WACL Launches Biggest Ever Mentoring Programme For Next Gen Female Leaders

WACL has launched the latest round of its’ four-month mentorship programme as part of its Talent Sessions initiatives. It will between March and June of this year and will be delivered by over 100 WACL mentors.

The mentorship programme is designed as an opportunity for women in the UK advertising, communications and media industries to inspire, support and discuss any barriers to success they may be facing.

Each mentee can access one session per month over a four-month period delivered virtually. This means that by the end of the programme they will have been mentored by four different WACL leaders, such as Laura Jordan Bambach, president and CCO Grey London; Hanisha Kotecha, chief client officer, Creature London; and Donna Birkett Baida, vice president, marketing media networks Disney.

Dawn Paine, WACL Talent Sessions chair said: “To date, over 320 women have already participated and benefited from WACL’s mentorship initiatives, as we continue on our mission to support the next generation of women on their leadership journey; campaigning for change in areas that will accelerate gender equality. Mentorship can be life-changing for both the mentor and the mentee.”

Marie Oldham chief strategy officer, VCCP Media, who has already taken part as a mentor, added: “It made me really think about my beliefs around issues such as maternity leave, motherhood and working; active networking to build your career; the crisis in confidence amongst brilliant, senior women; and the importance of personal development for all staff as they develop into leaders. “WACL is providing an amazing service in giving woman a neutral space to tackle these issues, and the learnings apply to both the mentor and mentee,” she adds. “With this spirit of self-motivation and self-awareness, underpinned by WACL support, we can only achieve great things.”

A film has been created to tell the some of stories of personal and professional growth from mentees across the UK who have already participated in Talent Sessions Mentoring. They come from a variety of brand, agency and media backgrounds. The film was conceived and created by creative director and founder of Amoveo, Ketan Raval.

To further spread the message of WACL’s Talent Sessions Mentoring, a £500k outdoor and social advertising campaign has kindly been donated by Clear Channel, Ocean, Open Media and JC Decaux. This goes live on 31st January across D6 sheets and large format iconic screens in cities across the UK. All social media and content planning has been kindly developed by Stripe.

For brands, agencies and corporates the cost to participate in the initiative is £100 and for sole traders or consultants it costs £50. The link to register is here.