Empowering Women in Media: dentsu and Google Celebrate Women's History Month with Women in Media Summit

In honor of Women’s History Month, last week dentsu and Google partnered to host an inspiring Women in Media Summit for employees. The first-of-its-kind event brought together female industry leaders to examine and highlight the experiences of women in the workplace, navigating new ways of working, and opportunities to create greater equity in years to come.??

To kick off Women’s History Month, dentsu and 谷歌 teamed up to host a Women in Media Summit on March 2nd, recorded live at Google’s New York City office, and streamed live to all employees from both organizations. The event brought together female leaders from dentsu , 谷歌 , and 辉瑞 to discuss the challenges and opportunities women face in the workforce and media today.??

Meredith Gringer , Agency Lead at Google, and Joanna Hawkes , EVP Head of Strategy at Carat, set the event stage by sharing in-depth research on the impact of burnout on women and the importance of companies supporting women in both work and life. They emphasized the need for empowering diversity in both voices and ideas, trusting women to work on their own terms, filling systemic gaps that prevent progress, and supporting women as full people – not just employees. Joanna Hawkes shared, “gone are the days of women putting their heads down, pretending everything is fine. Here are the days of brutal honesty and a willingness to walk away from situations that don’t serve us. It’s time to make this industry more inviting and accommodating for women and for mothers.”?

The presentations then opened to a panel discussion, moderated by Kai J. Weidie , SVP of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for dentsu Media US, asking a series of questions about leadership, imposter syndrome, and equity in a post-pandemic working world.?

Flexibility and Vulnerability in the Workplace?

The importance of flexibility and integration of work and home life was a widely discussed topic. The pandemic set a new precedent for how women can better balance their work and home responsibilities. As Kedma Pognon Brown , Chief Operating Officer dentsu Media US emphasized, "There is an assumption that as a human there is an opportunity to divorce your life with your work. And the pandemic showed us that is not entirely possible and it’s not necessary. Vulnerability builds connection."?

Risa Wexler , VP, Global Connections Planning & Media Lead, Pfizer, added “It is up to us as leaders to carry through, to set precedent, and to practice what we preach. Are you going to remember the meeting or your child’s play? It is up to us as leaders to give permission and make it okay for them to choose the play.”?

Leah Meranus , CEO of dentsu X North America, highlighted the importance of flexibility at work in closing equity gaps particularly for marginalized groups, stating, "The last few years have been a tremendous learning opportunity. What is important is what we do with these learnings. The humanity, the vulnerability – are we going to further the divide or set up a work-life balance that speaks to peoples’ comfort levels?"?

Marta Martinez , Managing Director of Agency Platforms at Google, also added the importance of women in leadership to promote vulnerability, "The pandemic gave us the opportunity to lean into different types of leadership. We needed emotions in the work world. A more feminine side of leadership. At the end of the day, our strength ended up being something we had previously been told we needed to hide."??

Combating Imposter Syndrome?

Another key theme addressed was imposter syndrome. Risa Wexler quipped that the secret to overcoming imposter syndrome was “just turning 40.” It took her until that time in life to feel fully confident coming to work as her whole self and leading with authenticity. But we can’t wait for all our leaders to just hit this milestone. Thankfully, panelists provided advice for women tackling the all-too-common syndrome.??

Leah Meranus shared, "If someone sees [potential] in you, let them see that! They got to the point where they are at for a reason. When someone asks you to go somewhere and takes you by the hand and says 'Let's go'. Go.”?

Kedma Pognon Brown added, "We [as women] always want things to go perfectly. Sometimes to a fault. We as women, need to get used to 'failing upwards' like our male peers do. Don't be afraid of failing, just fail upwards.”?

?Just the Beginning?

The summit was concluded by Christena J. Pyle (she/her) Pyle, Chief Equity Officer for dentsu in the Americas, and Kwabea O'Brien , Agency Lead at Google, who spoke on the relationship between dentsu and Google, “There is tremendous power in partnership. We can’t accelerate change alone. Google has been an incredible partner. Together we share the value and belief in investing in an equitable future.”?

The Women in Media Summit was a powerful coming together and a reminder of the need for equity and diversity in the workplace and the important role that companies play in building new societal norms, and creating modern, flexible, environments where women can thrive.??

This was just the start of the conversation, which is why dentsu will be partnering with 谷歌 to host a full-day Intersectional Women in Media Summit on May 11. The day will dive deeper into many of the same topics presented and beyond – from the role of allies to the perspective of Gen Z, and provide hands on training, tools and inspiration to empower the media leaders of today and tomorrow.