IAPI Announces 6th Year Female Futures Fund
IAPI, the organisation representing the commercial creative and communications industry, today Wednesday 5th March, hosted its annual Female Futures Fund conference on the theme of gender perceptions and their implications on brands. Now in its sixth year, the Female Futures Fund is a leadership coaching initiative designed to accelerate women into senior roles ensuring retention and promotion of the best female talent. This is achieved through the provision of targeted tools and strategies to empower women. The programme is supported by sponsors Guinness and Baileys.
IAPI’s CEO Siobhán Masterson set the context for gender parity within the industry presenting findings from the most recent IAPI census “While women dominate our entry-level workforce by almost 2:1, we see a dramatic decline within senior roles, with double the number of men versus women over the age of 45. Today’s geopolitical context and the retreat from stakeholder capitalism presents a more challenging environment for industry to continue to champion initiatives designed to bring about gender balance but it should also galvanise business further.”
Ipsos B&A directors Clare Kavanagh and Davina O'Donoghue shared exclusive new findings from their recent research on gender attitudes. Statistics reveal that 56% of men believe efforts to promote women’s equality have gone so far that they now discriminate against men. The research demonstrates a shifting attitude towards gender roles, highlighting a growing movement favouring traditional perceptions of masculinity.
Ipsos B&A CEO Luke Reaper commented, “Despite improvements over time, Ireland remains an unequal society with women still more disadvantaged on many key indicators: earnings, political representation, and senior roles. Results from the recent Ipsos B&A ‘Backlash’ and ‘Toxic Masculinity’ reports point to a significant struggle on the ‘equality project’ where men, especially young men, feel they are being asked to do too much to support female equality. This presents a high stakes communication challenge especially amongst millennials and gen z. Representations of men and women need to move beyond outdated stereotypes and show, believable positive future roles in an increasingly equal society. Having brand bravery will be crucial, but brands must be clever too in how they approach this to take account of the changing climate.”
Linda Bradley, head of planning and insights, Diageo Ireland emphasised the vital role of initiatives like the Female Futures Fund in fostering gender equality in leadership, “At Diageo, we are committed to nurturing an inclusive and diverse culture, as well as shaping market-leading policies and practices because it is both the right thing to do and helps our business to grow. We believe a business that includes everyone is a better business. We champion inclusion and diversity across our entire business – with our employees, our suppliers, our brands, and within the communities in which we operate, which is why we are so proud to partner with IAPI on this Female Futures Fund, working to ensure Ireland’s creative industry attracts, retains and promotes strong female talent.”
The event concluded with a compelling panel discussion which explored the significance of gender balance in leadership and the ongoing challenges in achieving true equity in the workplace. Anna Doyle, Board Director at Starcom and IAPI Board Member moderated the panel and was joined by Davina O’Donoghue from Ipsos B&A, Linda Bradley from Diageo Ireland, Finian Murphy from Core and Alex Ingarfield from Droga5 Dublin to discuss the evolving perceptions of gender and its societal impact, particularly in relation to businesses and brands. The panel reinforced the Female Futures Fund’s mission to help women realise their full potential and to bridge the gender gap in leadership roles.
Applications for 2025’s Female Futures Fund open on Thursday 6th March. IAPI invites all eligible members to apply and take part in this transformative initiative.
