The #ChangeTheStats Playbook
How to build gender balanced businesses that benefit everyone.
Presidents’ Foreword
Karen Stacey
WACL
President 2024-2025 and CEO Digital Cinema Media
WACL has been around for over a century, but our purpose remains clear: Women in Advertising & Communications Leadership exists to accelerate gender equality in our industry. It’s easy to think that the job’s done. Some powerful voices in popular culture are claiming gender equality has already gone too far. But despite progress over the years, we’ve not yet reached gender balance, in our industry, in workplaces more broadly and across society. Women still face greater barriers than their male peers to become leaders in all kinds of areas, as the data on page 4 and throughout shows.
Importantly, that doesn’t mean that we think men are the enemy, nor that we need them to step aside and let women take over. It’s gender balance that we seek, and we know that benefits all of us.
So we encourage men to work with us as Allies too, to help us overcome the key barriers that are proven to still stand in women’s way, and to create the change that leads to better business performance, stronger cultures, and greater innovation and creativity.
We need all of that now more than ever. And we thank you for doing what you can to make it happen.
We always build from evidence, not opinions. And we call male allies in, because we can’t create gender equality unless we all do it together.
Claire Sadler
WACL President 2025-2026 and CMO British Heart Foundation
Introduction
Our 2023 50% CEO Playbook set out five evidence-based levers of change for gender equality in our industry and beyond.
The purpose of this How To guide is to give you the tools you need to activate those levers today.
Where is gender equality now?
Evidence that gender balanced companies are better for everyone continues to strengthen – Blackrock’s 2023 research finds gender balanced companies outperform their peers by an average of 29% a year and companies where gender diversity in mid and top-level management reflected the overall workforce tended to have lower employee turnover and provided higher returns. Put simply, businesses are shown to thrive and everyone benefits if we break down the barriers for women and #ChangeTheStats together.
Representation slowly improving, more work to build on fragile progress
According to FTSE Women Leaders Review 2025, despite recent progress women still only account for 29% of Exec roles, with 6 in 10 appointments still going to men. And the proportion of women CEOs in both the FTSE 350 and FTSE 100 remain at single figures.
Although Adland performs better than the UK’s leading companies, women are still 23% underrepresented in C-Suite roles compared to their overall industry presence, according to All In Census data 2025.
While we still can’t get accurate data on the number of women CEOs in our industry, what we do know shows little progress. The Gender Index, which tracks women-led UK businesses, has only increased by 2 percentage points in the last two years. At this rate of change, it will be decades before women are equally represented in the top job.
What still needs to needs to happen
Fifty years after the Equal Rights Act banned sex discrimination, women continue to face a glass pyramid in the workplace. We’re seeing a cultural backlash too, with commitment to gender equality and diversity of all kinds faltering.
All this means WACL needs to continue working, alongside male allies, to reach our goal of 50% female representation in the top job.
We must not temper our ambition –it is vital, now more than ever, that we design gender balanced workplaces because the evidence shows they work better for everyone.
Time to act – here’s how
Now is the time to act.
Which is where our How To guide comes in: whether you’re just getting started on your journey; you’re already focused on gender equality in your business; or you’re well established in the space and sharing progress with peers, our primary ask is to start right where you are. With intent and commitment we can make a change and here’s how…
Our Five Levers of Change
The wealth of research, detailed in our 2023 Playbook , reveals the recurrent and clear drivers of gender inequality. Based on our extensive analysis, we identified five evidence-based Levers of Change which, when actioned, accelerate progress to achieve 50% female CEOs.
The levers are:
Change the Language of Leadership
to reflect a more inclusive definition of leadership and challenge existing stereotypes.
Promote for Potential to elevate women through the ranks through inclusive networking and sponsorship.
B e a Woman’s Health Hero to reduce stigma and support the complete health needs of all women.
B e Flexible First to retain women in the workplace and make work work for everyone.
Work like the World’s Watching to create inclusive, supportive workplaces and role model positive representation of all women.
Taking action
Our How To guide explains why each lever is important to achieve gender equality, and gives a range of proven and practical options for putting each lever into practice.
To make the How To guide as practical as possible, we have identified three starting points for businesses to take action. Start where you are and choose whichever actions feel best for your business. You will also find ways to measure progress at the end of each section.
The three levels and the actions across this How To guide are:
Level 1 – if you’re getting started on your gender equality journey.
