: Women in advertising reflect on breaking the glass ceiling & making way for future leaders #IndiaNEWS #Experts Speak In conversation with Social Samosa, women in advertising talk about the tough reality

Women in advertising reflect on breaking the glass ceiling & making way for future leaders #IndiaNEWS #Experts Speak
In conversation with Social Samosa, women in advertising talk about the tough reality of working as a woman and how they are breaking the norms every day.

Strong women in leadership roles can uplift and change courses. While India has come a long way in terms of educating women and viewing them as equals, there’s still a long journey ahead; especially when it comes to women in the workspace. Every year, November 19 is celebrated as ‘International Womens Entrepreneurship Day’, where the world honours and appreciates all the white-collar women doing their bit to break the age-old stereotypes. We take this opportunity to understand the opinion of women in advertising.

Despite dedicating an entire day to ‘the working women’, the reality of working as a woman in a “mans world??? is nothing short of fighting a battle. According to the World Economic Forum’s 2022 Global Gender Gap Report, only 37% of women are in leadership roles overall in media & communications, compared with 63% of men. Apart from this drastic gap, there are many hidden issues that women in high-ranking roles face on daily basis.

Although the world is trying to push the narrative of ‘The future is Female’, many industries still can’t overcome the differences that women were facing 3-4 decades ago.

Celebrating women in the corporate world, today and every day; Social Samosa talks to 8 women in advertising who are doing their part to break the norms and pave the way for future leaders.

Changing Workplace dynamics in India

Vanaja Pillai, DDB Mudra Group

Indian working women have come a long way and so has the workplace culture. Though the changes might seem to happen, it still needs loads of work to be done. Talking about this, Vanaja Pillai, Head – Diversity, Inclusion & Impact, DDB Mudra Group states, “Workplace dynamics have changed more rapidly in the last couple of decades than ever before, and the pace of this change continues to keep us on our toes. We are having to look at systems, policies, training and development, people engagement and leadership with a new lens every day. ???

Further adding to this, Vanaja mentions where the industry needs improvements. She mentions that the A&M industry needs to take an opportunity to contemporarize itself and get more in tune with what the world needs. Whether it is having open conversations with the CEO, an increased focus on educating ourselves from a DEI lens, or a concerted effort to find talent in non-traditional ways; the industry has to experiment and widen its thinking in every aspect.

Archana Gulia, ODN Digital Service

Archana Gulia, CCO ODN Digital Service says, “We have come a long way, but there’s still so much more to do.