‘The International Women’s Day (IWD) 2024 theme, “Count Her In: Invest In Women. Accelerate Progress.” centres on the pathways to greater economic inclusion for women and girls everywhere.
From events with Amanda Keller and Mamamia to panels and town halls, here’s how businesses across the media and advertising industry have, or are, marking the day.
Publicis Groupe
VivaWomen!, Publicis Groupe’s employee resource group dedicated to supporting and developing women in the company, hosted a discussion with TV and radio presenter Amanda Keller.
Keller shared her experiences with challenges and successes in her media career, as well as the benefits and impacts of gender equity and allyship both inside and outside the workplace.
In the evening, Publicis Groupe Sydney also hosted a dinner and discussion panel in partnership with women’s media company, Mamamia.
The panel discussion covered topics such as how brands can authentically show up on International Women’s Day (IWD), what seems to be resonating with audiences in the lead up to the day, and what can be done to accelerate women’s progress in the workplace.
The event included a Q&A with Mamamia editor-in-chief Eliza Sorman-Nilsson facilitated by Spark Foundry chief investment officer Lucie Jansen, as well as a panel with Mamamia executive editor Holly Wainwright, writer and podcast host Emily Vernem and chief revenue officer Natalie Harvey with Digitas chief operations officer Kara Bombell.
Pauly Grant, Publicis Groupe chief talent officer ANZ, said: “International Women’s Day is a great opportunity to pause and celebrate the incredible achievements of women across our industry. It is also a time to reflect on our continued efforts to create a more diverse, equitable and supportive environment for all.
“At Publicis Groupe, we’re focused on fostering a culture of fairness where every one of our people has the chance to succeed. Currently, we have women occupying 57% of senior leadership roles across our Australian agencies and, last year, 68% of promotions across the Groupe were women.
“We have a Gender Equity strategy in place to continue to make progress as an inclusive and progressive employer, and have introduced several policies and programs to help attract more women into our business and provide an environment for them to thrive.
“This includes closely analysing salary increase and promotion decision making; ensuring that we’re recruiting more diverse talent; supporting leaders in their inclusive leadership journey; providing paid Menopause Leave; and having a Parental Leave carer swap program in place.”
Seven
Seven West Media is celebrating its fourth year in partnership with UN Women Australia as the Australian broadcast partner for IWD.
The partnership set up in 2021, has seen the network support key IWD events around Australia in the lead up to the day.
Across this week, UN Women Australia CEO, Simone Clarke, appeared on The Morning Show on Wednesday; a town hall with 7NEWS’ Gemma Acton and Home and Away’s Ada Nicodemou was held yesterday for Seven West Media staff; and 7NEWS anchors are hosting UN Women events in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne and Canberra today, with a package to appear on air tonight.
Seven West Media’s women leaders also shared their thoughts on economic inclusion empowerment. Sunrise co-host, Natalie Barr, said: “To me, it means empowering and encouraging women into higher levels in workplaces. When that happens, the evidence shows, more women are given more chances.”
The Morning Show co-host, Kylie Gillies, said: “This is a very meaningful partnership. Marking international days such as International Women’s Day is important to highlight where and what we can do better. When we invest in women, everyone wins.”
7NEWS network finance editor, Gemma Acton said: “Knowledge is power. Economic empowerment is about understanding your finances so you can make the best decisions for you and your loved ones at every stage of your life. It’s about not getting pushed around by people who don’t have your best interests at heart. It’s about setting yourself up to feel confident about your finances so you can earn, save and invest enough to live the wonderful life you want.”
Melissa Hopkins, chief marketing and audience officer, said: “While inclusion of women in the workplace has made strong strides, empowering women to reach their full economic potential is the next big frontier. Building confidence and providing tools not only drives females to reach more potential than they thought possible, but it also drives substantial economic growth and value.”
Sarah-Jane Tasker, editor of The Nightly, said: “We need to constantly be pushing forward so it becomes the norm that women are economically empowered; it should be a given. It not only provides them the ownership to set the course of their own destiny, but it can also lift national economies and increase productivity and have real outcomes more broadly.”
Enero Group
Enero Group hosted a discussion panel for staff across its Australian businesses – BMF, Hotwire, and Orchard – that centred on the theme of ‘Inspire Inclusion’ and ‘Invest in Women: Accelerate progress’.
Abigail Dawson, Enero’s group communications director, moderated the discussion panel, which featured Irina Hayward, BMF’s executive director of digital and direct strategy; Melissa Cullen, Hotwire Australia’s managing director of communications APAC; and Fiona Walters, Orchard’s digital analyst, data and strategy.
The discussion celebrated women’s economic empowerment and examined the continued progress surrounding gender equality.
Enero Group also streamed a keynote speaker, Rabia Siddique, one of Australia’s top 100 women of influence and an Australian of the Year.
She shared her harrowing story about her experience with battling discrimination, abuse, chronic illness, and post-traumatic stress after her involvement in a hostage crisis in Iraq, and how it led to inspiring greater diversity, inclusion, and cultural change.
Ten/Paramount
Paramount has celebrating the women in key broadcast positions and leadership roles in news on IWD. Beverley McGarvey, executive vice president, chief content officer & head of Paramount+ at Paramount Australia said she was proud of the women who lead news coverage across the country.
