Women in creative leadership roles have been leaving adland. The IPA Census has reported a decline in both of the past two years, down from 30% in 2022 to 25.6% in 2024.
This comes alongside a widening pay gap, increasing to almost 20% in 2024, according to the report.
This episode of the ±±¾©Èü³µpk10 Podcast welcomes to the studio Laura Jordan Bambach, founder and chief creative officer of female-founded Uncharted. Alongside editor Maisie McCabe and deputy creativity and culture editor Charlotte Rawlings, they discuss why the gap has got worse, whether there was any improvement seen in the first place and what needs to be done to correct the course.
Jordan Bambach, who launched The Great British Diversity Experiment nine years ago, explains that when agencies feel under pressure from economic and other external storms, they return to "muscle memory" and rely on behaviours of the past. The advertising industry needs to reframe what it is to be a successful creative leader and adjust perceptions, she says.
This episode is hosted by tech editor Lucy Shelley.
Further reading:
- I can’t believe I still have to write columns about this shit
- Under-appreciated, overlooked and misunderstood: the life of a female creative
- 3 great ads I had nothing to do with – #68 with Laura Jordan Bambach
- My Cannes Snapshot: Laura Jordan Bambach
- Laura Jordan Bambach, Hannah Matthews and Fern Miller unveil 'advanced' creative agency