New York Festivals Advertising Awards has partnered with a group of six executive-level women called The Band of Sisters to create a new series exploring gender bias in the workplace.
The new NYF content series explores workplace culture from the viewpoint of six female leaders who met while working at PepsiCo and who formed The Band of Sisters in 2019. Founding members Dawn Hudson, Angelique Bellmer Krembs, Katie Lacey, Lori Marcus, Cie Nicholson and Mitzi Short use their years of experience to bring attention to the small moments rooted in gender bias that create barriers to inclusion for women. The six women recently co-authored a book on the topic called “You Should Smile More — How to Dismantle Gender Bias in the Workplace.”
As women who have navigated dozens of male-dominated environments, the Band of Sisters knows how to create change. The result of the group’s creative partnership with NYF is a video series titled “Calling Men In,” which emphasizes the importance of engaging a wide audience on this topic and promote practical action for everyone, including those who are or may become allies.
The “Calling Men In” series will include conversations between The Band of Sisters founding members and prominent male leaders from top-tier advertising agencies. Guests include Fede Garcia, global CCO at BCW Global; Jason Harris, co-founder and CEO at Mekanism; James Rowe, managing director at adam&eveDDB; Robert Schwartz, chair at TBWA New York Group; and David Sable, co-founder/partner at DoAble, former global CEO of Y&R and host of New York Festivals “Creativity from the Other Side” content series.
In Episode one, The Band of Sisters join Sable to introduce the group’s new book and offer insights on how women can navigate and advance within the corporate workplace and create a more inclusive culture. Episode two unites The Band of Sisters as they lead a discussion with four respected industry leaders. Together they dialogue about bringing gender awareness into the conversation, creating a corporate culture of true inclusion and discuss how to collectively accelerate awareness and change. Episode three continues Sable’s lively discussion with the Sisters as they share the language and tools to advance gender equality.
“They’re open, honest and at times raw conversations about the state of things right now,” NYF Advertising Awards executive director Scott Rose told Adweek. “The Band of Sisters are change agents shining the spotlight on gender bias and creating a roadmap towards more inclusive leadership and work culture.”
The series was inspired by a conversation between Bellmer Krembs and Rose following the taping of Carving Stairs into Stone, a content series exploring lessons in leadership, co-created by New York Festivals and Zerotrillion.
“When I participated in the Carving Stairs into Stone content with NYF and mentioned our new book, there was a lot of interest to go deeper,” said Bellmer Krembs in a statement. “We strongly believe gender bias in the workplace is not an issue for women to solve on their own, and we can’t just call men out and expect progress—we need to call men in to the conversation.”
New York Festivals Advertising Awards will open for entries on February 1, 2023.
‘Female Founders’ launches second episode
In addition to the Band of Sisters series, the NYF SeeHer Award has launched its latest episode of the content series “Female Founders” with Shelley Zalis, co-founder of SeeHer and CEO of The Female Quotient.
“Female Founders” showcases women entrepreneurs, chronicles the challenges and triumphs these exceptional women experienced while creating a thriving business.
“NYF is proud to showcase innovative women entrepreneurs within this series reflective of the SeeHer Award,” said Rose in a statement.
The second episode of “Female Founders” kicks off with Zalis’ recent interview with Meg McElroy, founder/creator of Bambuddha, a sustainable and eco-conscious bamboo sunglass and lifestyle product company.