Level 2 – if you’re focused on gender equality and driving change.
Level 3 – if you’re established and leading in the gender equality space, and sharing progress .
Lever one: Change the Language of Leadership
Inclusive leadership isn’t just about creating positive social change, it’s about commercial success too. As one of the few Black women leading a major UK agency, I’ve learned that social progress and business performance must see themselves as allies.
Amina Folarin CEO, UK Group, Oliver
Photo credit: ©BronacMcNeill
Why Change the Language of Leadership
Challenging dominant culture, promoting inclusive leadership
As leadership was defined in an era when only men led workplaces, the language of leadership has been predominantly masculine for the majority of history. But as leadership diversifies, so must our language.
The evidence shows that moving beyond this narrow mold for leadership is better for business too. Stereotypical leadership models of command and control are increasingly outdated and, as World Economic Forum 2025 leaders highlighted, skills including empathy, collaboration and communication are more critical than ever in the so-called “intelligent age”
The 3 things leaders should prioritize
Evidence shows that empathetic leaders make employees more engaged and innovative1 and prevent burnout and resignation – particularly for women from marginalised racial or ethnic backgrounds. And yet 72% of CEOs say they’ll be challenged on decisions if they use empathy.2
Creating a new language and culture around modern leadership can help all genders be more effective leaders, as well as enabling more gender balance at the top of our businesses.
1.
How to Change the Language of Leadership
The three levels below suggest a range of options according to where your business is on its gender equality journey:
Level one Level two Level three Measurement
Identify and remove gendered language from processes around recruitment, promotion and rewards. For example, research shows 4 “masculine” gendered language deters women from applying. Language decoding tools like Gender Decoder or Textio can help remove gender bias from job descriptions.
E xplore resources that tackle bias in recruitment and promotions . Focus on inclusive language and essential qualifications and skills. Avoid personality traits e.g. “fearless” or “assertive”, as they can exclude women as well as older workers, introverts and neurodivergent employees.
Assess leaders against criteria which prioritise the most effective leadership skills, including collaboration, cultural and emotional intelligence. For example: Cultural intelligence - Getting smart to make inclusion work | CIPD
R oll out inclusive leadership training in your organisation for leaders of all genders – try using the Deloitte model as a basic framework.
Create , publish and share the inclusive behaviours you expect leaders in your to model; and role-model inclusive behaviours yourself. Use the inclusive leadership behaviours of other companies to inform these behaviours e.g. Arup, P&G or Microsoft .
Measure and track gender balance at different levels of the business, including new joiners, promotions and leavers.
M easure the number of women applicants for roles once gendered language has been removed from job ads and promotions processes.
Survey your employees in listening sessions and focus groups to identify your company’s leadership archetype. Survey again after inclusive leadership training to gauge any changes in perceptions.
Lever two: Promote for Potential
The myth that women are not ambitious and don’t apply for senior roles, due to for example imposter syndrome, is exactly that, a myth. Women are ambitious for progression but faced with systemic barriers such as bias, microaggressions, the double load and closed networks. Only by tackling these barriers can we create equity.
Nadya Powell Founding Partner of Utopia
Photo credit: ©Bronac McNeill
Why Promote for Potential
Elevating women through the ranks by removing barriers and using inclusive networking and sponsorship.
Evidence shows that the career ladder is broken at the very first rung – McKinsey’s 2024 Women in the Workplace report found only 81 women get promoted to their first manager role for every 100 men. We know that gender balanced business is better for everyone but, in the UK, men are still 21% more likely to get promoted than women.1
Women’s progress is still hampered by informal, untransparent networks, and promotions processes that have historic bias still remaining. Businesses can remove barriers by developing inclusive networking opportunities and formal sponsorship.
Credible sponsors of all genders – as opposed to just managers and mentors –may act as the vital “bridge” for women 2 as they navigate around systemic biases. And evidence suggests that less economically advantaged people and all kinds of historically marginalised groups also benefit from removing these barriers, which currently drive many to leave – Coqual3 found that in the UK more than half of Black women intended to stay at their companies for just two years or less due to lack of advancement opportunity.
