While not inherently a man’s world, the creative industry can often be dominated by senior male figures. So at The Practice, we’re proud to have a female CEO at the helm of our agency, and the unique perspective this brings to working life.

Recently, our CEO Kirsty McAllister, was interviewed for Back of House- Morgans’ Hotel Group online platform for creators. In the interview, held at The Sanderson Hotel, she spoke about how she came to run and expand The Practice, and what it takes to operate our agency in both London and New York. Kirsty’s philosophy at The Practice has always been a simple but effective one- “Be fearless, don’t be scared to dream too big and ask questions”, she says in the interview, while adding; “Don’t take no for an answer and remember to be a nice person in the process!” It’s an approach that has served our teams well- we always try to push the boundaries of innovation when it comes to work for our clients, and strive to deliver even when the solution seems unreachable. And most importantly, Kirsty’s message to act with kindness is very grounding- it’s the first thing we bear in mind when cultivating relationships with clients, and probably why we’ve had so many long-standing ones too.

While we’re of course extremely proud of Kirsty and her incredible achievements, it’s amazing to see that there are now many female leaders within the creative industries to take note from. There’s Lucy Jameson, for instance, CEO of Grey London, who last year was named Number 1 planner in the UK by Campaign. She’s had a long and successful career to date, with 18 years experience under her belt at DDB, joining Grey as Chief Strategy Officer in 2012, before this year being promoted to CEO. Ogilvy & Mather UK also boasts a talented female leader, with Annette King appointed to the position in 2014. The former CEO at OgilvyOne, the promotion comes just five years after this previous position, showing King to be a force to be reckoned with. Best of all, she also mentors for the X Factor (not the one you’re thinking!) a scheme launched by Sir Martin Sorrell to offer senior management mentoring and development for female executives.

Aside from this scheme, it’s been great to see other examples of active progress in the industry, especially this past year. Only a couple of months ago for instance, we saw two companies merge- Major Players, a UK recruitment agency for the creative, digital and marketing industries, and SheSays, an international creative network for women. The collaboration was formed to help and inspire females within the creative sectors, with the managing director of Major Players, Helen Stokes, commenting: “I myself can relate to the disparity of women in senior positions within recruitment, and have witnessed the shortfall of senior women in the creative space.” It’s sad to see, and to our minds, the gender divide shouldn’t even enter the equation- a diverse skill set can of course be found in any talented individual regardless of sex. However, the truth remains that senior female roles will always be up for discussion, simply because these positions are only just becoming the norm in the workplace. Current figures show that within the advertising sector for instance, the ratio of males to females is 50/50- yet only 25% of females hold senior roles.

We can’t wait to see our industry continue to grow and flourish with a greater amount of female creators, strategists and leaders. Without a diverse range of female positions in advertising, marketing, and design, brands might suffer from a one-sided approach. After all, women from all demographics- from teenagers, students to mums, are important groups for clients to target in their marketing campaigns; surely, a woman’s perspective is crucial?

What do you think about the gender divide in the creative and digital sectors? And which female leaders do you admire in the industry? We’d love to hear your thoughts, so please tweet to us @PracticeDigital and share your comments on our Facebook page.