media update’s Aisling McCarthy attended the very first Open Chair session on 8 August, at TBWA in Sandown.

A way for women to connect

Welcoming everyone to the event, Gordhan said she hoped that this would be the first of many opportunities for young women to meet with established professionals within the advertising industry.

She explained that Open Chair’s purpose is to assist in growing the industry, and to grow what it is missing – women in leadership roles.

“For the young women sitting here, we want you to see that there is a space for you. We want you to thrive in this industry and to aim for empty seats in the leadership roles.”

The glass ceiling in advertising

Nunu Ntshingila, head of Facebook Africa, gave the keynote address regarding the limitations for women in the industry.

“Having spent much time in advertising, I look back and there hasn’t been a shortage of women. But whenever you stop and take stock, you realise there aren’t very many women in leadership roles. Where are they? Where did they go? Why have they not moved to the top?”

As advertisers, Ntshingila said that the job is to drive and influence purchasing power. However, looking at the statistics shows a complete disconnect. Worldwide, 70-80% of purchasing power lies with women, and yet women lead only 3% of creative studios. Ntshingila said that, fundamentally, this is wrong and needs to change.

Ntshingila also highlighted that although we may have moved past portraying women lying across the bonnets of Ferraris, we are still portraying adverts where women are seen as juvenile. In order to benefit our young girls, Ntshingila said that it’s time to portray women who are real, empowered and progressive to show young girls that it is possible to be successful as a woman.

Time for transformation

The lack of women in leadership is not a problem specific to advertising though, as Ntshingila pointed out that in South Africa, only 2.4% of women in the workplace are CEOs. When looking at the whole of Africa, that number only rises to 5%.

“That is not enough. How do we make sure that women continue to grow? We start – we are here at the start.”

The issue of transformation was also discussed, with Ntshingila saying that there needs to be both cognisant diversity as well as real diversity. She also mentioned the importance of the youth, saying that young women should be allowed to take the reins sometimes, as they are the ones who are going to inherit the world in a matter of years.

The lack of women in leadership

Simoné Bosman, founder of Molo Sana Films, said that the reason the industry lacks women in leadership is due to the fact that there are not equal opportunities given to men and women.

“A lot of men assume those positions because they feel that they own it, they feel that they have the right acumen, they are more experienced, and they feel that they can handle it.”

She said that in order to better the industry, the onus is on men and women to ensure that if they see a person who has the necessary characteristics for a position, to groom the person for the job – regardless of their gender. 

“That’s the biggest thing, we don’t groom our future leaders early enough in the process. If we do that – we’ll have more women in leadership.”

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One of Open Chair’s inspirational women, Fran Luckin, made history as the first South African woman to serve as Cannes Lions Jury President. Read more about it in our article, Grey Africa’s Fran Luckin talks women in advertising.