1. Source: McKinsey’s 2024 Women in the Workplace
2. Source: HBR: How women can build high status networks
3. Source: Being Black in the UK Key Finding
How to Promote for Potential
The three levels below suggest a range of options according to where your business is on its gender equality journey:
Level one Level two Level three Measurement
Undertake unconscious bias training with managers. Set clear assessment criteria by using competency frameworks e.g. CIPD | Factsheets
Se t out transparent promotion processes which are delivered on – these should include no “preferred” candidates, openly advertising roles and inviting applications 5 Ways from LevelUP
Embed an understanding of the PIE mode l – how influence becomes more important than impact on the path to leadership – and train managers to support their direct reports in networking.
C onsider launching mentoring and sponsorship programmes to create new formal networks that everyone understands. For example, explore Catalyst’s guides for building effective sponsorship programmes .
Promote structured gender equality programmes, bringing all genders within the organisation into partnership and making all accountable for change.
M ake pay fully transparent by publishing pay bands – explore the pay transparency directive in Europe and consider following this approach. Share your approach with the wider industry.
Track promotions, years in post and report – gathering data on progression for multiple diversity metrics and being mindful of intersectionality.
Survey employees and managers on their perception of inclusion and belonging to assess whether marginalised groups score lower than majority groups, as this reveals inclusion challenges.
Monitor promotions and progress of mentorship, sponsorship and gender equality programme participants, gathering any demographic data you can. Measure any changes in applications for leadership roles and salary disparities.
Lever three: Be a Women’s Health Hero
When transitioning from working person to working parent, we lose huge numbers of women along the way. Embedding a full maternity coaching programme in VCCP increased the retention rate to 100%, we saw recruitment costs go down, and loyalty and effectiveness of their working women go up.
Sophie Maunder Founder, MATRI coaching, former Executive Partner VCCP
Photo credit: ©BronacMcNeill
Why Be a Women’s Health Hero
Reducing stigma and supporting the complete health needs of all women
Research shows the impacts of period health, fertility and menopause on women in the workplace are profound and, alongside gynaecological health, women also experience chronic conditions like fibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis 1 at far higher rates than their male counterparts. But evidence shows that women’s experiences are still routinely trivialised or ignored, despite clear guidance on removing health barriers in the workplace.
In the UK up to 74,000 women every year are pushed out of work for getting pregnant or taking maternity leave.2
Meanwhile 10% of women who worked during menopause left their jobs due to symptom,3 yet All In’s 2023 census
of advertising and marketing found only a quarter of respondents said their company had a menopause policy in place.
Many women feel forced to change or leave their job due to the debilitating symptoms of conditions like endometriosis, with Black women less likely to be diagnosed than white counterparts 4 due to barriers throughout the healthcare system.
We have an opportunity to lead the way by de-stigmatising period health, fertility, breastfeeding and menopause in the workplace, helping all women navigate their health needs in a way that stops them becoming an unnecessary barrier.
1. Source: How common is multiple sclerosis? | MS Trust
2. Source: Pregnant Then Screwed/Women in Data
3. Source: The Fawcett Society
4. Source: Endometriosis: black women continue to receive poorer care for the condition
How to Be a Women’s Health Hero
The three levels below suggest a range of options according to where your business is on its gender equality journey:
Level one Level two Level three Measurement
Start with a review of your core policies. If you haven’t already done so, create a periods policy and a menopause policy like WACL’s open source one.
Lo ok beyond the basics, as there are opportunities to enhance your provision for fathers, parents and families of all genders and types including adopters and foster carers. Explore Bristows’ gender neutral parenting policy or Read Pablo’s experience of implementing a gender neutral parenting policy. You could also create a fertility policy to include IVF leave open to all staff regardless of gender, sexuality or relationship status.
Go above the minimum statutory requirement and enhance your provision and support for post-natal returners, and employees who choose to breastfeed, by accommodating breastfeeding breaks and providing a private, secure, clean room, equipped with a sink and separate fridge –Breastfeeding and going back to work .
E xtend provision for challenges like post-natal depression. Useful article here from HKUMed and contacts from Mind .
C onsider a buddy-system or other return-to-work support such as coaching. For example, IPG Mediabrands’ parental coaching
Educate managers and staff to consider the complete health needs of women by extending provision for health conditions affecting women at higher rates e.g. osteoporosis, auto-immune diseases, fibromyalgia. Ensure your Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) provider is equipped to support women and their specific needs.
E xtend health cover to include gender-related health issues for people of all genders – explore how Lloyds has supported its staff.
Survey your workforce on gender-specific health issues and what they know about your existing policies and practices – their insight can help shape future provision.
