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You’d be forgiven for assuming that International Women’s Day is a fairly new occasion. Something that was born out of modern protest freedoms or pay transparency perhaps? But in fact the first recognised IWD was all the way back in 1911 – meaning that it predates the first commercial airline, the electric refrigerator, and even sliced bread.
And here we are over a century later, and while progress has surely been made, there’s still work to be done. On average women are still paid 20% less than men for the same work globally. There are still some countries where women have difficulty or stigma when voting. And women still can’t walk home unafraid in many parts of the world.
Something that has changed since 1911 however is global support. What started as small pockets of brave women is now an internationally recognised movement of hundreds of millions of women, and men, who all want the same thing. Equality, fairness, and celebration of talent.
And change can only happen if we all do our part to help amplify voices, cut through the noise, and nurture talent. The late Ruth Bader Ginsburg said, “Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn’t be that women are the exception”. And that is the joy of International Women’s Day – bringing women to the forefront.
So while you’d be forgiven for saying that IWD is the best thing since sliced bread, you’d be mistaken; not for the sentiment, but because women have been standing up for their rights long before your BLT was on the menu.
And IAS stands with them. We wanted to celebrate our amazing women, and so we asked some of our female leaders about their experiences – in work and in life – and you can read their stories below.
Friederike Pries
Hello, my name is Friederike Pries and I work as IAS’ Marketing Director, overlooking our EMEA activities. I’ve spent the majority of my career in Ad Tech and enjoy learning more about the industry and the technology every day. I am based in Germany’s most exciting city; Berlin!
Why is International Women’s Day important to you?
First of all, Berlin is celebrating the International Women’s Day as a bank holiday. This is unique in Germany. With this, the city government is giving an emphasis on the importance of this day. The streets are filled with great initiatives from female artists and musicians but also protests for women’s rights. We still see that women are facing significant inequalities compared to men. Sad but true; women are not getting paid the same amount as men, when doing the same job and having the same qualifications. The gender pay gap in Europe is at 13%.
Additionally, considering women with children working part-time and doing unpaid care-work, this leads to a much higher risk of old age poverty than men. This is not fair and leaves me quite frustrated. However we see things are changing in the right direction but this day is very important to raise awareness for this important issue.
What advice would you give your 18 year old self now?
Be confident and trust your own intuition. I made quite a few questionable decisions because I didn’t listen to my gut aka the intuition. It is such an important indicator to check if you are on the right path.
Who inspires you?
The people I work with inspire me the most on a daily basis. I see such great examples of working parents who seem to be able to handle it all. I work with the smartest people I know and this holds me accountable to give my best every day.
What benefits have you seen come from an inclusive and diverse workforce?
From working with an international & diverse team I can see that our projects are more inclusive. When creating a campaign we are able to gather all sorts of opinions and different perspectives. This leads to stronger outcomes that not only represent an inclusive work environment at IAS but also speak to our customers’ needs.
What’s your most toe curling industry jargon, phrase or word – be honest!
I hate ASAP! (But I have to admit that I sometimes use it). I really don’t like it because it puts pressure on me and the people I text it to. It shows that I could do a better job in project management. In an ideal world ASAP would be replaced with a fair deadline. But yeah, that’s not always the reality!
Emma Jowett
My name is Emma, and I’m currently VP of Sales for Northern Europe at IAS based in London. As a relative newcomer to the company, having only joined in November 2022 I’m still learning the ropes – spending as much time with our internal teams and our customers as possible.
I have worked in media and digital for a long time with a 13 year stretch at Yahoo where I worked in a variety of sales leadership roles. I started my career as a PR and Marketing assistant in a regional theatre which was great training on how to think creatively and make things happen on next to no budget. Having studied languages at university, I have always worked in international teams and this has given me some great opportunities to travel to some fabulous countries and meet amazing people.
I have 2 daughters aged 10 and 13, a wonderful husband and a cat named Marvin and we live in South West London.
Why is International Women’s Day important to you?
It’s great to have a reason and reminder to acknowledge and celebrate all of those brilliant women that have played a critical role in shaping your world. As a mother of 2 girls I feel a genuine responsibility to continue raising awareness around gender equality – whilst amazing progress has been made there are still some significant gaps that need to be addressed. We all have a duty to drive our world forward and build a fairer and more equitable society for all.
What advice would you give your 18 year old self now?
