Adobe’s MD On Why Celebrating International Women’s Day Is Important

International Women’s Day is right around the corner, and here at B&T, we think it’s a pretty important day to celebrate. That’s why Adobe has partnered with us to throw our very own International Women’s Day Lunch filled with some of the most inspiring women around.

An Ode to Mentors is an initiative of B&T’s Changing the Ratio – a bold new initiative to continue our mission of making equality and inclusion the norm in Australia’s communications industry and beyond.

Suzanne Steele (pictured below) is the managing director of Adobe Australia and New Zealand, and said the company decided to partner with B&T on the lunch because they want to celebrate women, and they “can’t think of a better time than International Women’s Day” to do so.

“As an industry, we have to look critically at ourselves and what we can do to move the needle, and this meeting of the minds is a great way to support the movement of developing female leaders in the creative industry.”

And Steele had quite a bit to say on why it’s so important to celebrate International Women’s Day, and women overall.

“Stereotypes are everywhere and, as a result, the tendency to pigeonhole people into specific boxes is a common occurrence. The danger is when people let these stereotypes define who they are.

“Research suggests that girls as young as six years old believe a stereotype that men are smarter than women. That kind of misperception can carry on through a lifetime, and put boundaries on personal and professional potential,” Steele said.

“According to a recent study by The Agency Circle, in Australia, only 29 per cent of creative and design roles in Australia are occupied by females. An even smaller percentage reflects women in leadership roles.

“In honour of International Women’s Day, I’m excited to celebrate women who are shattering stereotypes by making waves in the creative industry.

These leading female executives have forged their own path, and are an inspiration to all that we should not let stereotypes define us,” she added.

And at Adobe, women are given a fair shot as the company make strong advancements towards equality. The company has recently pledged that in 2018, it will achieve gender pay parity between men and women. Globally.

They’ve also undertaken the increasingly popular decision to no longer ask potential candidates their salary history during the application process – to prevent continuing wage gaps that may have existed in their prior roles.

“Our organisation thrives when our people find balance between their work, interest and family lives, therefore we always look for ways to recognise and reward employees,” Steele said.

“There are also opportunities to participate in programs that support a diverse workforce, such as the annual Adobe & Women Leadership Summit where we bring together our employees to connect, learn, and focus on personal and professional growth.”

This International Women’s Day lunch will bring together a string of executives and their mentors – and is a step towards shattering stereotypes in today’s creative workforce.

Steele also said that Adobe offers a ton of development programs and benefits designed to support and celebrate a diverse workforce.

“Our focus is to create a workplace where employees can grow their careers in an inclusive environment that embraces difference, including community building, training and internal awareness-building and family-friendly benefit policies.

“One recent significant benefit was our enhanced parental leave policy in Australia, providing 26 weeks of paid-time off for primary caregivers,” she said.

But although partnership on an International Women’s Day Lunch is a show of support for women in the industry, Steele said more can – and needs to be – done.

“More than just celebrating achievements by women, I think it boils down to how we, as an industry, need to set an example for others to follow, and support the movement to shatter stereotypes,” she said.

“This starts inside the organisation, by building inclusive cultures where all employees have equal opportunity to get hired and advance, and have the resources to succeed.”

Early-bird tickets are still on sale for Changing the Ratio! Click here to secure your spot.