Monitor take up of gender-specific health policies and provision, survey, gather feedback and adapt as appropriate.
Lever four: Be Flexible First
It’s so important to remember that flexible working isn’t just relevant or beneficial to parents, it’s beneficial to all. Everyone’s time – regardless of circumstances – is equally valuable and allowing your employees to work flexibly shows that you value their time and that you promote work-life balance.
Emmy Greener
People & Culture Manager, MediaPlus UK
Photo credit: ©Bronac McNeill
Why Be Flexible First
Retaining women and making work work for
everyone
Research 1 shows that fully flexible working benefits all of us, whatever our gender. But currently, more women than men tend to need flexible work as they still shoulder much more of the“double load” of unpaid domestic and care work 2 alongside their jobs.
71% of women and 64% of men 3 agreed they were more likely to stay in their current job if flexible working was available, yet many companies across the industry have some way to go to offer fully flexible roles as the norm.
Indeed, a 2024 survey of 200 mothers in the ad industry 4 found one in three left
within two years of having a child because of pressures including presenteeism, extended working hours, out of hours networking, childcare and workplace cultures generally being hostile to parents and carers.
Flexible work for all is not a perk – since 2024, the day one right to request it is enshrined in law.5 Businesses can help remove barriers for all genders by making flexible working available by default.
Businesses prioritising flexible working see tangible benefits – employees of all genders are more engaged and stay longer.
1.
2.
How to Be Flexible First
The three levels below suggest a range of options according to where your business is on its gender equality journey:
Level one Level two Level three Measurement
Use WACL’s Flexible First checklist and toolkit as a starting point to audit your organisation’s approach to flexible work, then create a “flex menu” of flexible working available at your organisation from day one.
S ignal openness to flexible working within all job adverts. For example, these case studies show offering flexible working by default increased applications from women including in senior roles.
Explore attitudes towards flexible working within your organisation.
For example, MediaPlus UK used stay interviews, exit interviews, psychological safety and engagement surveys, workshops and listening sessions with employees to understand biases and attitudes around flexible working.
E nable different types of flexible working including time-shifting, compressed hours and time-banking. Connect remote workers with support networks as well as the tech and tools needed to work effectively.
Publicly advocate for all kinds of flexible working including senior job shares, part-time workers and parental leave returners. Promote and reward employees who work flexibly. Read Publicis Media experience of the positive beneifts of CEOs of any gender working part-time within the organisation.
C onsider offering term-time contracts and investing in enhanced childcare support programmes, either on-site or partnering with near-site facilities. Explore Patagonia’s on-site childcare since 1983 .
S urvey your staff to gather opinions on different types of flexible working and use this insight to create a policy or adjust an existing one. Include feedback on how any mandated return to office affects employees.
M onitor how many employees take up flexible working options, gather qualitative and quantitative data and survey different groups (including a variety of different diversity demographics) about the benefits and challenges. Gather data to identify any disparities in progression for flexible workers and full-time office workers.
An alyse maternity retention rates.
Lever five: Work like the World is Watching
When it’s better for business as well as society, it makes sense for all of us to represent women better in our work as well as our workplaces.
Lori Meakin Planning Partner, adam&eveDDB
Photo credit: ©Bronac McNeill
Why Work like the World is Watching
Creating inclusive, supportive workplaces and role modelling positive representation of all women in our work
Too many people in our industry still suffer sexual harassment as as they go about their jobs. Men can be victims too, but it’s an issue that disproportionately impacts women, and it tends to happen more often in places where people are away from home, or where alcohol is involved
It’s vital for all leaders to actively ensure that everyone feels safe and respected while working - whether that’s on shoots, at external events, in the office, or company socials. The UK law says that employers must now “take reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment of their workforce, and that includes from third parties. Women can’t do this alone. If we’re to #ChangeTheStats on this issue, we need male allies to lean in and take action too.
The work that we create as an industry has the power to influence culture and society beyond our workplaces too. We can all try to use this power to create more positive gender representation in our work.
Of course this benefits wider society, but better, more authentic representation of women in ads has business benefits too. Women drive 85% of consumer purchase decisions 1 , yet 68% of women do not feel represented in advertising. 2 Unstereotype Alliance’s 2024 global study 3 showed clear business benefits of inclusive ad campaigns – they deliver higher sales over shorter (3.5%) and longer term (16%) as well as greater brand equity, customer preference and loyalty.
