead. But that doesn't mean the work is done. In an effort to continue busting bias and advocating for the importance of female leadership, we've pulled together a few more resources that help women connect, build relationships, and enjoy the recognition they've earned.

Support female creative recruiting.

• InVisible Creatives is a portfolio database that creates visibility for female creative talent available for hire. Their core belief is that a lack of visibility is a far larger barrier for women in advertising than a lack of talent.
  
• The Dame Collective is an employment database for creative women over 40 with a primary goal to tackle two prominent issues in today’s job market: ageism and sexism. 
  
• Catalyst equips companies with the tools they need to enable change and measure impact. Their efforts include increasing female representation in the workplace and engaging men to leverage their influence for the advocacy for gender equity.

Mentor and be mentored.

• Women Work F#%k*ng Hard represents a new style of networking that feels more like a party than a conference or panel. It brings together female leaders and founders for fun events that help them build relationships and exchange learnings...it features some pretty big names as attendees, too.
  
• SheSays works to even gender leadership scale by focusing on lifting collective voices--not just those of a happy few. It's an organization that brings women together for conversations, panels and workshops on valuable subjects like salary negotiation.
  
• Fellow, created in response to an alarming statistic that only 54% of women have access to relatable mentors, is an app-based community that connects women with mentors within the advertising industry. 
  
• With Honors is a mentorship community that provides career skills and advice from experienced female leaders. The membership-based program helps women plan for and execute specific professional goals.

Award earned female badassery.

• Campaign US Female Frontier Awards are presented annually to recognize the work of fierce, boundary-pushing women in the creative industry. For the 2021 awards, 5 recipients were selected for their accomplishments and honored with a virtual celebration.
• The Future is Female Awards, presented by Advertising Week, honor rising stars in the advertising and marketing industry. Recipients are selected based on organizational impact, external impact, and commitment to mentoring others.
• Ad Age Leading Women (formerly Ad Age Women to Watch) is an iteration on a previous award program that has been redesigned to focus more closely on women who drive business results, advocate for diversity and inclusion, take risks and serve as catalysts for change. The first recipients were named in 2021.