If you had a collective of Super Women by your side, what help would you ask for? This was the question that Are Media’s Jane Huxley asked more than 800 incredible attendees at B&T’s Women in Media awards in August this year.
Last week on B&T’s Superwomen Series we spoke to Women In Media Power List inductee Jasmin Bedir, CEO at Innocean Australia and Rising Star Jessica Brackstone, senior strategist at Leo about chasing ambition, staying true to yourself and setting boundaries. To view last week’s instalment click here.
The women of the Australian media, marketing and advertising spoke out loudly, sharing their biggest fears and doubts. So, now, in partnership with Are Media, B&T has called upon our legion of superwomen – that’s our winners and the Women in Media Power List inductees – to guide this generation of women through some of the industry’s most consistent problems.
This week, we tackle the final questions with Sustainability winner, Charlotte Berry, highly commended Creative, Michelle Walsh and Power List Inductees Imogen Hewitt and Clare Pickens.
How do I stay true to my values of creativity and sustainability in a world increasingly shaped by AI?
Clare Pickens: We are an industry who loves to predict our own downfall. However, we are also an industry rife with creativity and problem-solving capability. We have adapted to every meaningful shift in technology, media, agency models and work culture. While AI might pose great challenges, it also provides greater opportunity. It will make us more productive and allow us to prototype and deliver with efficiency, but it is important to remember that AI is a tool to help us succeed, not a solution looking for a problem. We must balance efficiency with effectiveness and I believe in the value of humans to craft, create, ideate and build relationships. Human creativity is where we will find unique, distinctive and emotive ideas. Less slop, more bravery.
Michelle Walsh: It’s about remembering what AI is for and using it in the way it was intended – as an accelerator and enhancer of creativity, not a driver. I never want to become too reliant on AI because a significant part of why I love what I do is the pride and satisfaction I get from creating something with my own mind. It’s important to me, not to let my creative muscle become lazy. It’s probably why I still carry an old-school notepad and pen around. There’s no substitute for human insights, experiences, and instincts, which is why I will always think first and ChatGPT later.
Imogen Hewitt: AI is not inherently the enemy of creativity. While AI can democratise creative processes, it will be those with strong creative instincts, taste, judgement and experience that will outperform in using the technology to their advantage. Especially when AI is used as a collaborator, not a crutch.
Imagine this for instance – we all have access to the same tools or at least the same class of tools. All the tools are trained on essentially the same data. We’ve all invested in prompt excellence and we’re all working on similar briefs, clients or categories. Naturally, the outputs will be convergent. What we will need, more than ever, is distinctiveness and rogue thinking. We need to stand out, not fit in.
In that context, staying true to the power of creativity is a business and brand necessity, not a choice. If you want to look, feel and show up in eerily similar ways to your competitors, then by all means rely on machines alone. But if you need new and powerful answers to perennial category questions, the answer must involve human creativity.
I feel the same way about creativity more broadly. Creativity is life affirming and can’t simply be outsourced. We’re all a little less if that is the course we choose to take.
Sustainability is a little more difficult. If we do not take this element of the equation seriously, we face an incredibly challenging future. I do not have the answer here, but I do believe it’s our responsibility to embed sustainability into innovation.
AI can optimise resource use and reduce waste, but only if it is guided by human values. It will be human oversight driven by our core values that manages the integration of ethical and transparent sustainability practices into AI-driven solutions. Those that do that will thrive. It’s why, as an industry, it’s vital that we continue to support and engage with initiatives like Ad Net Zero, which is driving change in this space. For me, embracing these innovations is a necessity not choice.
Charlotte Berry: AI is a double edged sword – it has the potential to unlock new ways to solve the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss and pollution…and fuel the crisis.
Chat GPT drinks 500mL of water for every 50-100 prompts it’s asked (University of California, 2023).
There are nuances in this data, of course, but the point stands.
Unlike ‘the cloud’ would have us believe, the internet and AI are not invisible, ethereal services but a digital infrastructure built with finite materials, powered by electricity and cooled with water. I believe it is important that the world, outside of advertising and tech, is educated on the resources required to power our modern world.
The United Nations Environment Assembly released a statement that, “Governments are racing to develop national AI strategies but rarely do they take the environment and sustainability into account. The lack of environmental guardrails is no less dangerous than the lack of other AI-related safeguards.” (UNEP, 2025) This cannot continue.
Water and habitable land is already a scarce resource. As an industry, and society at large, we need to invest in circular solutions that mitigate the impact on the planet and communities suffering from the climate crisis.
As an individual, I won’t say I never use AI but I am cogniscient of using it. Just like we are taught to turn the lights off when we walk out of a room, do you need to ask a computer to write an email, cut down words or what to name your next dog? It’s not my default.
And as a creative, honestly, I have mixed and confused feelings. I would like to think a happy medium can exist – where AI is used sparingly as a springboard for ideas. But it concerns me that it’s becoming both a substitution and a shortcut. After all, the craft of writing doesn’t come from prompting, it comes from writing…and writing, and writing and writing.
How do I navigate the shift from motherhood back into a high-pressure career?
CP: I fluctuate wildly in my feelings on questions like this. On the one hand, I embrace and applaud the openness which allows us to talk about things which can be challenging for many. On the other hand, a man would never be asked this question. As a childless woman of a certain age, I have made choices and sacrifices for my career. However, there are also many women out there succeeding in professional arenas and raising wonderful families, who have made different choices and sacrifices. I’m looking forward to a day when we can celebrate successful women without framing their success against their personal challenges and family status, and a woman can stand on stage, collect an award and just say, yeah, I worked really hard for this and I’m really proud of myself. Channel some Tiffany Haddish, “I’m successful, how are you?”
