7 top agencies share how they’re celebrating International Women’s Day 2022

In addition, our longstanding global employee resource group Omniwomen will highlight members of its 19 global chapters through a video where they discuss what IWD’s #BreakTheBias theme means to them. On International Women’s Day, Omniwomen will also be presenting a conversation with Indra K Nooyi, former chief executive officer and chairman of PepsiCo, about her life and newly-launched book My Life in Full: Work, Family and Our Future. Indra will share details of her legendary career, the sacrifices it so often demanded and what she learned along the way.

This season is an opportunity to recognize the achievements of all the powerful women that came before us, while finding new ways to elevate, advocate and support the women around us. At Omnicom, we seek to break the bias beyond Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day by empowering women year-round and recognizing the richness and intersectionality within this community.

Emily K Graham, chief equity and impact officer, Omnicom Group

Publicis Groupe

While we’ve made significant progress in pushing gender equity further, we each hold power to continue to accelerate these efforts. Across Publicis Groupe, we recognize the contributions of our women across all facets of intersectionality in a multitude of ways, including dedicated programming, community and connection points across our US landscape of 15 business resource groups. We also proudly participate and partner with key industry organizations such as She Runs It and 3% to provide our talent with additional touchpoints and opportunities to grow, learn and connect. In March specifically, we’re amplifying our efforts with impactful programming including financial and personal development workshops, stand-up comedy, fireside chats and more.

Geraldine White, US chief diversity officer, Publicis Groupe

WPP

This year, celebrations of International Women’s Day have in many ways been amplified by the situation in Ukraine. Conflicts displace families and disproportionately impact women and girls so we wanted to place an even greater focus on gender equality across our company and around the world not just because it makes our work better, but because it’s the right thing to do.

We’ve harnessed the incredible talent across our company to put together a program of events that showcase women’s achievements and shine a light on the challenges that persist. These events are hosted locally and regionally by our agencies and are open to all our employees around the world.

We are continuing the #IAmRemarkable initiative launched last year in partnership with Google. This is a program that empowers women to speak openly about their accomplishments and attributes and improve their self-promotion skills. All week long we are hosting #IAR sessions dedicated specifically to IWD.

Finally, we recognize our responsibility to use our voice and platform as WPP to help break biases and negative stereotypes through the work we do for our clients. Not only are we spotlighting this work in a special IWD takeover of our global newsletter, but we’ve also invited graduates from our female leadership development programs such as 'Walk the Talk' and 'Fast Forward for Women' to share their thoughts on how our industry can help #BreakTheBias.

Jennifer Remling, global chief people officer at WPP

UM Worldwide

This IWD, UM’s beloved, long-running ‘Uniquely Me’ social campaign, which celebrates the similarities and differences within our community, will spotlight inspirational women who are raising up those around them through mentorship, positivity and empathetic leadership. We will also be releasing ‘Uniquely Me: Bringing Women Together,’ a resource book that highlights UMers’ favorite women-owned businesses and female creators who are following their passions while driving impact and leveling the playing field for women in creativity, media and tech.

Natalie Madera, partner, portfolio management and DEB council lead, UM Worldwide

Media.Monks

With more than 8,300 employees across 33 countries, Media.Monks wanted to continue its tradition of spotlighting female-identifying employees and their invaluable contributions to our industry and culture. Through a series of panels, workshops and more, women from around the globe will share some of the ways that they’re setting new boundaries, breaking down barriers and opening up space for everyone to thrive. This will all be hosted on our internal video comms platform The Shift.

We are also doubling down on our commitment to support and invest in employee programs that encourage an inclusive workforce, launching our second annual S4Women Leadership program in partnership with the Haas School of Business at University of California Berkeley, which is designed to support our high-potential women in achieving the next stage of their career goals and to ensure we move toward our objective of creating equality of opportunity for all.

Another focus area for us is helping our clients show up [for women and girls] as well, which we are doing through projects like our work with Code Like A Girl, aiming to empower and enable women and girls to be equal creators in tech, which is kicking off this IWD. Ranging from internal activities and paths for career development to supporting brands’ commitments to making our industry more equitable for all, these initiatives reinforce our ongoing goal to change who does the work.

Kate Richling, chief marketing officer, Media.Monks

Wunderman Thompson

As part of our ‘Breaking Barriers’ Women’s History Month theme, Wunderman Thompson North America is sponsoring a live book club event featuring authors from TheWMarketplace, an economic engine for women that was launched in 2020 by founders Kate Isler and Susan Gates, who saw the disproportionate effect that the pandemic was having on women.

Books discussed will include Back to Business by Nancy Jensen and Sarah Duewald, a book to empower women re-entering the workforce, and Female Firebrands: Stories and Techniques to Ignite Change, Take Control, and Succeed in the Workplace by Mikaela Kiner, which tells the stories of thirteen diverse professional women as they’ve navigated obstacles including bias, stereotypes and being passed over for raises and promotions. [We’ll also discuss] Breaking Borders by Kate Isler, [which] chronicles her story of overcoming challenges in a male-dominated field.

Yasmeen Mosley, vice-president of consumer insights and analytics, Wunderman Thompson

R/GA

R/GA’s WomanUp Network recently announced its theme for the year, ‘Stepping Into Your Power.’ This idea came from the realization that the world still wants women to be less than, but we say no. We have power – at work, at home, in our bodies, in our minds – and this year more than ever, we’re making an intentional effort to tap into what’s already there and see where it takes us.

In honor of the women who came before us, we’re seeking to create new paths for those to come. We are pushing beyond the cycle of words without action, and instead creating programming centered around eliminating self-doubt and taking advantage of every opportunity to better ourselves and those around us. Our first event of the year, to be held on International Women’s Day, will focus on practicing allyship in the workplace. Beyond that, we will be hosting events focusing on moving with intention, as well as stepping up and standing out in one’s role.

We’re also excited about the launch of our first-ever monthly newsletter, which spotlights the women of the WomanUp Community, mixed media recommendations and upcoming events and initiatives. We hope it brings us closer together as an employee resource group and as a company at large. There’s lots to celebrate this month, and we look forward to enjoying Women’s History Month with the R/GA community.

Giselle Childs, verbal designer, R/GA

For more, sign up for The Drum’s daily US newsletter here.