B&TB&TB&T
  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Technology
  • Regulars
    • Agency Scorecards
    • Best of the Best
    • Campaigns of the Month
    • CMO Power List
    • CMOs to Watch
    • Culture Bites
    • Fast 10
    • New Business Winners
    • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • Jobs
  • Awards
    • 30 Under 30
    • B&T Awards
    • Cairns Crocodiles
    • Women In Media
    • Women Leading Tech
Search
Trending topics:
  • Cairns Crocodiles
  • Nine
  • Seven
  • Cannes Lions
  • NRL
  • WPP
  • B&T Women in Media
  • AFL
  • Thinkerbell
  • Pinterest
  • State of Origin
  • Anthony Albanese
  • imaa
  • Meta
  • ARN
  • AI
  • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • TV Ratings
  • Radio Ratings
  • Sports Marketing

  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.
Reading: OMD’s Laura Nice & Penny Shell On Female Representation & Imposter Syndrome In The Industry
Share
B&TB&T
Subscribe
Search
  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Technology
  • Regulars
    • Agency Scorecards
    • Best of the Best
    • Campaigns of the Month
    • CMO Power List
    • CMOs to Watch
    • Culture Bites
    • Fast 10
    • New Business Winners
    • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • Jobs
  • Awards
    • 30 Under 30
    • B&T Awards
    • Cairns Crocodiles
    • Women In Media
    • Women Leading Tech
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.
B&T > Advertising > OMD’s Laura Nice & Penny Shell On Female Representation & Imposter Syndrome In The Industry
AdvertisingMedia

OMD’s Laura Nice & Penny Shell On Female Representation & Imposter Syndrome In The Industry

Staff Writers
Published on: 12th August 2021 at 9:00 AM
Staff Writers
Share
8 Min Read
SHARE

In the lead-up to this year’s B&T Women in Media Awards, we’re sitting down with each of our sponsors to find out why they’ve decided to throw their support behind the event, and get their thoughts on the industry’s progress towards gender equality.

Here, we chat to Laura Nice and Penny Shell (pictured above) from OMD…

Why did OMD decide to support this year’s B&T Women in Media Awards? And why do you think events like these need to continue?

Penny Shell: OMD has long been a champion for inclusivity and is a foundation supporter of the B&T Women in Media Awards. These awards are a natural fit with our values. Events like this need to continue until we see women as equally represented and remunerated in our industry as men.

Laura Nice: Supporting and recognising women has long been a priority at OMD, which is why we continue to support the B&T Women in Media Awards. I hope that, in time, we no longer need gender-specific awards as women are recognised and valued for their equal worth every single day.

What should the winners of this year’s Women in Media Awards represent?

PS: Women who have shaped our industry for the better – it is increasingly important to drive purpose and progress in media that reflects the right thing to do, beyond just ‘good work’.

LN: The Women in Media categories are diverse, and they continue to expand as we recognise the needs of our industry are evolving, and so too is the talent. At the core of this is an ambition to do the right thing, to challenge the status quo and to bring other women and men on the journey. The awards are not necessarily about the recognition of a single female, but rather the team that supports her and how they collectively shine together.

What are some of the challenges women face in today’s media industry? How can they be overcome?

LN: We hear a lot about imposter syndrome, particularly from women. I think the power of women working together is incredible, especially when they listen, support and champion each other. If we all did this, there’d be no reason for imposter syndrome – you’d have a fan club cheering you on and celebrating your successes. When women stand in each other’s way, we exacerbate insecurities and doubt, and the imposter syndrome wins.

PS: Representation is still the biggest challenge. Overwhelmingly, the C-suite is predominantly male. The talent on our screens and airwaves is male-dominated. We need more female voices in influential forums, and we need men to speak up to support and drive change.

What changes would you like to see in the industry to make it more inclusive for women and other minority groups?

PS: I think our industry needs to be more consultative. We need to ask women and minority groups how they can be better included and represented, rather than (well-intended) senior stakeholders attempting to solve diversity challenges from the top down.

