For International Women’s Day, we chatted with a few of the women who lead 75% of our business. But mostly, we listened.
“When you’re a junior there’s a lot of women around you, and as you go further up the ladder you suddenly realize you’re in a progressively more male dominated space. The thing I noticed immediately upon joining Elmwood was how many inspirational women are in the business.” – Sr. Designer, London
“My advice to other women starting in a creative field is the same I’d have for anybody, man or woman: to be true to what they believe is right but always open to listen and to change.” – Account Director, New York
“I was lucky enough to have two mentors and it just so happened they were women. There was so much I learned. It was a two-way street.” – Project Manager, New York
“Only a few women make it to creative leadership roles, and only 0.1% of women founded creative agencies. There is still a lot of work to be done. Be brave and persistent: we are definitely more capable than we think.” – Design Director, London
“Me: trying to stay fit, take client calls, bring kids to dentists, do laundry, food shop, be visionary, and clean my house” – Creative Director, New York
“I think one challenging thing I think about a lot is mentorship. Pre-Me Too Movement, I didn’t consider the pitfalls of trying to receive mentorship from male leaders. Although I definitely gravitated more towards female mentorship, the reality was that there were a lot more men in leadership positions. But after Me Too started, I experienced a lot more distance from male leaders and it dawned on me that I might not be able to rely on the traditional mentorship model to move me forward in my career.” – Sr. Designer, New York
“What I love most about the industry is how passionate people are and how they use their creativity to push boundaries. As a newbie in this field, I find it so inspiring.” – Content Manager, Singapore
“Professional advancement for women is not a linear process up the corporate ladder and be ok with that. I took 3 years off to focus on my baby and toddler. Those years were the most enriching – focused on bonding with my children and consulting start ups. I may not be as advanced in my professional career as my peers, but my ecosystem supporting women and moms is much wider and richer today because my advancement was not linear.” – Account Director, Singapore
“Pausing to reflect, I’ve realized many of my mentors throughout my career in the creative industry have been amazing, strong-willed women leading with empathy. Such is an elegant balance I strive to achieve someday.” – Associate Account Director, Singapore
“Women can be as strong, feminine and beautiful at the same time. Embrace our identity, embrace who we are, equality is for all. That goes for man, woman, gay, trans… Let’s call it International Human’s Day instead.” – Leadership Team Member, Shanghai