March 24, 2022 Celebrating International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month
On International Women’s Day this year, we asked our team to share their thoughts on the women who’ve inspired them, the challenges they’ve faced, and the opportunities ahead. Here’s what they had to say.
Jacquie Alves, Director of Media Planning and Strategy
When were you first inspired by a woman on-screen?
Julia Louis-Dreyfus on Seinfeld and the cast of Charmed/Buffy were my biggest inspiration as the type of woman I wanted to become, especially because they were showcasing such different portrayals of powerful women. The humor and wit she had, the guy-friend group, the corporate job, it was on-par with my tomboy/only-had-brothers nature at the time and the first time I felt empowered to be a part of those groups. With Charmed and Buffy, I saw the power of being feminine and the importance of sisterhood through their dynamics, which as an only girl in the family never really grasped. I would say my personality now really is a merge of these women on-screen.
What’s an example of something positive you’ve seen in our industry that breaks gender bias and helps support women in advertising and media?
I would say a mixture of the depth of character women are written as, including their motivations, as well as the variety of genres they are being written in is vaster than at any point in history. Though there is always more room for improvement.
Early on, Buffy was for me a bit groundbreaking. She was deeper than any teenage girl on-screen at the time, and I was young but able to recognize that her character was unlike anything I had been exposed to before—I resented that because I wanted more characters like her.
Now, we are seeing that more and more—which just showcases society is hungry for the deep complexity only women can bring to the screen. Tatiana Maslany delivers 14 deeply different and fantastically written characters in Orphan Black—a sci-fi TV show, where the relationship of females is the focus point without making it ultrafeminine Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants soppy story. It’s gritty and complex—executed to the highest level of intelligence and thoughtfulness of the male-dominated genre and feminism.
What do you think is the biggest challenge that still remains for women in our industry, and what’s something that can be done to help?
I would say there are three main challenges still for women especially in the industry: ethnicity, genre, and age.
We need to not only write more ethnically diverse characters as leads, but also non-ethnically defined lead characters cast with ethnic women. What makes a character is a combination of the writing and what the actors bring to that character, including their own culture and ethnicity. Writing and casting in these forms allow the duality of being an ethnic woman in America to come through in a real way. This can blow up expectations of what a lead is and prevent caricatures that box in what they should look and sound like, or what their own motivations are on-screen.
It is insane how many genres are focused on male leads. There was research done by Dr. Martha M. Lauzen, professor of film and television at San Diego State University, that shows only 16% of action characters portrayed by women—and, generally, with women resembling Charlize Theron—and science fiction fared even worse, with only 8% of protagonists as female.
Lastly, comparing the U.K. to the U.S, we do not empower older or different body-typed actresses nearly enough. British TV is not afraid of aging women, and it’s about time America picked it up. Olivia Coleman, Dame Judi Dench, and Fiona Shaw are just some of the amazing talents that continue to shine in international awarded movies and TV shows. Makes you think about what amazing American talent we are missing out on, and as culture writer Heather Kenny said, “Showing these women on-screen presents a fuller and more accurate picture of womanhood, proving that life doesn’t end after marriage or menopause.”
Suzie Bao, Group Account Director
When were you first inspired by a woman on-screen?
From entertainment, I was always inspired by Lucy Liu. Though she started her career playing typical Asian female roles, she’s now transcended that and plays richer, character-driven roles instead of the stereotypes. She’s also become a director on many award-winning TV series. I’m also very inspired by Michelle Obama. For all the obvious reasons, but mostly how she’s always about lifting up other women of color.
What’s an example of something positive you’ve seen in our industry that breaks gender bias and helps support women in advertising and media?
I do see more women in the creative side of the business. Just need more women of color in all disciplines for representation and visibility.
What do you think is the biggest challenge that still remains for women in our industry, and what’s something that can be done to help?
I rarely see women of color at the C-suite/executive level role, and when I do, it feels like I just saw a unicorn. Women of color tend to reach middle to senior management and then it tapers off. Provide resources to help women reach beyond this level, like executive coaching, opportunities to be more visible to executive teams, AND give women of color a seat at the table.
Kristin MacDonald, Business Development, Marketing Manager
When were you first inspired by a woman on-screen?
All my formative years went—and continue to go—to TV and movies, and the first female character to make a real mark on me was Lucy Ricardo. The local Fox channel would fill blocks of after-school time with I Love Lucy, and I spent many afternoons parked in front of our little dial-switch TV. The show can be tough to watch with today’s eyes, but I don’t remember sitting there and absorbing outdated marital dynamics. I remember tuning into Lucy, who was always the engine of the plot (and, as relayed in Aaron Sorkin’s recent biopic, the engine of the show itself)—the redhead so vivid you couldn’t mistake her in black-and-white.
What’s an example of something positive you’ve seen in our industry that breaks gender bias and helps support women in advertising and media?
I would like to think that as an industry, we’re post-Women Laughing Alone With Salad. That’s a step forward—unless you’re a bowl of romaine.
What do you think is the biggest challenge that still remains for women in our industry, and what’s something that can be done to help?
The pandemic has permanently altered the reality of the office as our primary workspace, and the lack of regular in-person connection is a new and potentially steep hurdle for meaningful career development. Remote connection requires conscious contact, and that will only be more true as in-person events demand greater advance notice and overall effort. There will always be the coffees and meals and happy hours that nurture and cement working relationships, whether with teammates or clients or partners. Post-pandemic, and in the ongoing aftermath of Me Too, it’s critical for marketing leaders to extend and enable social opportunities. Inclusion must be conscious too.
Dyan Ullman, Director of Talent
When were you first inspired by a woman on-screen?
As goofy as it may sound, when I keep trying to dig deep into my memory bank, for movies, the most iconic figure to me was Mary Poppins. Just her bag alone—where she had anything and everything one would ever need! This incredible ability, along with absolute self-confidence, along with her understanding and compassion of others won me over.
What’s an example of something positive you’ve seen in our industry that breaks gender bias and helps support women in advertising and media?
More and more seminars and articles encouraging widespread change within our industry has given me great hope for the future.
What do you think is the biggest challenge that still remains for women in our industry, and what’s something that can be done to help?
Unfortunately, there is still way too much misogyny within our general culture, which impacts career growth/opportunity, along with salary disparity. However, with more and more women becoming owners of agencies, the push toward equality and diversity starts at the top, and changes are already incredibly profound.