All In Session: How To Implement Action 4 – Gender

Today (March 16) we held the first All In how-to session for our second phase of the All In Action Plan . The session focused on Action 4 – to improve the experience and representation of women.

Action 4, which is to take the Flexible First checklist,  has been developed as a response to the findings of the All In Census, which were published in March 2021. With over 16,000 respondents, the Census showed the need for much greater levels of inclusion in our industry across a number of different areas.

Here are some of the main takeaways from the session:

1. Representation of women varies significantly by function/department. Only 25% of women work in IT, followed by C-Suite (39%) and Creative (40%). In contrast, the majority of women (87%) work in the HR and Office Services departments, followed by Legal (76%).
2. 48% of women believe part-time working has negatively impacted their career.
3. 41% of women believe family responsibilities hinder career progression, while only 26% of men believe so.
4. Further, 53% of women state that parental leave has negatively impacted their career, with only 5% of men believing so.

This data supports how flexible working can help level the playing field aiding career progression and giving women opportunities to access senior roles without it having a detrimental impact on their personal lives.

Our panel  comprised of Kate Waters, WACL President and Director of Client Strategy and Planning, ITV, Kate Rowlinson, CEO, MediaCom and Dara Nasr, Managing Director of Twitter. They discussed the Flexible First Checklist itself, the benefits to both businesses and all genders and how to approach flexibility which works equally for the individual, the employer, and colleagues.

A big thank you  to all the speakers and attendees, we hope to see you all again soon at the next All In session on March 24, focusing on Action 5 – improving the experience and representation of Asian talent.

You can watch all of our “How To” sessions on demand here or head to our All In Hub for more information.