1. Source: Forbes: Who Runs the World?
2. Source: Brandsplaining: Why Marketing is (Still) Sexist and How to Fix It
3. Source: Unstereotype Alliance report: Inclusion = Income:
How to Work like the World is Watching
The three levels below suggest a range of options according to where your business is on its gender equality journey:
Level one Level two Level three Measurement
Download WACL’s timeTo checklist and sign up to be a timeTo champion. Explore WACL’s Represent Me campaign and resources.
U pdate education and training for all staff regarding recent legislation change to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace , including from customers and clients.
E nsure your external representation matches your internal aspirations by using Unstereotype Alliance’s Gender Unstereotype Metric , to benchmark portrayals of women in adverts against the industry.
Explore the Progressive Unstereotype Metric , developed by Unstereotype Alliance and Kantar in 2023, with a focus on age, race & ethnicity and disability:
Au dit suppliers, partners and media platforms you use and ensure they align with your values and sign up to codes of conduct.
R eview and publish your Diversity Equity and Inclusion policy like Arup ensuring it is market leading and includes public commitments on gender; embed it within your wider Environmental Social Governance (ESG) strategy.
Look holistically at women’s needs by considering a domestic abuse policy — explore how Vodafone implemented theirs.
Publish your ethnicity and disability pay gap to understand the intersectional lens on your gender data; openly discuss the company’s gender pay gap performance at internally. For example, Penguin Books , KPMG and HSBC voluntarily publish data on multiple demographics including pay gaps by gender, ethnicity and disability.
For advertisers, Track how you tell stories and represent all women using Unstereotype Alliance’s metrics
M easure shared understanding throughout the company once leadership has completed timeTo bystander training.
C apture demographic data on ethnicity, LGBTQ+, disability, religion etc. to ensure you can track performance by demographic, not just at a gender and department level.
Additional Resources
Here are a few additional resources from WACL and beyond, that have informed this Playbook and can support your onward journey.
Change the Language of Leadership
WACL resources
50% CEOs Playbook
Inclusive Leadership Training P&G
LEAD for inclusive leadership
The Unmistakables
A DEI consultancy driving impact on culture and creativity.
Brand by Me
A global EDI consultancy with specialisms in marketing communications. Lever one
An Anti-racist brand consultancy, offering leadership coaching for women.
WACL resources Talent
Women Leaders APA
Womens Progression in the Workplace KCL
How Women Can Build High Status Networks HBR
WACL resources
Menopause Policy
Progressive Workplace
Health Policies
Channel 4
Fertility
IVF Network
Parenting Out Loud
A workplace programme to empower working dads.
Bloody Good Employers
Creating fairer, safer workplaces for employees and for all people who menstruate.
WACL resources
Flexible First Toolkit and Checklist
Flexible Working ACAS
CIPD
Gender pay gap reporting
Ethnicity pay reporting
Work like the World is Watching
WACL resources RepresentMe
Bystander training timeTo
Male Allies UK
Engage men in the skills of allyship and inclusion.
Creative Equals
Our Partners
There are many brilliant organisations researching or campaigning for different aspects of workplace gender equality. These are a few of those whose work has inspired and informed this playbook.
Advertising Association
A trade association representing advertisers, agencies, media and research services in the UK advertising industry. Organisers of the bi-annual All In Census.
IPA Talent & Diversity Hub
A wide range of resources and support for all those invested in improving diversity, equity and inclusion within the industry.
NABS
the charity that exists to improve the wellbeing of everyone in the advertising and communications industry.
The Others & Me
A consultancy that uses gender intelligence to drive leadership and business growth.
Pregnant Then Screwed
Charity dedicated to ending the motherhood penalty.
timeTo
The industry initiative backed by NABS, WACL and the Advertising Association, dedicated to eradicating sexual harassment in the advertising and communications industry.
UN Women
Global champions for gender equality, providing a wealth of data and evidence for policy making.
UN Unstereotype Alliance
Convened by UN Women, a global partnership of organisations seeking to eradicate harmful stereotypes in media and advertising.
Utopia
An award-winning DEI culture change company, partnering with global organisations to develop high-performing leaders and teams to create thriving people, thriving business and a thriving world.
It can feel like there’s a lot to do. But if each of us just does what we can, in the areas we can control, then together we can create huge change. And that will bring benefits to all of us.
Claire Sadler
Thank you
WACL President 2025-2026 and CMO British Heart Foundation