Thriving As A Woman In a Male-Dominated Industry: Rachel Leake On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman In a Male-Dominated Industry

An Interview With Kelly Reeves

…We’re moving in the right direction as AIGA reports that 61% of designers are women. Although there’s been great strides at an individual contributor level, the lack of women in leadership is still a huge problem. It’s not enough to have representation without a path to advancement. Research shows female leadership improves your company. Teams with at least one female perform better than those with an all-male team and female leadership is more effective…

In the United States in 2022, fields such as Aircraft piloting, Agriculture, Architecture, Construction, Finance, and Information Technology are still male-dominated industries. So, what exactly does it take to thrive and succeed for a woman working in a male-dominated environment? In this interview series, we are talking to successful women who work in a male-dominated industry who can share their stories and experiences about navigating work and life. As a part of this series, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Creative Director and Brand Strategist, Rachel Leake.

Rachel is a creative leader with 12+ years of experience in the design and marketing industry developing award-winning creative, building brands and planning ad campaigns for businesses of all sizes — from startups to global corporations.

As a successful leader in the male-dominated advertising world, she is also committed to creating a more inclusive, equitable workplace for the next generation of creatives. She has a proven track record of leading global teams while fostering inclusive cultures.

She advocated for the creation of her agency’s DEI department and served as a founding committee member, mentors young talent through Google D&AD Shift (a night-school program of self-made creatives to challenge recruitment assumptions and diversify the talent pool), and is a founding member of Juno House, a Barcelona-based club by and for women to promote a new era of female leadership.

She discusses how companies can empower women in the marketing sector while stressing the importance of instituting DEI initiatives to dismantle organizational biases and prioritize diversity.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory?

Sure! I grew up loving art and photography, which eventually evolved into experimenting with Photoshop and digital art. In college, I focused on design and communication because I was interested in what impacts opinion and motivates human behavior.

Can you tell us the story about what led you into marketing?

After college, I led marketing efforts for several high-growth startups in tech, SaaS and e-commerce before making the leap into the agency world. I love blending human-centered design with data-driven strategy to build brands that genuinely connect with people.

Can you share an interesting story or favorite moment since you began your career?

One of my most exciting experiences was working for Zendo, a startup that designed home automation products that worked together to create a customized, smart home. Building the brand from the ground up for our international launch was an amazing opportunity. I remember my desk being cluttered with purple PMS samples and mini prototypes while catching early morning sunrises to connect with our colleagues in China. I loved creating the full user experience, from the digital app through in-person elements like the product packaging. Plus, we had such a great team!

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success?

Empathy. Whether it’s for your customers, clients, or coworkers, it is necessary. Building a successful environment (team, brand, company) starts with empathy.

Confidence. Imposter syndrome is real. Don’t take away your own seat at the table. This doesn’t mean “fake it until you make it,” but instead let your expertise shine through your data, ideas, and plans.

Adaptability. Whether it’s bouncing back from a miss, pivoting off a fail, or learning a new tech stack, you have to be flexible. Adopt a growth mindset.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. How does your sector compare to others in terms of gender equality?

Although we seem far past the Mad Men stereotype of advertising agencies, the “boy’s club” nature still holds true. There are very few women leaders in advertising; only 29% of Creative Directors and 0.9% of ad agency owners are women. And the numbers drop even lower for people of color.

And that’s a point I’d like to highlight; this issue isn’t restricted to gender. Anyone who feels different, like those from marginalized groups, are also negatively affected by the patriarchy, systemic racism and heteronormativity in the workplace.

We need to address DEI holistically with an intersectional lens and not just focus on gender. Identities are interconnected, discrimination is multiplicative, and privilege is relational.

Why is inequality an important issue in marketing and advertising? What effect does this lack of diversity have to the end consumer?

Advertising helps shape culture and drive change. It’s our responsibility to reflect equitable, respectful and inclusive representation both in our work — and our workforce.

Studies show women drive up to 80% of consumer purchases and 60% of social media sharing, yet the thousands of ads we’re inundated with daily are created without their input. And again, this issue multiplies in severity for marginalized groups.

As Cindy Gallop said, it creates “a closed loop of white guys, talking to white guys, about white guys.” Those making the final creative decisions are fundamentally different to the end decision-maker.

And what effect does it have on the organization?

Beyond being the right thing to do, a lack of diversity becomes a missed business opportunity. Supporting diversity is not only ethical, but it also makes smart business sense as diverse teams perform better. Diverse teams bring a broader range of perspectives to the table, resulting in more creative solutions and impactful marketing strategies.

What are some of the difficulties you’ve encountered during your career? What challenges have you experienced working in a male-dominated industry?

Throughout my career, I’ve often been the only female leader on my team. Most of the challenges I’ve witnessed or experienced have been microaggressions like female colleagues left off of meetings, being spoken over in calls, or even the expectation to bounce back two weeks after maternity leave.

One specific example that exemplifies a broader issue is when I was asked to address my female direct report’s “aggressive” responses. Re-reading the emails, her tone was direct and assertive, but neutral. Even running it through a language model showed no negative tone.

