Portland-based digital agency Swift released a self-promotional video discussing gender equality at the agency, entitled “We Work Best Together.”
The video touts the inclusive nature of the agency with testimonials from its employees. “A good idea can come from any person, which means that everyone deserves to be heard,” says one woman.”
“It just seems like a no-brainer,” says a male co-worker, laughing, “I don’t know, I mean, why would you ignore half?” Good question.
Another employee adds that she’s “worked on a lot of campaigns where I don’t think we would have gotten to the level of work that we got to if a woman’s voice hadn’t been taken into consideration.”
The point of the video is obvious from the start: Swift takes gender diversity seriously. In one testimonial, a woman remarks on how she’s never had anyone try to take credit for her ideas, as opposed to some of the horror stories she’s heard from friends at other agencies. Another employee sums it up succinctly, saying, “I walk into a room as a creative, not as a female creative.”
As it happens, Swift has the numbers to back up the claims: the agency, which was founded by two women, employs 60 percent women across the agency, 50 percent women in its creative department and, most strikingly, has 50 percent women in creative leadership positions.
While “We Work Best Together” is, of course, essentially an agency self-promotional video, it speaks to the wider gender equality issue in the ad industry with Swift holding itself up as an example of how agencies can move toward a more equitable model (while, it hopes, attracting some talent in the process).