By A Correspondent
Diageo has announced sponsorship of the Creative Equals Returner scheme #CreativeComeback for the second year, funding a multi-market roll-out to address the lack of women represented in top creative leadership roles around the world.
The programme will run in London, New York and Mumbai in 2020 with the objective of supporting 100 women back into the creative industries following a career break of a year or more. The expansion follows the success of the first programme which saw 58 women complete the course in London and Manchester 2019, with the majority returning to the creative industries following completion.
Said Syl Saller, CMO of Diageo: “I’m pleased to see more women entering the boardrooms of agencies, but too few are in creative leadership positions. I am convinced that diversity in creative leadership leads to better and more effective work. It’s time for concerted action that will close the creative leadership gap. We were blown away by the responses to our briefs from the returners in 2019 and I’m thrilled to see women who took part go on to re-establish flourishing careers. We’re proud to be bringing #CreativeComeback to the UK, US and India – countries that are crucial to both our business, and the creative industries as a whole.”
Added Ali Hanan, Founder of Creative Equals: ‘In 2019, with the Government Equalities Office, D&AD and Diageo, we have been able to put bridges back to work for 41 women in London and Manchester, with 15 permanent hires. We know this is life-changing for some, giving them their careers back and making a dent on changing the ratio of female creative directors across all markets. Our aim is to shift the perception of CV gaps: these moments where life happens are creativity’s gifts, and yet ‘time out’ as a barrier to coming back to work. We also know ageism is a challenge, and while 70% of the UK’s income is held by those over 50, just 6% of our workforce sits in this age bracket. We know who makes the work shapes the work, so to produce better, more innovative ideas we need diverse perspectives with those from all walks of life at the table to represent the audiences we serve.”
And this is what Julie Bramham, CMO for Diageo India said: “I am delighted that we will be working with Creative Equals in launching this programme in India. It is well-acknowledged that diverse teams are more creative and innovative, but still we continue to see mid-career dropout within the creative industry. It can be hard to return to work after a long break, hence we are excited to bring the ‘creative comeback’ programme to India. We want cutting edge and diverse creative brains to work on our brands and we are excited to make this happen with Creative Equals, DDB Mudra and Glitch.”
The programme will take place in London, running across International Women’s Day from the March 2-12, followed by New York 23 March-2 April and Mumbai in September and October.