There’s a moment in every creative process when you realise who’s actually in charge. It’s not the agency, the production company, or the creative director. It’s the people making the decisions about who gets to tell the story. And those decisions, conscious or not, shape everything that follows.

For years, I worked in advertising, crafting stories designed to shape perception and inspire action. I know how much power lies in the hands of those who create. Now, I work in a school, leading on brand and marketing and the stakes feel even higher. I’m not selling tequila or theme park tickets anymore. I’m helping shape the environment where girls will grow into the next generation of leaders, creators, and decision-makers.

And they are not easily impressed. They see through polished slogans, empty gestures and the sort of well-meaning nonsense that tries to sell empowerment but forgets to actually empower. They notice who’s in the room, who isn’t and whether the people telling their story actually get them.

Moving beyond empty empowerment messages

So when it came time to make a new school film, we did what should be the most normal thing in the world: we looked for creative leadership that reflected the world we want our girls to see and be part of. Women behind the camera. Women in decision-making roles. Women shaping the narrative—not just in front of the lens, but behind it. Not as a statement. As a standard.

One production company saw things differently. Their team had no female directors, no women in creative leadership or production. When we asked whether that was something they had considered addressing for our project, they bristled. They assured us that their male directors were the best in the business and had collectively overseen around 50 projects for female-only institutions—proof, in their view, that representation wasn’t an issue.

You have to admire their conviction. But here’s the thing: this was never about exclusion. It was about making a choice that aligned with our values.

And that’s what this industry keeps pretending not to understand. When you’re choosing creative partners, whether in advertising, film, or any industry. you have the right to demand alignment with your values. Too often, we’re made to feel as if we should compromise, as if it’s somehow unreasonable to expect the people telling our stories to understand them. But why should we settle?

The lack of female voices at the creative helm of our businesses have real world consequences. It can narrow the lens and dilute the work, creative output is more well-rounded when it isn’t coming from one point of view.

Moreover, representation tends to perpetuate itself: research finds that female creative leaders tend to hire and mentor more women, whereas historically male-dominated creative teams often continued to 'hire in their own image'.

This is why I chose to share this story, because if we want to break the cycle you have to do things differently. This is why we didn’t choose to work with the production company who were so offended by the notion of creative equality.

Instead, we chose a team who got it. Who created an environment where our girls felt entirely at ease. Who let them be themselves in a way I have never seen before in front of a camera; relaxed, expressive, and unfiltered. Not because they wouldn’t have been this way around men, but because the space created for them was one of instinctive understanding, of shared experience, of creative leadership that put them at the centre.

This isn’t just about filmmaking. It’s about the industry-wide refusal to admit that representation isn’t about ticking a box: it's about refusing to compromise on the values that matter most.

Girls expect to see people like them leading, creating, and making decisions. And when they do, they believe they can too.

So no, we didn’t settle.

And neither should you.