See It, Be It 2024: Arwa Al Jundi

My first job out of university was as an in-house designer for an independent HR consultancy with five employees in total, none of them from the creative field. I believe that this job was essential for my growth and was very special since the company was founded by two Arab women, a Saudi, and a Lebanese. Watching how these two women composed themselves, how they walked into meetings and owned a room with their confidence and expertise, in addition to them knowing their worth, and investing in me in multiple ways, as a fresh graduate, was honestly my first time seeing women in a) leadership positions and b) be completely independent and successful. 

I realized the two common traits in every inspiring woman I’ve known are resilience and self-investment. They are always resilient despite all the different challenges that they face, whether they are personal, professional, or societal. But resilience alone is not enough; we as women need to invest in ourselves, in our education, in our goals, and in everything we do, as these things are not handed to us. So I try to always be resilient; if I face an obstacle, I may not be able to crush it, but I can work on myself in the meantime until I am able to overcome it. I find that having an ‘always curious’ approach is key to constant growth. Whether that’s elevating my craft or learning new interpersonal skills, there’s a plethora of inspiration we can draw from provided that we embrace challenges and face them with a mindset of growth and a can-do attitude. 

I have two projects that come to mind. The first is my participation in the Young Lions Digital in 2019. I was in a boutique agency, and my teammate and I really wanted to be a part of it. No one in my company (I don’t think even us) thought we would make it, and ironically, I was sick the week before the competition and they were thinking of replacing me. But I insisted that I could do it. With a bunch of medications and vitamins, I powered through the day of the competition with my teammate, and to everyone’s low

expectations, we ended up winning the Gold! We even went on to represent our country in Cannes. 

Another project I am very proud of was my work for a winter campaign for UNHCR for Syrian refugees. As a Syrian myself, I wanted to be part of the project, but I was still new at my company, and my creative direction was not chosen. Instead, I found a different way to be involved, which was as an Arabic copywriter and linguistic specialist, my job was to write and rewrite lines on the ground for the day of the shoot, to train our actors who come from different Arabic regions on how to say their lines in the most authentic dialect, as well as write and rewrite lines on the spot to help support the narrative.

Don’t wait for opportunities, and don’t ask for them. 

You must either seize them or create them. Life is unfortunately unfair, whether it is due to your gender, ethnicity, sexuality, etc. In an ideal world, it wouldn’t make a difference and you would be given the same chances as everyone else, rather than waiting in line for your turn or hoping you’re ‘chosen’ next. Just go for it, and if you can’t get it, create a brand new opportunity for yourself. You don’t even need to be loud about it; it can be a small step that you take every day, or, just as I mentioned above, staying resilient. 

I’ve been a vocal part of my company’s DEI initiatives, and I made sure my team of creative women felt comfortable coming to me about anything. I have fought for some team members to get equal pay to their male counterparts, and encouraged them to speak up. I also joined an initiative within my company that is focused on creative females in the workplace. We hosted monthly breakfasts and discussions around creative equity globally and regionally. As well as arrange podcasts and discussions with influential female creatives globally.