The mission of International Women’s Day is to…
Imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination. A world that’s diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Together we can forge women’s equality. Collectively we can all #BreakTheBias.
At PLOTT we challenge gender stereotypes everyday. The founder of PLOTT is a woman, our very own Anna Plotnek. With only 3 percent of creative agencies in the UK run by women, Anna is among a select group. She’s worked agency and client-side and talks about her experience over the last 20 years.
I’m a huge fan of the 3 Percent movement and believe agencies perform far better with a mixed team of leaders and creatives working together. We live in a world where women influence over 80% of consumer spending, so it seems only right women are an important part of the process. I’ll always champion female creative talent and leadership.
We should seek to inspire, empower, and connect creative women. The lack of women at the top of the creative tree is still a huge problem for creative industries. There is a lot of talk about equality, diversity and inclusion, but unfortunately not enough action.
According to the Design Council, representation in the UK design workforce is not much better. 78% of roles are occupied by men, despite women making up 63% of all creative arts and design students studying at university. It is no surprise then that 88% of young female creatives say they lack female role models. 70% have never worked with a female creative director or executive creative director.
Here’s Katie Hale, who started her life in media recruitment shared this insight into the industry.
Many young women join the creative sector but the long hours and late nights are often incompatible with starting a family, meaning many do not get back into the industry once they’ve had a child. The need for a work-life balance and the gender pay gap puts women at an even bigger disadvantage. This needs to change.
There is plenty of great female potential out there. At PLOTT we work with many other female creatives to boost and deepen our capabilities. Today we’ll celebrate the work of women creatives who we work with on a regular basis.
Anna Plotnek
Our ‘LeadHER’ has over twenty years industry experience and has been at the helm of PLOTT for the last 12.
Molly Whetstone
Our in-house project manager is a vital part of the PLOTT machine. She supports Anna with client management and ensures jobs get done on time.
Penny Sheward
Penny has helped us attract the right people to PLOTT and has been instrumental in building our perfectly balanced team.
Katie Hale
Katie supported PLOTT from the get-go with her enviable talent for promotion. She’s a lifelong friend of Anna, and likely the most ballsy person on the team.
Anita Ellis
A creative copywriter powerhouse who supports us with inspiring, engaging and empathetic content for our clients.
Creative women are at the forefront of breaking the bias, we’ve come a long way but we need to continue the hard work to achieve a gender equal world – for everyone. I’m passionate about this year’s theme, I hope our daughters benefit from the awareness we raise. Let’s #BreakTheBias and strive for gender equality.
The MISSION of International Women’s Day (IWD) is to celebrate the work of women creatives and elevate visibility for commercial projects and commissions.
IWD sees a number of MISSIONS to help forge a gender equal world. Celebrating women’s achievements and increasing visibility, while calling out inequality, is key.
The number of women studying communications and design in Higher Education is almost double the number of men (HESA), yet there are far fewer women in senior creative roles. It’s such an exciting time for creative women; there are incredible roles and role models out there proving what’s possible and showing we can #BreakTheBias.
We’d like to big up all of the wonderful women in creativity and business. From clients and suppliers to friends and family. Cheers to all the women we know who are #BreakingTheBias everyday.
If you would like to receive expert advice from our leadHER Anna, feel free to give us a shout.