Don’t overplan your life – the best opportunities happen by chance and as long as you have an open mind, are willing to give things a go, and be fearless – then great things will happen! Carpe diem is pretty much the motto I live by!
What’s your most toe curling industry jargon, phrase or word – be honest!
I`m not a huge fan of ‘disruptive’ – it’s become very overused with lots of companies touting themselves as the next big disruptors. Change and progress is critical in business but I don’t believe it necessarily needs to disrupt to be great.
What values do you think the industry needs to hold onto for a successful future?
With AI and machine learning becoming so sophisticated and powerful we need to hold onto the power of the human. As humans we alone can define the ethical considerations and boundaries on how we use digital technology in the future to make sure we protect people’s security and privacy
What do you love most about the city/place you live?
I’ve lived in many different places around the world and London is hands down my favourite city. I love that it is so well connected to the rest of the world and so affordable to hop to the continent for a weekend.
Everyone knows London for its iconic historical and cultural sites but I love the fact that London has become a melting pot of cultures, with people from all over the world living and working here which has built an incredible food and drink scene – contrary to what many people think the restaurants in London are brilliant!
But the best thing about living in South West London is the access to green spaces and nature – I’m so lucky to have Wimbledon Common and Richmond Park on my doorstep which is a little bit of calm and nature within the chaos and buzz of the city – best of both!
Caroline Soeur
Bonjour, my name is Caroline, I joined IAS more than 5 years ago as South Europe Customer Success Director. I am French, based in Paris but not originally from Paris (you do not often meet real Parisian people, I married a real one though). I come from Brittany, on the seaside, which is the region which is the closest from the UK (weatherwise at least)!
My favorite figure of speech is the ‘oxymoron’ and I kind of embody one of them: I am an ‘old’ (42 years old) but ‘young’ mum of 2 little girls (Iris 2.5 yo and Castille 10 months). If you do the maths well you will understand I have had my 2 babies at IAS which is a good start to talk about Women’s day.
Why is International Women’s Day important to you?
This day is important to reflect on decades of fights to improve women’s rights, nevertheless, it is everyday we can make a difference as “Each time a woman stands up for herself, she stands up for all women”, Maya Angelou.
What advice would you give your 18 year old self now?
“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” Confucius
Who inspires you?
Fearless and resilient people, who really know where their true north is.
What’s your favourite album?
The Bends – Radiohead and my favorite tracks ‘Street Spirit (Fade out)’ and ‘Bullet Proof’ – 1995
What benefits have you seen come from an inclusive and diverse workforce?
I have been lucky enough to always evolve in inclusive and diverse environments. Inclusive and diverse workforces create so much richness and synergie. I manage the South Europe Customer Success Team, and just within my team you will find people with 3 different languages, 8 different nationalities from 24 to 52 years old. This team has a strong ‘belonging feeling’ despite the fact they all come from different places, but this diversity is one of our biggest strengths.
Elisa Lupo
Ciao! My name is Elisa and I live in Milan. I’m the mum of 2 princesses, Jean’s partner and an industry professional that has cultivated her experience by living in 3 different countries over 15 years. I’m a swimming lover and cheese hater; but everytime I go on a trip I’ll try to taste the local, if any, fine chocolates.
I’m currently managing the Spanish and the Italian markets here at IAS.
Why is International Women’s Day important to you?
Because it’s an additional occasion where on one hand, we celebrate Women’s accomplishments, and on another it highlights the work that still needs to be done.
For corporations it’s an opportunity to do a sort of reality check of how progressive they claim to be, versus how much in reality they have followed through. By marking a specific day, not only is it a way to connect people from around the world, but it’s also an opportunity for schools and organisations to provide education, workshops, and other collaborations.
What advice would you give your 18 year old self now?
Don’t be afraid to speak out and make mistakes, it will help you build your path.
What values do you think the industry needs to hold onto for a successful future?
Responsibility for future generations and the world we are living in
Sense of purpose that needs to lead Innovation
Empowerment: admit mistakes, rectify and learn from them.
What does innovation mean to you?
The ability to picture something outside the box while being inside a box. Innovation is evolution, take a challenge and get into the game.
What would you say to non executive or junior members of staff that think there’s nothing special they can do to support women in the workplace?
“Rome wasn’t built in a day”! To build and maintain a workplace that embraces equity it takes a lot of time and constant farming. Your feedback and inputs are needed! We need to hear from you, your perspective, what motivates you the most to come to work every day and what we can do better.
