shEqual set to host senior leader panel event ‘Beyond the Tick Box: Creating Authenticity and Diversity in Ads’ on Wed 17 April in Melbourne

shEqual, Australia’s leading program promoting gender equality, is hosting a free senior leaders panel and networking event on Wednesday 17 April at MicDrop in South Melbourne. ‘Beyond the Tick Box: Creating Authenticity and Diversity in Ads’ aims to empower the advertising industry to embed gender equality in their creative work.

The event will feature a panel of industry experts from Melbourne and Sydney: Nomfundo Msomi, executive strategy director at CHEP Network (Melbourne), Ant Melder, co-founder and creative partner at Cocogun (Sydney) and co-founder of #OnlyOneInTheRoom, Jess Lilley, co-founder and creative director at The Open Arms (Melbourne), and Linh Diep, account director at Ogilvy (Melbourne) and founder of Assisterhood. Panellists will share their experiences in navigating challenges, as well as realising the business benefits, in creating authentic, diverse and multidimensional representation.

shEqual invites senior leaders who are seeking to make change in the industry through socially responsible, creative, and progressive advertising.

REGISTER HERE

Diep encourages industry to attend the event: “As a leader, my mission is to foster confidence and awareness among my colleagues, mentees through Assisterhood, and clients, emphasising the importance and value of meaningful inclusive practices. I’m proud of the progress our industry is making, but it’s crucial we persist in evaluating and amplifying the voices, presence, and experiences of marginalised and diverse individuals.”

Attendees can expect tangible strategies for creating ads that go beyond ‘tick-box’ diversity and will have the opportunity to network with like-minded industry leaders before and after the panel.

Says Melder: “When we do our jobs well, creativity reflects what’s happening in the world. But when we do them really well, creativity can change the world. However, we won’t get anywhere near those lofty ambitions if we don’t bring different perspectives to our thinking. Diversity is not a buzzword or a nice-to-have. It’s a way to be smarter, and more interesting, human, commercial, and powerfully creative.”

Beyond the Tick Box: Creating Authenticity and Diversity in Ads will be held at 6:00pm on Wednesday, 17 April at MicDrop Studios, South Melbourne. Drinks and light refreshments will be provided.

For more information and to register for this free event, visit shEqual’s website.