By R. Larsson, Advertising Week
The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day, #AccelerateAction, calls for urgent and tangible steps to break systemic barriers to gender equality. While many brands and agencies champion diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), real progress often falls short of the promises made. And the ongoing debate around performative versus meaningful action has never been more pressing.
So what could, and should, brands and agencies be doing to go beyond symbolic gestures and truly invest in advancing women’s empowerment? We spoke with three senior leaders across adland to get their thoughts.
Shelby Hawker, Senior Partner, Lippincott
Despite the celebratory nature of International Women’s Day, the reality for many women today is far from ideal. Economic uncertainty, rising costs, limited reproductive rights, and the rollback of workplace DEI initiatives are making it harder—not easier—to thrive.
For brands that seek to engage women as customers, employees, and leaders, the starting point isn’t a marketing campaign—it’s recognizing and reinforcing the conditions that enable their success. That means looking inward, identifying where their brand has real influence, and making tangible commitments that go beyond symbolism.
The best brands already lead by example. American Express backs its commitment with robust parental leave policies for all genders and thought leadership on workplace equity. Adobe fosters real career growth through its women’s network and integrates gender equity into its brand strategy, recognizing the creative contributions women make every day.
Now is the moment for brands to move from messaging to action. In a crowded marketplace, those that invest in real change—not just recognition—will be the ones that truly stand out.
Hannah Penn and Harriet Knight, Joint Managing Directors, Pablo London
Brands have most commonly used International Women’s Day to spotlight female achievements and challenge stereotypes. But awareness and talk isn’t enough—especially when gender equality is regressing. Between 2019 and 2023, nearly 40% of countries stagnated or declined on gender equality, and over 850 million women and girls live in nations rated “very poor” for gender rights. The power of brands and agencies is that they can do so much more than just talk, businesses must back their words with investment and action to create lasting impact. Awareness alone won’t drive progress.
At Pablo we introduced our gender neutral parental policy because we believe one of the best ways for us to accelerate the removal of gender inequality in the workplace is to stop the motherhood tax – the reality that for a certain phase of a woman’s career she is seen as risky or flighty because she’s likely to be in and out of work on maternity leave. Gender-neutral parental policies offer the same enhanced parental leave to fathers and mothers, the hope being this reframes parenting in the eyes of business not as a female responsibility but a human one, and the more men who we can support in being actively involved in the home, the better women will be supported in their work.
Jenn Szekely, President, Coley Porter Bell
What I’ve become passionate about in recent years and something I think more brands, agencies and women need to be doing is paying it forward to the next generation of women. This year’s IWD theme is “For All Women and Girls” and there is so much more we can do to inspire, empower and instil confidence in the next generation of women – especially in places most in need of reshaping gender stereotypes, in our country and around the globe.
I recently had the opportunity to get to know some amazing young women in rural New York who had no idea that agency jobs like ours in the branding industry and marketing overall existed. The jobs they were being guided towards in school were nursing or teaching, because those are the main jobs that exist for women in their community. I have the utmost respect for teachers and nurses, but it broke my heart to learn that girls are not being brought up or supported to believe they can do anything. Brands should be sharing inspiration all year round – but particularly around International Women’s Day – through campaigns or agency initiatives that empower and enlighten women.
