Normal here. Not yet everywhere.
International Women’s Day is coming up, and instead of just planning a post, I sat down with the team and asked a bigger question:
What are we really doing to support and empower women?
Because if it only shows up as a post or a hashtag once a year, that is not who we are.
What came out of that conversation made me incredibly proud.
Our senior team are mentoring marketers across a range of organisations. Quietly backing other women. Offering honest advice about leadership and how to navigate tough rooms. And it’s not because it looks good, it is simply because they care.
Just this week, a young student reached out wanting to explore marketing as a career. Breea, with a packed schedule, made time without hesitation. She showed her the real version of the role (hopefully without scaring her 😄). The pace, the pressure, the creativity and the responsibility that comes with results. It was lovely to watch her support this young girl and encourage her to go and learn.
From my perspective, I also mentor a young marketer and am deeply passionate about visibility for women in leadership, particularly in tech and other traditionally male-dominated industries. We work across heavy industry, primary, aquaculture, infrastructure and tech, and not once has gender defined our ability to deliver exceptional work.
Gender is not our point of difference. Results are.
Outside the business, our team have been filling beautiful new handbags to the brim for Love Grace Appeal. Each bag is packed with everyday essentials and thoughtful extras that someone might not otherwise have access to. Simple things that most of us take for granted, but that can make a real difference to someone going through a tough time. It is a small act, but a powerful reminder that empowerment is not just professional. It is human.
Our team is made up of powerhouse mums, leaders, mentors and creative thinkers. Women building national campaigns between school drop offs. Women pitching to boards and then heading home to help with homework.
We did not set out to build a team of women. We hire based on capability, not gender. It just happens that the result is an incredible group of women. We celebrate diversity in all its forms. Different backgrounds, different cultures and different perspectives strengthen the way we think and the work we deliver.
For us, having powerful women in charge isn’t new, is normal. We should all normalise women in leadership so thoroughly that it is no longer noteworthy. It is just normal. I’m proud to stand beside someone while they find their voice, and I thrive on watching my team take up space without apology.
We are incredibly fortunate to work in an environment that is actively working to normalise women in leadership. We know that it is a privilege. What we experience here is just one small part of a much bigger global picture.
There are still long strides to take. Inequality still exists in very real ways across industries, countries and communities. International Women’s Day matters because progress still needs momentum, voices still need amplifying, and barriers still need breaking.
In our world, empowerment is built into how we hire, how we lead, how we give back and how we show up. But we remain aware that normalising powerful women at a studio level is not the same as solving inequality at scale.
This team inspire me. Without grand declarations or big campaigns, they are quietly crafting a culture where powerful women are not the exception. They are the expectation.
I am proud of the work we do. But I am even more in awe of the way the people I work with show up, step forward and make powerful feel normal.
Written by Carla Forbes – Director
