It took me years to realize how much I masculinized myself to survive in the creative departments and agencies I went through, all led by white men. In the way I spoke, in the way I dressed, in not showing emotions and, consequently, in the creative work I produced.
When I close my eyes and go back in time to one of the many lunch tables or happy hours with my male colleagues, I remember that I participated and reproduced jokes and comments that so often objectified or stereotyped women and, therefore, myself.
For many years I also believed that it was an advantage to be the only one or one of the very few in creation where I worked. “See, I’m so talented and special that they let me be one of them.”
Almost two decades later, here we are in the week of Women’s Day remembering how much the advertising market is still masculine, especially in leadership positions.
When we talk about presidency then, women are around 10%.
There is an expression for when there is gender equity at the bottom but not at the top: broken rung. It’s trying to balance myself in ours, which is huge, that I shift the subject from facts to one of effects.
At Publicis, currently 62% of the team is female. Our leadership is also female, with women occupying 61% of management positions – I imagine and hope that all agencies are evolving in their numbers. But just as important as a woman holding one of these positions is being able to exercise it in her entirety and individuality. Getting away from the standardization of leadership, bringing plurality, empathy and sensitivity to these spaces and actions. Hearing from other women that I am inspiring when I present myself in an authentic way, I defend my points of view with passion and that my management reflects how much I enjoy life and people makes me proud, even though it is not a criterion in any of the performance evaluations that already filled in life.
I believe that one of the biggest impacts of female presence and leadership in our market today is ensuring that no woman – black, white, trans and representatives of other intersectionalities – feels that she needs to stop being who she is to participate in the most disputed projects and grow as a professional. Ensure that a candidate is not asked in the interview whether she intends to become pregnant in the coming years. Guarantee that more will rise, especially black women. That there are other management references other than the male one. After all, as bell hooks points out, “how can you become what you cannot imagine?”.
If feminism is a daily construct, so is female leadership, and I’m happy to look around and finally see so many incredible women on this journey with me. A few days ago I got emotional presenting a work to the point that my voice broke. Not only did I not hide it for the team and clients, but I thought to myself: what a wonderful opportunity to be the leader I so wanted to have.
Dani Ribeiro, ECD at Publicis Brazil
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