Women 'marginalised' in creative industries to get support at high-profile debate

Equalities Minister Jo Swinson and the Great British Bake Off finalist Ruby Tandoh will join a debate on modern feminism and equal pay tonight (18 November).

Equal pay on agenda at Elle and Mother London debate
Equal pay on agenda at Elle and Mother London debate

The event, hosted by Elle editor Lorraine Candy and advertising agency Mother London, will examine the topic 'Does feminism need a rebrand?'.

As well as looking at issues such as perception of women, the panel will also address the gender pay gap, currently 17.5% in the UK.

Agency Mr President's creative partner Laura Jordan-Bambach, who is also the president of global creative charity D&AD, will also take part in the discussion and told Event "talking broadly about marketing and communications, women's visibility as creative leaders" often lags behind.

"There is a laziness with the same people making the same decisions, but women are also often not good at self publicity," she explained. "Women are very happy to talk about their team and client, but there is an ego issue there, which can mean they go unnoticed and be marginalised.

"There is still a long way to go, and it is really multi-layered, as there is a cultural conditioning around confidence. It can be harder to be fearless when you are a woman looking for approval."

The debate is part of the Make Them Pay campaign, which urges employees to compare their pay to colleagues of a different sex and ask their employers to sign up to the Think, Act Report, which encourages businesses to enforce equal pay legislation.

The debate will take at Mother London's office this evening, with at least 200 attendees expected to take part.

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