women in industry

The general discussion has largely focused on the lack of women in leadership roles, but that issue itself seems likely to be tied to imbalances elsewhere. A survey looking at gender in the advertising industry published by the Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland (IAPI) reported in 2013 that women occupied 80% of all project management roles and 70% of account management, with men in 90% of digital roles and 67% of creative roles.




SARAH TROUNCE
ACCOUNT DIRECTOR
dn&co

Sarah Trounce, who worked as a project manager at YCN and Jane Wentworth Associates before taking her current position as an account director dn&co just over a year ago, is clear that her career thus far has confirmed a female majority in project management.“It’s certainly been my experience that project and studio management roles are dominated by women,” she says.

“I think there’s still a preconception that women are better at looking after the details and supporting or handholding the team that gets things done,” she goes on. “But leadership, being good at both listening and talking, nurturing and growing people’s confidence, managing and challenging expectations, being proactive and always keeping an eye out for new opportunities – these qualities are totally present in both men and women.”

“I worry that some women suffer from a belief that they cannot compete in such a male-dominated industry, and that management is the ‘safer’ option”
Sarah Trounce, account director at dn&co

SAIRAH ASHMAN
GLOBAL CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
Wolff Olins
“I started at the bottom as a project manager,” says Sairah Ashman, global COO at creative consultancy Wolff Olins, who sees her experience in management as crucial to her success. “I did the spade work in account management, learning from some of the best leaders in the industry over many years – Wally Olins, Brian Boylan, Doug Hamilton, Marina Willer. I think there’s a lot to be said for spending time getting the basics nailed so you have a strong platform to accelerate from.”

That particular roles tend to be slanted toward one sex or the other is something she feels everyone in the industry has noticed at one time or another. “Account management has been quite female historically, while strategy, design and finance has been skewed more towards the guys. There’s no reason for this to be the case as gender is irrelevant to how well a person performs in any of these roles.”


“People tend to recruit in their own image, so it stands to reason that any role dominated by one gender will continue along the same trajectory without some kind of intervention”
Sairah Ashman, global chief operating officer at Wolff Olins

Women in industry-the statistics

It is evident that when these statistics were taken (2009-2012), there was a clear imbalance in the design industry in which frequently foreshadows women. This includes studios, conference talks, exhibitions, awards, judges and award winners. The reasoning behind this is unknown and thus it is essential that this information is gathered in order to ensure that myself and female peers have the same opportunities as our male peers.