“It’s certainly important to celebrate and recognise our talented women in news on days like today, but we also live and breathe this focus on gender equity every day with a strong commitment to investing in women across our entire business.
“And while we know we have more work to do, we’re also pleased to have the smallest gender pay gap across the broadcast industry.”
Among 10’s team of experienced news anchors are Kate Freebairn on 10 News First Adelaide, Jennifer Keyte for 10 News First Melbourne, Narelda Jacobs OAM on 10 News First Midday and 10 News First Afternoon, Natalie Forrest for 10 News First Perth, Sandra Sully AM for 10 News First Queensland and 10 News First Sydney, and Chris Bath for 10 News First Weekends.
The executive editors leading the bulletins across the country are Gerda Jezuchowski for 10 News First Adelaide, Nicole Strahan for 10 News First Melbourne, Pamela Magill for 10 News First Perth and Erin Edwards for 10 News First Queensland.
Covering red carpets around the world and all things entertainment is Angela Bishop OAM as the network entertainment editor for 10 News First.
In Canberra, Ashleigh Raper is the network political editor, and the only female political editor across all the commercial networks, showing that not only does Federal Parliament remain a male-dominated field, but so too does the reporting of it.
Rashell Habib, head of digital news and strategy, said the successes of women in media are often overlooked.
“I don’t want gender to be an issue for news and journalism, but it is,” she said. “I think we’ve got to be louder about our successes as women in news and shout about our own achievements as well as the accomplishments of our female colleagues.
“We can’t do it alone and need to support each other and find allies in our workplaces and across the industry too.”
Paramount Australia says it is working towards gender equity in the workplace by offering flexibility, gender neutral 14 weeks paid parental leave and an increased focus on equitable recruitment activities surrounding process and pay.
GroupM
GroupM began IWD with an all staff session, in partnership with Val Morgan’s Unstoppable. The morning kicked off with panel, hosted by PopSugar’s Amanda Bardas and featuring Rika Sen, client development director, advanced programmatic at GroupM Nexus, Archi Lingam – strategic partner lead at Google, and Netflix’s film and series marketing manager, Claire Riding.
Meanwhile, GroupM New Zealand’s hosted a session with Bex Sowden, who created the UN-backed Correct the Internet campaign for IWD.
Sowden, who is a former New Zealand Football Fern, is the founder of Team Heroine, a women’s sport marketing and sponsorship consultancy that helps connect brands and advertisers with women’s sports.
GroupM New Zealand’s also hosted a lunch for our senior female leaders across GroupM, EssenceMediacom, Wavemaker and Mindshare in partnership with Song Kitchen for IWD. Song Kitchen is a profit-for-purpose restaurant owned by YWCA which shares all its profits back with community projects that support women and families who experience domestic violence and homlessness.
GroupM’s Gender Committee also has a partnership with Endometriosis Australia, coinciding with Endometriosis Awareness Month.
Endometriosis is a chronic disease that affects one in seven women, who experience ongoing pain and face potential fertility and reproductive issues. Women wait more than six years on average for a diagnosis, and it costs the economy nearly $10billion every year.
GroupM also shared that in 2024 they will become an accredited EndoAware Workplace and introduce a supportive policy that helps to raise awareness and support anyone affected. This is the latest initiative that aims to support people GroupM whatever life stage they are in, following thins like our Menopause Policy and Gender Affirmation Policy.
Omnicom Media Group
OMG welcomed former world no. top 4 tennis player turned commentator Jelena Dokic for its IWD afternoon tea and a speaking session with the media holding company’s staff.
Beyond the tennis court, Dokic has become an influential voice—a sought-after speaker, a compelling TEDx presenter, and a revered commentator for Nine’s coverage of the Australian Open and other grand slams.
Half Dome
Half Dome marked IWD a range of events and recognised the impact, success and contributions of each female team member, with women making up 65% of the independent agency’s headcount.
Earlier this week, the agency hosted a woman-led panel and networking event in partnership with She Loves Data and Digital Immersion, which saw women of the data community come together to connect and feel empowered to better leverage data and AI in their field.
On Thursday, members of the team attended an event hosted at The Hub, Industry Lanes, hearing from special guest speaker Jacqui Bell, the youngest person in the world to run an ultra-marathon across all seven continents. This was followed by the IMAA’s International Women’s Day Lunch on Friday, marking the occasion with the wider industry.
Joe Frazer, founder of Half Dome, said: “Today we’re recognising the amazing impact that women have on us as individuals, Half Dome, our industry, and society more broadly.
“I’m personally lucky to be surrounded by some amazing, strong, infallible, sassy… women in my life – including my wife and daughter – who inspire me to work harder, be a better advocate, and be an ally for women in all walks of life.
“The women at Half Dome fall into that same bracket. This is a great opportunity to salute your contribution and celebrate your success,” he said.
In line with the IWD theme to “Invest in Women”, Frazer said that over the past 12 months the agency has invested in the women that power Half Dome through initiatives like such as paid parental leave scheme, as well as promotions that recognise individual brilliance and contribution.
Additionally, the women at Half Dome were each treated to a bottle of wine from a female-founded and operated winery, followed by a team lunch.
