DDB's Hungry Women Are Looking For Food and Connection

DDB creative director Becky Morriss has created Hungry Women, a new DE&I initiative to spotlight senior women in the hopes that others will look to them and think, “I can be that. I can do that.”

“Often for women in the industry, including myself, there are moments of thinking 'do I belong here?' The imposter syndrome gets you,” she told LBB.

The initiative is designed to give women across DDB the opportunity to meet other women across the network, and provide a space to discuss challenges that they might not feel comfortable bringing up with their male managers. 

Hungry Women – which Becky laughed is “a double play, because it's always centred around a meal” – began in Melbourne in October, and is soon expanding to DDB’s Sydney and Auckland offices.

The stats back up the need for these initiatives. Last year, Advertising Council Australia’s Create Space Census showed only 31% of creative leadership is female or gender non-conforming, which Becky said “reinforced the reasons why things like this are important. There's an opportunity to talk, as well as shift the dial.”

Becky joined the DEI team last year, and said that, coming into her new role, she started to reflect on her experience in the industry. 

“I was really lucky. My first job ever, my creative director was a woman – her name is Wendy Mace, she's amazing and was such a wonderful mentor. Unfortunately, after her, I've never had another female senior in creative, all of my people to look to are all men. I'm surrounded by some wonderful men, but their experience is so different to mine.”

Men play an important role helping the women coming up in the industry to network and succeed, with Becky mentioning  the importance of allies.

“They can help pound down those doors that we're trying to open. It's important that we work together, both allies and women.”

Speaking with other women in the industry, Becky found that “when we really dug into it, people loved the word mentorship, but what they want is connection.”

That connection comes in several forms, and is reflected in the projects that have grown as offshoots of Hungry Women.

“We're looking to do a creative-only event called Dear Hungry Woman,” said Becky. “What it does is connect creatives of a similar level in Auckland, Sydney, and Melbourne, so it gives people the best type of pen pal. 

​“We also have a wonderful thing called Friday Awesomeness, where people get up and talk about great work that's going through, or reflecting on things in the industry that are inspiring.”

Ultimately Becky said she hopes the Hungry Women initiative leaves the women who participate feeling valued.

“I hope they feel seen and heard. I hope they feel safe, that they can bring up in those environments things they may not feel comfortable bringing up outside of that environment. I hope that they make new friendships and new connections, and that they feel important.”