For the first time, the Art Directors Club hosted a weekend dedicated to the empowerment of creative women. 28 selected participants came together to discuss the challenges of the industry in a protected environment, to network and to be inspired. But much more is planned.
With this new program, the Art Directors Club appears to be responding to criticism of its own, traditionally male-dominated jury, such as the initiative of the Instagram account Ad Girls Club. However, the fact that the proportion of women in management positions in the creative industry is still only 12% is also being addressed. In spring 2021, ADC Future Females was launched, a tailor-made leadership program aimed at female high potentials in the creative industry. It was initiated by ADC President Dörte Spengler-Ahrens, who works as Managing Director Creation at Jung von Matt/SAGA. The second member of the team is Hannah Johnson, ADC member and Creative Strategy Lead DACH at Snap Inc; the program's advertising partner is Snapchat.
Empowerment, further training, advice and networking for the female managers of tomorrow: that is the aim of ADC Future Females. First of all, for 28 ambitious women who had previously prevailed in a rigorous application process. Most of them work in advertising, but they also included freelance photographers, communication designers and copywriters. In addition to presentations, the program also included intensive coaching sessions. They were able to deal with topics such as leadership, founding a company, balancing different roles in professional and private life, salary negotiations, resilience and perseverance, the targeted use of the voice and presenting in front of the camera.
Co-organizer Hannah Johnson describes the energy of the two workshop days as downright incredible: "Inspired not only by the keynotes, talks and coaching sessions, but also by the power of finally networking with so many women from all over Germany and Austria who share their experiences and face the same challenges. And for all those who ask themselves: Where are the women who want to reach the top and belong there? We can proudly say: Here are the women."
For this vision, the two organizers recruited top international speakers from the fields of advertising, digital, tech, journalism, female founders and coaching. The speakers included Gabriele Fischer (co-founder and editor-in-chief of brand eins), Dagmar Janke (Global Director NIVEA Communication Transformation and Agency Management at Beiersdorf AG), Christina Keller (Director Creative Shop Central Europe, Facebook) and Inge Bell (media entrepreneur, management coach and human rights activist).
On its website, the Art Directors Club writes about the first run of the program: "Our goal is to show women how to find the courage they need to take the next steps in their careers." And Dörte Spengler-Ahrends promises: "To be continued!"
