Stagwell announces 6 month sponsorship of Creative Equals Business

Digital marketing agency network Stagwell will sponsor Creative Equals Business for the next six months. Stagwell, which recently agreed a merger with MDC Partners, will back the program as it hopes to level the professional playing field of the creative industry.

What does the sponsorship involve?

• Stagwell will provide financial backing to Creative Equals Business to further its mission to level the playing field in the creative sector and see more women assume leadership roles.

• The holding company will fund a six-month curriculum combining in-person and virtual training to equip a new generation of female leaders with the business and management skills needed to ascend to the top of advertising and marketing.

• Courses emphasize innovation, creativity and profitability, ensuring that participants gain all the information, advice and skills necessary to build successful teams, pitch and sell, build a personal brand and develop senior relationships.

• Throughout this process systemic inequalities are identified, enabling attendees to seed behaviour and policy change upon their return to the workplace.

Why has it teamed up with Creative Equals?

• Mark Penn, chairman and chief executive of Stagwell, said: “We can only create meaningful, effective work for clients when our teams reflect the diversity of the audiences our clients are looking to reach. We are proud to sponsor Creative Equals Business for the second year with the hopes of reducing the barriers to success for female leaders looking to ascend to the C-suite level.”

• Helen James, joint founder of Creative Equals Business and managing director at CPB London, added: ”According to the IPA’s Diversity Survey, only 32.4% of C-suite positions in advertising were held by women in 2020, down from 34% in 2019. It’s a shocking reality that requires our immediate attention.

• ”We can only solve this challenge if people of all gender identities come together to lend their expertise and support to the cause. I’m grateful to Stagwell for their enthusiastic support of this initiative and look forward to continuing to work together to create a marketing industry that is fairer and more inclusive, and therefore, more creative and effective.”

• Creative Equals advocates gender equality in the workplace.The organization opened a business leadership school to address an imbalance in the sexes among executives.