Across EMEA, OMDers have been celebrating International Women’s Day not just on Monday, but all weeklong. OMD teams have been sharing their support and solidarity for this year’s campaign theme, #ChooseToChallenge, which aims to call out and challenge gender bias and inequality to ultimately create an inclusive world.
Our markets have all embraced the opportunity to celebrate and empower women, by sharing a whole host of events, panels, quizzes, workshops, and resources, to encourage and facilitate a vital and necessary dialogue around gender inequality.
As part of this year’s theme, we shared our #ChooseToChallenge pledges and raised our hands high to signify our commitment. Check out ‘OMD Voices’ to view more on what we would #ChooseToChallenge.
OMDers have shown up in full force to show their solidarity and commitment to celebrate International Women’s Day and we are proud to share just some of the highlights from across the week;
- Austria– OMD Austria planned a symbolic Women’s History Quiz where OMDers were able to test their knowledge about the historic date.
- EMEA – OMD EMEA Chief People Officer, Gina Ramson-Williams, was joined by Jo–ann Robertson, UK CEO, Global Client Solutions at Ketchum, for the latest RED ‘Half Hour’ where Jo-ann shared her personal story, her career experiences and the importance of celebrating women’s achievements.Although unable to celebrate as normal this year, OMD EMEA encouraged the team to come together (virtually) and celebrate International Women’s Day with a film night to watch documentary film, RBG, which explores the exceptional story of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg from the perspective of a feminist pioneer.To continue the conversation beyond International Women’s Day, OMD EMEA will be partnering with the Young Womens’ Trust, a feminist organisation working to achieve economic justice for young women by offering our help with programmes and training in 2021.
- UK– OMD UK shared ‘Open Letters’ a series of letters written by OMDers around the #ChoosetoChallenge theme and what International Women’s Day means to them. To kick off the series OMD UK’s CEO, Laura Fenton, shared the industry norms and expectations she challenged on her journey to becoming OMD UK’s first female CEO. Laura Fenton also joined the internal panel discussion ‘Re-imagining Leadership in 2021’ hosted by the OMG D&I Advisory for Women which featured Manning Gottlieb OMD CEO, Natalie Bell, and Fuse CEO, Lou Johnson speaking on their paths to leadership.Throughout the week, OMD UK also shared their favourite quotes from remarkable women that have inspired them.
- MG – Manning Gottlieb OMD CEO, Natalie Bell, spoke about her path to leadership for the internal panel discussion ‘Re-imagining Leadership in 2021’ hosted by the OMG D&I Advisory for Women. MG OMD were also joined for a discussion by Tiwalola Ogunlesi a globally recognised coach specialising in positive psychology and the founder of Confident & Killing It.
- Spain– OMD Spain showcased their #ChooseToChallenge pledges by creating a video which was shared internally and via social media.
- France– OMD France participated in the media campaign ‘Regarde Moi Bien’ (Take a Good Look at Me) initiated by the Women’s Foundation who promote equity and women’s rights. All teams across Omnicom Media Group in France can sign up to be a mentor to offer up their expertise and agencies will offer their support by negotiating free media for the foundation.
- MENA– OMD MENA took part in a Diverse Discussion mentorship programme which featured OMD mentors and allowed OMDers to speak to them in a 1:1 session. In the session they could discuss anything they liked, from career advice and leadership guidance to suggested ways to improve the culture.
- Germany – OMG Germany prepared a 4-hour virtual event full of presentations, workshops and quizzes. The content was distributed in 30-minute slots and the spotlight lectures are available for all employees to watch anytime.
Thank you to everyone who got involved in this week’s activities. We look forward to continuing the conversations on gender equality throughout the rest of 2021.