Creative Equals aims to increase gender representation and equality within creative departments at advertising agencies. They want agencies to create more opportunities for women to succeed, such as hiring, mentoring, and supporting women to advance their careers. This is important because women make up over half the population and influence most consumer purchasing decisions, yet only 3% of creative directors are women. By increasing diversity of perspectives within creative teams, agencies can better understand and appeal to female consumers and avoid losing touch with the fastest growing demographic. Creative Equals will track progress by monitoring gender representation data with agency and recruitment partners.

2. Creative Equals aims to get advertising agencies
to commit to taking proactive steps towards
equal representation in creative departments.
We believe real change comes from within
agencies themselves.
Our aim

3. What are
we asking?
We want agencies to create more pathways to
success for female talent, from hiring talent to
ensuring female creatives are given support and
mentoring to make it to the top.

4. Why is this
important?

5. of purchasing decisions
are made by women
of global consumer
spend is controlled
by women
of of UK population
are women
(Source dataworldbase.org)
85%
2/3 50.7%

6. (*Well, actually it got to 3.7% last year - thanks in no
small part to 3% conference but you get the point)
And yet just
3% of CD’s
worldwide
are women*

7. In the US the figure is
11.5%
!
In London it’s more
like 14%

8. And whilst a long
way from equal -
the new media
companies are
leaving ad-land
behind*
• Google 70% male 30% female
• Apple 70% male 30% female
(even the ‘tech’ roles net out at 80% male to 20% female)
• Facebook 69% male 31% female
• Twitter 70% male 30% female
• Yahoo 62% male 37% female
• LinkedIn 61% male 39% female
*Source: http://www.techrepublic.com/article/diversity-
stats-10-tech-companies-that-have-come-clean/

9. 91% of women reported they didn’t think that advertisers
understood them*
!
Good creatives are trained to put their minds to any brief or product,
however this level of similarity within creative departments - an 86%
skew here in the UK - means a lack of differentiation within the
thinking and represents widening gulf with these consumers.
!
Creative departments are in danger of losing touch
and alienating the fastest growing consumer group
due to an overwhelming innate ‘groupthink’.
(*source: Greenfield Online for Arnold’s Women’s Insight Team)
Why does it
matter?

10. Where can
agencies start?
• Recognising any potential gender
bias already at work within the
department and actively thinking
around it
• Offering training and management
support to guide the women in the
creative department ‘up one rung’
• Allocating a senior-level ‘sponsor’
• Creating a framework for inclusive
leadership behaviours
• Ensure the women within the agency
have a public profile - so those
entering the industry can have clear
role models
• Making sure every hire includes a
direct request for male and female
CVs for consideration

11. • Provide a badge to agencies that
sign up - to be a visible sign of
their commitment to change
• Provide a simple set of tools that
can be used right away to start
tackling the situation in-house
• Provide a directory of male and
female creative leaders that have
individually signed up as a
mentoring resource for practical
‘on-the ground’ help
• Work with recruitment agencies
to attract, identify and collate
female candidates
How will we help?

12. Working with our recruitment and agency
partners we monitor the data to track and
measure the percentage change.
(source: Greenfield Online for Arnold’s Women’s Insight Team)
How will we
measure
success?

13. Who’s on
board?
Laura Bambach Jordan Creative partner,
Mr President, Founder SheSays
Charlie Waterhouse ECD, This Ain’t Rock ‘n’ Roll
Simon Richings ECD, Analog Folk
Caitlyn Ryan ECD, Karmarama
Emma Perkins ECD, Lowe Open
Candice Kuss WPP
Karin Onsinger-Birch ECD, Blue Hive
Diana Janicki ECD, TBWA-PW
Kat Hahn ACD, R/GA
Eloise Smith ECD Lowe Profero
Tim Wild freelance CD
Ali Hanan
Founder Creative Equals,
freelance CD
Becky McOwen-Banks
Founder Creative Equals,
CD FCBInferno

14. So get
involved!
Take a look at
www.creativeequal.org
Simply send us a hello to
creativeequal@gmail.com
Follow
@creativeequal