Phoebe Sloane Warns Diversity Groundswell Could Lead to Increase in Disclosures

Agency execs must be prepared for an increase in disclosures of sexual harassment or assault, The Aunties has warned, as a weeks-long discussion about the lack of women in creative leadership continues to dominate the Australian and New Zealand agenda.

Phoebe Sloane, the founder of the Australian advertising industry’s support group and mentoring network for women and gender diverse people, told LBB that a public conversation can “open up moments for people to speak up.”

The “groundswell and momentum” can provide people the solidarity and sense of safety someone needs to disclose an experience of their own.

“Majority of disclosures are of a historic nature and when we do have this come to the forefront, creating that space and creating that time to have those conversations is really important.”

It’s critical people are equipped to support someone who may disclose an experience of harassment or assault, Phoebe noted. The Aunties launched Support Talk three months ago in partnership with Women’s Health Victoria, a first-of-its-kind online training program to equip mentors with the skills to appropriately respond to a disclosure.

“Having tools like Support Talk to arm you to know how to best handle these conversations during moments like these, is really, really important.

“To be able to listen and believe and validate someone's experience and also to provide them help should they need it is so critical and important to the change we all want to create. So we like to think Support Talk has landed at the right time.”

So far, more than 300 people across the industry have undergone the training, and Phoebe has been “really heartened” by the uptake across “so many different levels and different departments and different agencies”. It is mandatory for any mentor within The Aunties to take the training, but she would love to see more “male supporters and our male allies” to undertake it.

“When conversations pop up, like in recent events, it can be a default for women and minority groups to fix or solve the problem. And while it's really important to engage and, of course, consult them when creating change, it should be something everyone should be rallying around.”

The Aunties has received feedback that the course is tangible, educational, and ultimately helpful. “Just knowing how to handle disclosures and to be prepared and to know that you've got that peace of mind is really, really valuable.”

Phoebe is also a senior copywriter at Clemenger BBDO Melbourne, and she received her first disclosure “out of nowhere” during a folio chat before work.

“This person said something that felt a little bit off, and I interrogated it, and it led to a really detailed account of what was going on in this person's life and world. And you do freeze in those moments if you don't know how to respond. You don't want to say the wrong thing, you don't want to say too much or too little. You want to make sure you are validating the person.

“So it can feel really overwhelming if you receive a current disclosure and you're not quite sure what to do with it.”

Next, The Aunties is exploring further partnerships with other industry bodies. Phoebe emphasised Support Talk is here to stay; it took 18 months to create from the first conversation, including a few months in production, led by Poppet. The group’s number one priority continues to be “a safe and inclusive working environment for everyone in the industry.”

She said it is necessary to make “gender diversity and equality mandatory in business and within leadership, especially creative leadership.”

“It's no longer good enough to have just the intentions, or to talk about it. We need to have concrete, enforceable policies in place that require equal representation in leadership roles.”

Phoebe is optimistic about what 2025 will hold for The Aunties and the industry. She believes in change. But she’s also mindful that The Aunties is made up of a group of volunteers attempting to effect such change on top of busy day jobs. 

“We're trying our best to find that balance of wanting to create and build something incredible and long lasting, but also have lives and look after ourselves too.”

The past few weeks have created energy and momentum around “issues that we’ve been trying to address for years.” The work to date, and the work ahead, feels both galvanising and tiring. 

“Consistency is really key in trying to change things. So I'm feeling simultaneously optimistic but also exhausted. But we keep on going, right?”