The value of top female talent in smashing the glass ceiling

It’s a perennial subject, we know. And it’s not exclusively an Asian problem, of course. Nonetheless, the lack of debate about the gender imbalance in the industry is surprising, both from an ethical and a commercial perspective.

Producing hard statistics is difficult. But take a look around the industry: how many senior female regional creatives or CEOs can you name? Is it the outdated placement system, the lack of female role models, the attitude and approach to recruiting, or simply the need for better work-life balance?

Most likely, it’s a combination of the above. Much can be done, of course, to smash the glass ceiling. And there is an increasing number of ambitious women proving so. This month, we’ve profiled 13 as part of our Women to Watch feature.

What made these women stand out from their peers? Although they differ in terms of experience and background, they all have a few things in common: drive, intelligence, creative thinking, personality and an inspiring enthusiasm for the business.

Aside from the influential Deb Henretta (Procter & Gamble), we selected Lynn Anne Davis (Fleishman-Hillard) for managing to combine fierce professionalism and competitiveness while instilling a caring ethos into the grain of the agency.

We chose Amanda King (Tribal DDB), who’s no pussycat but exhibits passion rather than aggression.

Masako Okamura caught our attention for holding the impressive distinction of being the first female creative director at Japan’s most conservative of advertising institutions, Dentsu.

Jureeporn Thaidumrong, a creative superstar in her own right, and the formidable Lara Hussain, who broke family tradition in Malaysia to follow her passion, were also natural inclusions.

Interestingly, we found that the greatest proportion of women leaders came from media in China. Which is encouraging; media can be an especially tough environment where overtly masculine values are often seen as being necessary to succeed in its pressure cooker scenarios.

The values for success aren’t confined to women. But, on the whole, the women we’ve featured - Bertilla Teo (Starcom), Jean Lin (Isobar), Bessie Lee (GroupM) and Maggie Choi (OMD) - all exhibit grace under pressure.

Crucially, they’re all great communicators. And, like the other women in our feature, they have done much to contribute not just in terms of overt business success, but through the greater level of balance and professionalism in leadership they bring to their organisations.

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This article was originally published in the 25 March 2010 issue of Media.