Women have to keep standing up for themselves, for their ideas and for their accomplishments, or else the media will never be able to move forward on gender issues, says Network 10 partnerships director Tamar Hovagimian.
Tamar took the time to chat with B&T about her proudest professional moment, and her thoughts on where adland could improve in its approach to fighting gender inequality.
What is your proudest professional moment?
Network 10 winning the ‘Outstanding Service Award’ at the 2018 Coles Supplier Awards, in recognition of our 10 (at the time) year MasterChef Australia partnership.
I have been really fortunate to have worked across the Coles / MasterChef partnership since its inception. It truly is one of the most enduring and successful TV partnerships in Australia.
Obviously there have been many so people involved in this partnership over the 10 years and I must call out working with our production partners, EndemolShine Australia, and the creative and incredibly resilient team at 10 as an important part of this achievement too.
What drives you? What keeps you going when things get tough?
My team drives me. They are such a fantastic group of people who work hard every single day on delivering effective campaigns for our sponsors.
No task is too hard for them and they always find a creative solution. They’re innovative and inspirational and their attitude and drive for success has delivered a countless number of successful campaigns for sponsors.
The successful campaigns we deliver for our sponsors, and the sense of achievement that comes with that success, is what keeps us going when things get tough.
When in your career have you been bravest and most courageous?
Probably now. Navigating COVID has been unlike anything any of us has had to experience.
There was a difficult period for all of us earlier this year both professionally and personally, and it was a challenge to navigate. Since then, the team has pushed through and since working from home we have secured over 70 sponsorships – a huge achievement!
What’s adland getting right in its approach to fighting gender inequality and what’s it getting wrong?
We are being more vocal. Programs like Women in Media and Women in Tech shine a light on the great work females are doing in this industry. They have certainly paved the way in encouraging more women to speak up about their achievements and successes.
We are certainly moving in the right direction, but there is still some way to go.
What advice would you give to women who are entering the media industry or who are maybe struggling to have their voice heard?
Be the absolute best you can be and have pride in your work. Keep speaking up, even if you feel like you aren’t getting heard. You have to keep standing up for yourself, for your ideas and for your accomplishments or else we will never, as an industry, be able to move forward on gender issues.
And finally, who is the bravest or most courageous person you know and why?
My 2.5 year old niece Lizzie. She is fearless, hilarious, determined, clever, caring and so much fun to be around!
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