Is International Women’s Day still relevant in 2024?

It’s a hot topic but, in a workplace where 75 per cent of the workforce is female, you won’t be surprised to learn that IWD is a date that we at Cedar strongly feel still has a part to play in the DEI calendar.

This year’s theme, #InspireInclusion, is something that CEO Clare Broadbent is passionate about, so Tessa Jones spoke to her about how she’s put gender equality and female progression at the heart of agency culture. Plus three more colleagues share their perspective on how Cedar has actively supported them, both in and out of work.

Clare Broadbent, CEO

I started my career in print production and, looking back, that industry was all men. It was very difficult to get anyone to listen to me and to progress. With each of my three children, I only took six weeks of maternity leave, largely because I was so fearful about what time off would mean for my career.

I remember thinking that I never want a woman to feel they couldn’t take the time they wanted to be with their child, and I’ve been very intentional in ensuring no one feels there’s a risk to their progression because of having children.

Part of wanting to encourage progression is to give young women opportunities to learn how every part of the business works – something we’ve done by setting up the Shadow Board. I went to state school and didn’t go to university, and so I want to make sure that everyone at Cedar, regardless of their background, has an opportunity to grow and learn here if they want to.

There is always more we can do to help women in the workplace, and a cause close to my heart is menopause support. At Cedar, we’re looking at what more we can offer in this area, be it peer support groups, access to information, or wellbeing activities. Equally, we’re aware that a lot of women become carers for elderly parents at a similar time and so we’re looking at how we offer support here too. 

Outside of Cedar, I’m a big football fan and work with the girls’ teams at Dulwich Village FC. Watching them having so much fun playing football and seeing their confidence and teamwork skills grow is really inspiring. I wish I’d had this available to me when I was growing up and so I’m very passionate about making it happen for girls today. 

People being able to achieve whatever they want to, inside and out of work, is my purpose. I’m a firm believer that work provides the platform for you to have the best life possible. And if we’re not doing that, then I’m not sure what we’re doing!

Kate McLeod, Group Business Director 

I'm passionate about helping people – particularly women – find purpose and confidence in the workplace. A recent UK study stated that half of female managers ‘reported self-doubt about their job performance and careers’, compared to less than a third of their male counterparts, and throughout my career, I’ve certainly found this ‘confidence gap’ to be true. I’ve also noticed that the creative industry in particular places a lot of value on confidence – sometimes more so than competence. 

One of the reasons I find Cedar such an inspiring and unique place to work is because our senior leadership team is made up of mostly of women – including one of Omnicom Europe’s few female CEOs!  I’m so grateful that they have supported and invested in my ambition to qualify as a coach, which I did in 2020.

Since then, I’ve done a lot of group and one-to-one coaching with some Cedar employees (unsurprisingly, all women), helping them to gain a deeper understanding of their unique abilities, overcome hang-ups and have the confidence to speak openly about their ideas and achievements.

It goes without saying that this is not just a male/female thing. The ‘confidence crisis’ is impacting all under-represented groups in our industry, and there’s still so much work to be done. I hope that I can play a small part in helping bring about change, and I feel very lucky that Cedar has given me the space to be able to do this. 

Victoria Boland, Senior Commercial Editor

I became a single parent before my daughter’s first birthday, so that’s the majority of what I’ve known as a parent. I love our happy home of two, but I’m lucky to have a very supportive family and friends – and Cedar is part of my support network.

After becoming a mum, I always wanted to continue my career, both to be a role model for my daughter and for my own wellbeing. Without certain benefits that Cedar offers, it wouldn’t be possible to do my role. A 2023 report from Gingerbread, a single parent support charity, revealed that ‘single-parent unemployment rates are consistently double those of couple parents*, due to the cost of childcare and the lack of suitable flexible and part-time roles.

Cedar offered me a part-time role with hybrid working, meaning I can continue the career that I love and balance it with home life. We have flexible hours and can apply for a ‘flexi-cation’, working from anywhere for up to four weeks. I used this last year to work from home to fit around childcare. Just knowing benefits like these exist helps give me peace of mind.

Beyond the benefits, Cedar is a very warm and welcoming place, where people are celebrated for being themselves. Better still, Cedar is always open to suggestions on ways the workplace can support us more.

Emma Blackmore, Content Manager

They say do a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life. While it’s a cliché, it’s true.

Cedar offers work experience opportunities to university students, so I first came to the company in April 2022 as an intern on Tesco magazine. While there, I met editors on other accounts and stayed on as a freelance Junior Sub-Editor, before permanently joining as a Content Manager on the business, travel and luxury team. My top tip? Ask the questions and always follow up – you never know where it might take you next.

My editors, who are mainly women, have all continued to support my progression and the development of my portfolio while also challenging me to achieve new heights. It’s a very inclusive space where you feel empowered to share thoughts and ideas, especially when pitching ideas for the magazine. Plus, with frequent one-to-ones, I’m able to learn from my editors’ experiences and be inspired by their life lessons.