Bloom, the network for women in advertising is launching a new programme to support junior to mid-level women in the communications industries who are seeking to achieve their true potential, with all proceeds going to Women’s Aid.

The new Bloom Boost programme will include bespoke events, guest speakers, mentoring opportunities as well as access and discounts to the network’s events, including BloomFest.

The Bloom Network launched with a simple mission: to ensure women have equal opportunity in the communications industry by making sure their real stories and voices are heard. The organisation developed a Booth of Truth which encouraged women to share their real experiences of discrimination and personal and professional challenges. Ensuring these real stories are heard have helped to inform the industry and drive tangible change. For example, stories from the Booth of Truth were part of the driving force for the creation of the ground-breaking ‘#TimeTo’ campaign to eradicate sexual harassment in advertising. 

The influence and membership of the network, and the real voices it amplifies, has continued to grow. In 2020 Bloom welcomed 191 new women to the network, doubling the membership numbers from 2019, and also received 260 mentee applications for 2020. The new programme will encourage women who have been Bloom mentees to gain more support from Bloom volunteers and mentors; applications are now open. 

Sally Keane, President at Bloom, said, “A key pillar of Bloom is paying it forward for the next generation. Bloom Boost is exactly that. Many amazing women have been part of the Bloom network and supported newcomers to the industry with the Bloom mentorship programme. But we realised that, once the programme had finished, there was not anything in place to keep supporting them. Bloom Boost aims to fill that gap and create a network for these future leaders.”

Veronica Stevenson, Head of Membership added, “Bloom Boost has been established with our core values in mind, to future proof women’s careers, spearhead industry change and pay it forward to the next generation. We have an incredible plethora of talent within our Bloom Mentee programme and our industry; we need to support, empower and grow these women to be our industry leaders of tomorrow.”

According to Stevenson, the network’s work is particularly vital in the light of the Coronavirus crisis. She explains, “The global pandemic has led to declining spend across our industry, hiring freezes, salary cuts and redundancies, so this mission has never been more relevant, and we hope the women who join Bloom Boost will find additional support and confidence from their peers at this challenging time.”

The network is wavering its usual membership fees in favour of a donation to their partner charity, Women’s Aid, amidst a growing demand for the charity’s services as a result of lockdown. 

Keane explains, “Women’s Aid do amazing work but sadly are in desperate need for funding due to the rise of domestic abuse cases as a result of increased isolation. This is an amazing way to make a difference to these women’s and children’s lives and I’m so proud to share that we have already been able to donate £20,000 (10% of the funding they needed) this month thanks to our new Bloom members.”

Bloom has a long-standing partnership with Women’s Aid, with profits from its events going directly to the charity.

Visit Bloom’s website to find out more.