Women Leading with Purpose

Every year, Women’s Month is a powerful pause point and a chance to reflect not only on how far we’ve come, but the realities that we are still reshaping every day, which is something special.

I am often finding myself between data, platforms and hard outputs and the other side rooted in people, emotions, creativity, and culture. I’ve come to believe that the future of this industry depends on how well we balance both.

Wabi-sabi. A Japanese philosophy that celebrates the beauty of the imperfect, the incomplete and the impermanent. It embraces the cycle of growth, decay and renewal.
It is a perspective I not only try and live by personally but bring into work.

In digital, there is a constant pressure to optimize, perfect and polish. Wabi-sabi reminds me to look for authenticity, for the truth and for human imperfection that makes a message or experience real. It reminds me that sometimes, the most powerful things aren’t the most refined, they’re the ones that make us feel.

Meaningful work has been my driver over the last 16 years. I am growing more passionate about creating work that connects, inspires, includes and reflects the people it’s meant to service. Work that really matters and makes people really feel seen. It’s what makes the imperfect beautiful and the complex have meaning.

This is where I believe women are doing some of the most powerful work in digital today.

We bring a perspective laced with nuance, empathy and insight. We notice the voices that are missing, we challenge what’s “standard” or “default”. We ask deeper questions, not for disruptions sake, but to shape solutions to be more human, more imaginative and more responsible. Without asking these questions, meaningful and impactful work doesn’t stand a chance.

When it comes to AI, it is easy to focus on logic over emotion, efficiency over empathy, and speed over reflection. I truly believe that our value as women within this space, is that we are challenging that narrative. We are showing that both can and must exist together.

The goal has never been to just keep up with the industry but to make a difference within it. To make space for imperfection, thoughtfulness and deeper connection. To lead with wabi-sabi at the centre, even within the spaces that favour sleekness and certainty. Beauty doesn’t only live within polished edges; it thrives within the process of curiosity and in the courage to ALWAYS try again.

This Women’s Month, I am honouring these women who are showing up boldly, creating with care, leading with empathy and finding the beauty within the in-between.

You don’t have to fit a formula to make an impact.

Always bring your full self into the work.

Lead with purpose.

Challenge what is not serving people.

Through this you can help shape a meaningful future, even if the path to get there is a little messy.

Abigail Buckley is digital business director at Joe Public.