So, what happened? Harvard Business Review reports that women with direct communication styles are often mislabeled as unpleasant since they don’t conform to traditional gender norms. Studies show our unconscious bias associates — and expects — women to embody nurturing, likable traits. Consequently, when women behave in assertive, decisive ways, they are seen as unlikeable — even aggressive — for contradicting the expected norm. But if they lean too friendly, they’ll be seen as less competent, lacking strength, and less like a leader.

This is the double-bind of the likability paradox.

It sounds like there is a lot of work needed to do to achieve gender equality in this industry. In your experience, what should individuals and companies do to support greater gender parity moving forward?

For women, network and build your community. Find a mentor for guidance and a sponsor to help advocate for you. But also, advocate for yourself. Tout your accomplishments. It’s not bragging when it’s based on facts. Lastly, send the elevator back down. You don’t need to reach C-suite level to start making a difference for the next generation of talent. And our intersectionality means that you may hold more privilege in relation to another and be able to use your voice to benefit them.

For men, we need more allies. Advocate for gender-equitable policies, call out misogynistic behavior (silence is complicity!), and assess your own unconscious biases. If a female colleague gets interrupted in a meeting, interject for her to finish. Step back so others can step forward; consider saying ‘No’ to an opportunity to allow a deserving-but-overlooked colleague to take it on. Oh, and use your paternity leave! Studies show you’ll be closer to your children and less likely to divorce. Plus, women benefit; it neutralizes the stigma that comes with family commitments and is proven to decrease the gender pay gap.

For companies, prioritize diversity through action, like initiating policies and allocating budget. Many companies are vocal about diversity, but lacking commitment and action. A social media post means nothing when your board members are all white men. A women-led presentation means nothing when you lack policies to substantiate equal pay.

We need systematic change to reverse long-standing, systemic oppression. Some starting points are:

• Have diversity within your C-suite and board. Nothing will change your ecosystem faster.
• Appoint a fully dedicated DEI position. Don’t expect an employee to solve these systemic issues on top of their regular responsibilities.
• Set recruitment quotas and establish accountability metrics to guide hiring practices.
• Reduce the subjectivity of performance evaluations through objective criteria.
• Provide diversity training to correct unconscious biases.
• Adopt flexible working hours and shift the focus to objective measures of productivity, not hours logged.
• Establish policies for pay transparency (salary bands, pay audits), confidential reporting structures for sexual harassment, and parental leave.
• Track and publish your company’s diversity data and set public goals.

If you had a close woman friend who came to you with a choice of entering a field that is male-dominated or female-dominated, what would you advise her?

The field dynamics wouldn’t change my advice. Pursue your passion.

Why are there so few women in leadership roles within the creative, marketing and advertising industry? Have you seen any changes over the years? Do you envision it improving in the future?

We’re moving in the right direction as AIGA reports that 61% of designers are women. Although there’s been great strides at an individual contributor level, the lack of women in leadership is still a huge problem. It’s not enough to have representation without a path to advancement.

Research shows female leadership improves your company. Teams with at least one female perform better than those with an all-male team and female leadership is more effective.

Uncovering why there aren’t more female leaders is complex.

• It could be because organizations don’t recognize their unconscious biases when promoting. Research shows that men are often promoted based on potential, while women are promoted based on past performance.
• It could be that the glorified long hours and late nights cause them to drop out early or to not come back after motherhood.
• It could be the lack of role models and support. 88% of young female creatives say they lack role models. Lack of representation makes it harder to be recognized or feel supported.
• It could be the double-bind that women leaders are faced with. Be authoritative, but not too bossy. Friendly, but not too soft. Our unconscious bias of how we expect women to act is hindering their potential.
• It could be the gender pay gap. Female designers and marketing managers earn 73% of what their male colleagues make. Both rank in the top twenty jobs with the largest gender pay gap.

To improve, organizations should start by asking women what challenges they’re facing. And if there are no women to ask, start by questioning why that is.

What resources would you give to other women aspiring to succeed in a similar environment?

Be the best at what you do and build your community. If you’re limited within your organization, look outwards. Look for mentorship and networking through in-person events like Ladies Wine Design, Google’s #IamRemarkable workshops, The 3% Movement conferences, Kerning the Gap mentorship or a Lean In Circle. Or join online community groups like OWNIT, WomenUnltd, FIDO, and Design By Women.

For people of color, there are internship programs like BLAC, Useful School, One School, D&D Shift with Google, and networking groups like People of Craft, ADCOLOR, Where Are All The Black Designers?, Where Are All The Black People? and QTBIPOC Design.

One final point. While this conversation was focused around gender, I want to reiterate the importance of tackling diversity as a whole, across all marginalized groups.

Identities are interconnected and discrimination is often experienced in overlapping ways. Focusing solely on gender fails to capture the full complexity of the experiences of marginalized groups.

By adopting a holistic approach to DEI, we can work to dismantle these systems and create a more just and equitable workplace for all.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

How many can I list? Michelle Obama, Jane Elliot, Taylor Swift, Jacinda Ardern, Ava DuVernay, Megan Rapinoe, Liz Plank, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Greta Gerwig, Carme Ruscalleda, Melanie Perkins, Kathrin Jansen, Padma Lakshmi, Whitney Wolfe Herd…

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

You’re welcome! It’s been a pleasure sharing my thoughts with you. Thank you for having me and creating this opportunity for discussion.