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#WomensMonth: Michelle Marais - Working in advertising takes guts; as a woman even more so
6 Aug 2024
Every agency champions female leadership. “But for the women in these agencies, it’s hard to be what they cannot see. The Cannes Lions’ #SIBI initiative changes this,” says Michelle Marais.
Source: © LIA LIA Michelle Marais, senior copywriter at Dentsu Creative and a 2024 Cannes See It.Be It. recipient talks about being a female in the creative industry at the tip of Africa
A senior copywriter at Dentsu Creative, Marais is one of 18 women out of 1,400 applicants selected for this year’s Cannes See It. Be It (#SIBI) programme, a selection she calls “both a privilege and an affirmation".
“This women's leadership accelerator programme allowed me to see female leaders - women at the absolute top of their game - and inspires me to be one, too,” she says.
Being seen
She says, “Working in advertising takes guts. Working as a woman in advertising at the tip of Africa? Even more so.”
Being selected for the programme, she says, “made me feel seen and sharing experiences with others worldwide gave me some much-needed perspective”.
While she dreamed of a career in advertising, (“I come from a middle-class family.”) ad school was never on the cards for her, but after years of working at an architecture firm, she felt “discontent”.
“I realised life’s too short to play small. So, I made a big decision to pivot.”
That was 12 years ago.
The competence-likability dilemma
She describes herself as hard to stereotype and a woman who gets things done without compromising others.
“People don’t know what to make of that. A former boss certainly didn’t when he called me a b*tch in a performance review for calling out his sexist jokes, then admitted he “couldn't fault” my work.”
She says that this issue – the competence-likability dilemma – remains one of the biggest challenges.
“Not only for me but for women everywhere. It’s an unconscious bias. While I can't change it, I can remain true to myself, and support others who do so, too.”
Boring is bad for business
What she learnt from the See It. Be It programme is that promoting the same types of people turns agencies into stale algorithms.
“It's not just boring; it's bad for business. Companies with gender-diverse executive teams are 21% more likely to experience above-average profitability. So says McKinsey.”
#SIBI highlights
For her the programme was a week of highlights, from a talk about social disobedience from BBDO India’s humble and hilarious Josy, and a private Q&A with Syrian refugee & Olympian Yusra, a session about salary negotiations from Laura & Larissa from More Grls and joining ad icon Cindy in the Cannes Glass Lion jury room.
“My top #SIBI highlight, however, was meeting women from around the world and discovering our commonalities. Our challenges as female leaders are similar. And our desire to address them, equally as urgent,” she says.
Women’s Month
Asked what Women’s Month means to her, she simply states, “Women’s Month will matter to me when it no longer needs to exist.”
Her advice to young women in the creative industry, "Don’t change with the tide. Find allies –sisters, friends, mentors – and anchor yourself to them.”
See It. Be It
See It. Be It. is Cannes Lions' response to the gender imbalance that continues to persist in the creative sector. Every year, it invites 16 women and non-binary people to Cannes Lions for a four-day programme, which includes mentorship opportunities and private masterclasses with industry leaders as well as backstage access and session invitations tailored to each participant’s career goals. Since its launch, it has helped over 100 women and non-binary people from 33 countries.
“Please, and I cannot stress this enough, apply to be part of next year's cohort and let's become the leaders we wish we had,” Marais says.
Find out more about See It.Be It.https://www.canneslions.com/initiatives/see-it-be-it here.
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- Cannes Lions special section and search
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About Danette Breitenbach
Danette Breitenbach is a marketing & media editor at Bizcommunity.com. Previously she freelanced in the marketing and media sector, including for Bizcommunity. She was editor and publisher of AdVantage, the publication that served the marketing, media and advertising industry in southern Africa. She has worked extensively in print media, mainly B2B. She has a Masters in Financial Journalism from Wits.
