2 posts tagged “creative director”

I was at a Marketing conference in Sydney last week when someone asked the 'woman' question; in this case, "why are there so few female creative directors?"  All the men on stage (and they were all men) laughed it off, shuffled their feet, offered up India as an example* of equality in the workplace and we moved on to the next question. The following panel of 'experts' were so chauvinistic and condescending (to the 'young' men as well) that I'm supposing they would have answered the question with, "what are you doin' out of the kitchen honey?" I'm talking to you Harold Mitchell.  Thank goodness for Amy Smith, Chief Executive of JWT - you rock and I'll be coming to work for you when I get my Masters.

A similar question was raised in NY, read about it here at Design Observer.

I ask myself, do I WANT to try and get ahead in this competitive dog eat dog homo erotic pseudo mateship bully boy playground environment?  What is 'ahead'?  Can you ever get to 'the top' and is 'the top' necessarily a good place to be? Perhaps if more men asked themselves these questions and developed their own definition of success rather than compare the size of their wallets/cars/penises we could begin to build a more equal environment.

* would YOU be happy climbing the corporate ladder knowing it was because of the women in your servitude who had no shot at the opportunities you do because of the caste they were born into? Equality for you is not gained at the expense of others.

... I will not be sorry to see you go.

This last year or so have been a very trying and growing pained and all together a roller-coaster ride of emotion and life changing ups and downs.  So, roller-coaster by the sea, thank you for helping me but I am very very much looking to jumping off this ride.  For those of you who have lived through the age of  29 you will probably know what I am talking about; for those of you who have yet to experience your Saturn return, I wish you luck!  Basically, it's the time in your life when the planet Saturn returns to the spot in your birth chart that it occupied when you were born.  It's a time of intense reflection; a time to reassess your life and where you're headed with it and also for most, a new direction or specialisation in your chosen field. 

I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up, not for 100% certain, but I do have a much better idea these days.  As I mentioned earlier, I have myself a proper grown up job, I'm studying Graphic Design part time and after assessing my options, I have decided to apply to study a Graduate Certificate in Marketing at Sydney Uni with a view to trying my hand at a Masters once I've completed that.  It's all coming together nicely, I work at Sydney Uni, in the Marketing and External Relations department of the Faculty of Economics and Business, where Marketing is taught... a pretty strong sign no?!  I was looking at AWARD School and I may still apply for 2008 but I can't ignore the signs that Sydney Uni seems to be the place I should be. I had a chat with one of the Professors today and discovered that the electives within the Certificate I was looking at: Marketing Communications, Creative Communications in Marketing and Brand Management are all taken by Adjunct Lecturers who are all well respected Creative Directors at the top of their field out in 'The Real World' TM. An important consideration when undertaking University study.

So, I have 'til the end of the month to get in my application, I've been told that not having an Undergraduate Degree should not be a hindrance especially as I have some industry experience, am undertaking my Diploma and have volunteered my time to do PR and Marketing for my Soccer Club over the last 2 years. 

Cross your fingers for me!