MW: I’m someone who chose not to have kids, so I haven’t had to face that specific challenge. While I can only imagine how difficult it must be for any parent to juggle kids and a career, everyone has their own unique challenges. Whatever these are, they help to shape our experiences and what we bring to the table. I have to say though, I love working with mothers. They’re efficient, decisive and get shit done. Respect.
IH: This is a tough one. Becoming a parent is one of the most significant identity shifts you’ll ever navigate. For some, it’s finding a whole new level of meaning. For others, it can feel like a tilt off your axis that can be very disorienting.
Regardless of where you sit on that spectrum, returning to a demanding role as a parent is ‘capital C’ Challenging, and there is no one way that works best for all. However, over the years I have made a few observations that, if not universal, at least might be helpful:
Start the return-to-work conversation before you leave, not just before you come back.
Make it clear that you intend to return, and outline what you want that return to look like. If you aspire for the next career move or promotion once you’re back, ask for it. If you have a vision of how you want to work or what your new parameters need to be, boldly put that on the table.
Now, realistically this plan is likely to change once a real-life baby is in the picture. But having that chat sooner rather than later makes it very clear that you’re gaining a baby, not losing your ambition. It also buys you some clear headspace when you’re on leave. One less thing to worry about when you’re navigating a whole new way of being, and doing it on minimal sleep.
Be kind to yourself.
Parenthood often reshapes priorities, so redefine success on your own terms.
Talk to those that have gone before you.
They have lessons on how to navigate phased returns, which flexible arrangements worked and which did not, and, importantly, how to take a 15-minute nap in your car undetected. These connections will be invaluable. Sometimes you’ll just need reassurance it’s not just you and it’s not just in your head.
Ideally, find yourself a workplace that has return to work training for parents and their managers. We invested in this a few years ago and have taken these supports even further with the launch of our Carers Collective employee action group earlier this year. The empathy and understanding these measures have bred is beautiful.
How do I embrace menopause, changing health, or life stage transitions without feeling sidelined?
CP: The easy answer to this is, keep doing good work. There is no stage of life where it is all easy, manageable, laid out in front of you and smooth sailing. When we say life gets in the way, we’ve got it wrong. Life is the point! And all these ups and downs happen at inconvenient times, with no regard for our careers, but they’re the tapestry of human experience. Knowing that everyone is navigating something is the key to compassionate leadership. Compassion is not the same as empathy. Compassion means I can understand, acknowledge and make provisions for personal circumstances, but boundaries still exist between personal and professional. Life can be tiring, tough and trying but it can also be exhilarating, exciting and energising. And you know what, work is just the same, keep building resilience, keep showing up and keep doing good things.
MW: I’m fortunate enough to work for an organisation that openly recognises a range of different health challenges, to ensure that every employee feels supported, not sidelined. It’s the way it should be because the challenges and experiences we all face in life are what make us valuable to the industry. They should never be looked upon as weaknesses or make people feel unworthy.
IH: One of my friends gave me a birthday card earlier this year that said, in slightly spicier terms than I should probably say here, “Congratulations. You’ve run out of ‘cares’ to give.” It made me laugh, but it also made me reflect.
This is a stage of life where the wisdom starts to settle in. Where you are equipped to make the hard calls, secure in the knowledge that the right move is not always the most popular one. When, hopefully, your moral compass is clear and your tolerance for nonsense has all but evaporated… What other people think of you really is none of your business. Finally!
Now, that does not mean this stage is easy.
Personally, I am in the midst of this journey, meaning some days I am best avoided all together. Some days I can’t for the life of me remember the word for… You know, ummm, that thingy, whatchamacallit…?! And other days it is only Estrogel keeping me out of a correctional facility…
However, I am fortunate enough to be part of a generation ready to talk about it. Share it. Laugh about it, and make sure the topic emerges from being considered ‘taboo’.
I am also lucky enough to be part of an organisation that provides unquestioning support with thoughtful, well-considered, consistent and meaningful measures and policies that help our people navigate the (literal) emotional highs and lows, including offering Menopause Leave.
Far from feeling sidelined this should be an era of power. In pure biological terms, you’re no longer making babies. To me, this means you should absolutely redirect that energy into making waves. Raising eyebrows, dropping truth bombs, and using your vast experience to ease the way for the women coming after you.
Menopause is often framed as decline. It’s not. It’s a transformation and one that, when embraced, sees you become even more powerful.
CB: When I was 23, my Dad was diagnosed with early onset dementia. It was shattering. Everything changed yet nothing changes. You get up everyday. You have breakfast. You walk to work. Life goes on.
For the last 8 years, ideas have been my sanctuary. A place I get to visit everyday, think about things and make cool stuff – some of them good.
Since Dad’s diagnosis, I have worked at three different agencies – UM, Innocean and now Howatson+Company. And I can say without exception, I have felt so loved and supported at each.
Recently, family life has become more challenging. I have had to reprioritise and take carers leave to be there for Mum, Dad and my siblings. Of course, it’s disruptive but it’s not a choice for me. I watched my parents work hard to build careers they loved – yet family always came first. Now it’s my turn.
Despite the fact it’s such a personal thing to share, I have always been honest with my teams. It has felt easier to speak the hard truth than ask for carers leave without explanation. As a result, the bonds I have with my colleagues feel more like family. They check in on me, they rearrange schedules, they make reassuring phone calls that bring me to tears – and most importantly, they listen when I ask them not to take work off my plate.
It’s been hard but I couldn’t have managed the last 8 years without my industry family – an extension of my own.
Plus, as the 17 year old mail boy who drove his Vespa into the lift at Grey, there’s nothing Dad loves more than asking, “How’s business?”.
