Today, just 1% of creative agencies are founded by women. 1%. Unfortunately, this is not a statistic that surprises me, as I’ve long been aware of the shortage of fellow female founders within my industry.

Yet, in a world where gender barriers are continually being broken down and we’re constantly being encouraged to break boundaries, it’s staggering that there are so few women running creative agencies. In truth, the negative repercussions of this are vast.

Being at the top table, women bring with them enormous influence, on their colleagues, on their contemporaries within the industry, on their client relationships, and – crucially – on the end outcomes of the products and services they are presenting to consumers. This is essentially the ultimate output that clients are paying for.

Bringing a balanced perspective to client briefs and creative campaigns is a crucial stepping stone to producing the best work, work that is reflective of - and in tune with - audience sentiment. Without an all-important female influence at the top (and through the middle), brands are at real risk of missing the mark and alienating consumers with the wrong message.

Just recently, Samsung faced strong criticism for a campaign centred around a woman running alone through city streets at 2am. The ‘Night Owls’ project was branded “unrealistic” and “tone deaf” by campaign groups, who said it failed to represent the truth – that women are simply too scared to run at that time of night.

Despite apologies for how the advert was received, it seemed obvious that this was a campaign that benefitted from little insight from women as to its authenticity and believability. This example (and there are many more that don’t make the BBC headlines) shines a light on the dangers of doing things in a vacuum, and on failing to listen, something that’s true across all decision-making in business.

Positive role models

Having strong women in senior positions within any industry is a vital ingredient for supporting the next generation of women in their careers. Whether at Founder level, C-Suite or Directors, it’s proven that positive role models within an organisation that younger employees can aspire to is hugely valuable - and something that all businesses should prioritise. For women rising up the ranks, there’s no better spark to ignite determination and facilitate progression than to see someone else having carved that path.

This is true not just of women. For any person, you’re far more likely to achieve success if you have seen others similar to you having done the same; and better still if they share their story and offer advice in order to support you with yours.

Balance across disciplines

The gender in-balance across creative agencies is an issue that runs deeper than just at founder level; according to Creative Equals, just 17% of creative directors in the UK are female. But without more women rising to senior positions within creative agencies, we are unlikely to see an increase in the number of female founders, particularly when you consider the well-trodden path from holding a senior position in an agency to founding one yourself.

What’s needed is a concerted effort by creative agencies to be more balanced across disciplines so that there’s a greater degree of inspiration for women to make the leap and launch their own agency, with – or without – supportive co-founders (of which I have three of the best).

Open dialogue

Since we launched EveryFriday in 2017, I’ve searched for a supportive network of fellow female founders to share like-minded problems and solutions with. Competition amongst creative agencies has undoubtedly increased as a result of the pandemic, which may explain the lack of an open forum in the industry. This is understandable as brands across the board tightened belts and marketers found themselves jostling after the same briefs more than ever before.

However, as the world gets back on its feet and businesses are finding their way back to the path of prosperity, it’s time to reignite a culture of dialogue and sharing, because only then will we move the dial, improve the gender balance and encourage more women to the top. I for one, really look forward to having more agency competition from other female-founded businesses.

Thinking about that 1% - and that a small step forward is better than staying still - I'm getting in touch with the few female agency founders that I've identified to organise a regular meet-up in order to start a discussion. I plan to do this quarterly initially, but let's see...