Pooja Manek, a Cannes Lions See It Be It 2024 delegate, shares her thoughts on why not applying would be a missed opportunity
The Cannes Lions 2025 See It. Be It programme is now open for applications, and Campaign Brief caught with one of this year’s delegates, Pooja Manek, Founding Member and Creative at Talented India, who made it to the programme as one of the only 19 women, from over 1400 applications worldwide.
Let’s start with the obvious question: What is the Cannes Lions See It Be It programme?
Pooja: See It Be It is Lions’ response to the gender imbalance that continues to persist in the advertising, marketing and media industry. It is a bespoke leadership accelerator for women and non-binary people in the advertising and marketing industry. This transformative four-day programme includes mentorship opportunities and private masterclasses with industry leaders, as well as backstage access and session invitations tailored to each participant’s career goals.
Since launch, SIBI has helped over 100 women and non-binary people from 33 countries. Refugee Olympian Yusra Mardini held a private Q&A for our classroom, and that says something about the profound power of the sessions that happen each year for the SIBI cohorts.
Are there particular roles who can apply for this?
Pooja: Not really. Any woman or non-binary person from the A&M industry can and should apply. It started off as a creative-first programme, but it’s not restricted to creative folks anymore. Our cohort had SIBI’s first-ever strategist and first-ever director! So, even if you are from account management, finance, PR, or HR, shoot your shot.
Why should one apply to SIBI?
Pooja: If we can create the internet in 25 years, ChatGPT in a few weeks, and a global vaccine in just one year, WHY should it take 286 years to achieve gender equality and 132 years to close the gender pay gap?
We’re in 2024 and yet only 12.6% of Creative Directors around the world are women. See It Be It is a response to impact this.
Applying to SIBI is going to be pivotal in not just fast-tracking your career, but it’s also going to give you a life-long global community of cheerleaders, path-finders and torchbearers who will support you and thrive with you in this professional sorority. The mentorship and sessions are immensely revelatory, leaving you with so many things to introspect, learn and unlearn from.
What are the few things participants can expect to learn from this programme?
Pooja: Oh, a lot of things. Laura Florence and Larissa Zucatelli (pictured above) from MORE GRLS, a non-profit community started in Brazil, pushed us to unlearn a ton of things during their session – Own Your Power: Negotiate for Success. With a toolkit to empower women to negotiate effectively, these two incredible women made us realise and value our worth in our respective career trajectories. As women, our conditioning runs so deep, we don’t even dare to talk about money the way men do. Many women are so grateful to be offered a job that they accept what they are offered and don’t negotiate their salaries. 20 percent of adult women (22 million people) say they never negotiate at all, even though they often recognize negotiation as appropriate and even necessary. Research also shows women will apply for a job only if they meet all of the qualifications, while men will apply when they fulfil only 60%. It’s imperative for us all to overcome this BS conditioning if we truly want to succeed the way we deserve to and pave the way for others.
For decades, advertising hasn’t worked for working moms, with over half of them leaving the industry altogether. A pivotal learning was also that advertising and motherhood shouldn’t be an ‘or’. It should be an ‘and’. So it’s upon all of us, especially folks in the leadership roles to strive towards making this industry sustainable. The Glass Lion jury room, led by Cindy Gallop, had the phenomenal Raphaella Martins with her 16-day Olivia, serving as jury. If that isn’t the living example of walking the talk, I don’t know what is. We need to see more of this, please.
What should the applicants keep in mind while writing their application? Any best practices?
Pooja: Speak about yourself authentically. The jury needs to see YOU, who you are as a professional and as a woman in this world–your vantage point as a female or a non-binary creative in the industry, your voice, what enrages you, and what makes you have the drive to impact change for the ones coming after you. Yes, the application writing exercise is going to feel quite vulnerable, but do not let your self-doubt or impostor syndrome take over. As the author Ruth Soukup says, “Do it scared.”
The amazing SIBI team led by Laura Brown has also prepared an Entry Toolkit to help you navigate this process. If you have any more Qs, my Linkedin DMs are always open. The application deadline is 5th of December. DO IT. SEE IT. BE IT.