LN: This is about education and the need to truly understand the challenge, rather than jumping straight to what we think the solution might be. If we’re constantly curious, then we start to ask different questions, we speak to more people and, over time, we build richer knowledge. We then need to convert this knowledge into action and continue to challenge ourselves throughout the process – our beliefs, our values, and our intentions – to ensure we’re acting with integrity.

Do you think there needs to be more of an industry-wide push to get more females into senior roles?

PS: Absolutely. There are some companies and agencies that excel in this area, and others that are lagging. OMD does an incredible job of supporting women in senior roles. We should work together and learn from each other to achieve industry change.

LN: Penny and I are both fortunate to work at OMD where females are equally represented. However, more broadly, there is still a huge job to be done – apparently, there are more CEOs called John than there are female CEOs. Now, there’s nothing wrong with John, but they can’t all be a CEO! The problem is real and only together can we learn and change it.

What policies and initiatives does OMD have in place to promote diversity and attract and foster female talent?

LN: OMD continues to reflect on what we’re doing now and then evolve our initiatives to ensure we are providing a supportive environment where OMDers can thrive. We continually listen to our people, learn from our clients and keep ourselves accountable, which sometimes means owning up when we’ve not done as we’ve said. Our initiatives include gender-neutral parental leave policies for primary carers, a long-established but constantly evolving flexible working policy, handbooks to guide and support OMD parents such as ‘What to Expect When You’re Expecting… at OMD’ and ‘WFH with kids’ (the one I use the most!), health and wellbeing initiatives, and mental health first aiders.

PS: I’m so proud of OMD’s leadership with our Diversity and Inclusion Charter and our work with the MFA to better the industry in this space. Our executive team is 67 per cent female, meaning women are championed at every level of the business and our emerging talent are given a clear pathway to ‘be what they can see’.

What advice do you have for young females working their way up in the industry?

LN: Always be yourself – if you’re authentic, then you’ll do the right thing, build great relationships and you’ll have a much richer life.

PS: Have a point of view and make it heard.

Given the current lockdown situation in Sydney, we’ve decided to play it safe and take this year’s WIM Awards, presented by Are Media, into a virtual arena.

The event will still be held on the same date (Friday 27 August at 4pm), and we’ll still be bringing the same glitz and glam you’re all accustomed to. Register HERE now to secure your spot!

And, just in case you missed it, we’ve released the WIM Awards shortlist! Check out which fabulous females made the cut HERE.

If you’d like more information about this year’s WIM Awards, head to the website.

Thank you to OMD and the rest of our incredible sponsors for making the event possible!

Join more than 30,000 advertising industry experts
Get all the latest advertising and media news direct to your inbox from B&T.

No related posts.

TAGGED: Laura Nice, OMD, Penny Shell, WIM Awards, WIM Awards 2021, Women in Media Awards, Women in Media Awards 2021
Share
Staff Writers
By Staff Writers
Follow:
Staff Writers represent B&T's team of award-winning reporters. Here, you'll find articles crafted with industry experience spanning over 50 years. Our team of specialists brings together a wealth of knowledge and a commitment to delivering insightful, topical, and breaking news. With a deep understanding of advertising and media, our Staff Writers are dedicated to providing industry-leading analysis and reporting, both shaping the conversation and setting the benchmark for excellence.

Latest News

NSW Blues & Adidas Kick-Off Game III With ‘House Of Blue’
04/07/2025
TV Ratings (03/07/2025): Nearly 800K Tune In For Joanna Lumley’s ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ Danube Tour
04/07/2025
Google’s Veo 3 Being Used To Create Racist Videos For Social
04/07/2025
Enrichd Group & Greg Inglis Launch ‘Stick With It’ Mental Health Movement
04/07/2025
//

B&T is Australia’s leading news publication magazine for the advertising, marketing, media and PR industries.

 

B&T is owned by parent company The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.

About B&T

  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise

Top Categories

  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Opinion
  • Technology
  • TV Ratings

Sign Up for Our Newsletter



B&TB&T
Follow US
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Register Lost your password?