Women To Watch: LIDA’s Victoria Curro

At B&T, We are staunch believers that every woman and her achievements should be celebrated, every day and always.
However, unfortunately, the achievements of women often go unnoticed. That’s why we launched our annual B&T Women in Media Awards – to recognise the amazing accomplishments of women across the marketing, communications and advertising industry.
In honour of our WIM Awards, we’re chatting to industry powerhouses; women we should all be keeping an eye on — women to watch.
Today we’re hearing from LIDA Australia’s managing director Victoria Curro.
I think the B&T Women in Media Awards are important because gender inequality still exists. Whilst the latest Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) reports show that the number of women entering management positions is growing at a faster rate than men – women can still expect to get paid significantly less than their male counterparts. And the story gets worse as women progress. The highest paid 10% of men will earn at least $598,745 in total salary, whereas the highest paid 10% of women will reach only $436,369, a difference of over $162,000 – a 27 percent pay gap!
These awards showcase what women deliver to their workplace, their peers and the industry – showing that they are worth investing in, and worth paying equally! The media industry also has the ability to influence other sectors through its platforms and profile, which means we can help even-out the playing field for women in other sectors by being role models and in the work we produce.
I think one of the biggest impediments to equality in the workforce are employers who see paid parental leave and flexible working arrangements for working parents as ‘privileges’ they should be grateful for. As much as Australians have the right to a safe working environment and the right to paid sick and holiday leave, employees should receive similar conditions for parenting. And, while the solution may look different across individual roles and industries, they should not be conditions that women, or men, have to battle for… or that mark recipients as getting ‘special’ treatment when they do receive them.
If you want to make a change to equality in the workplace, call it if you see it! Working agency side all my career, I’ve seen bad behaviours accepted and even expected. My biggest bug bear is women being expected to clear up the plates after a catered meeting, organise the coffee or tidy the room… regardless of their seniority or role in the meeting. Now if that happens, I call it. These little everyday inequalities reinforce that women and men have different roles to play and different strengths – which is simply untrue.
The most unexpected champion of change for equality I’ve come accross is Geoff Parmenter at Australian Rugby. He was my client in the years leading up to the Rugby World Cup 2003. At the time, we had a great bunch of guys at the agency working on the account – guys that were mostly ex-private school, ex-rugby playing men. So, it was a team that looked right on paper in terms of their knowledge and love of the game, but Geoff stood out as a man who really challenged this stereotype on our side – and in his own marketing team.
In addition to that, he championed my role in the business and encouraged me to lead – giving me opportunities to present at board level and to engage with very senior stakeholders across the board. He championed expertise and new perspectives, which gave women like me fantastic opportunities in an area which is usually male dominated.
The best advice I ever received was ‘fix your own mask first.’ It’s what every airline safety video tells you to do. But as a mum it used to jar with me, as I instinctively want to look after my daughter first. But of course, it’s common sense because if you run out of oxygen, you can’t help anyone else. Over the years I’ve
figured out this ‘mantra’ applies across the board, particularly when it comes to looking after your own mental health. To be a good mum, good boss and good friend I need to make sure I’m not neglecting my own well-being – mentally and physically.
Quickfire Questions
Name the most influential woman in your life.
The most influential woman in my life is my 10-year-old daughter, Gabriella. She is the first hand in the air, the first one in the pool, the first to create a game from nothing and the first to reach out to another kid to make a new friend. She shows me every day what resilience, confidence and creativity looks like.
If you were PM, what law would you change/introduce right now to improve equality?
I would do more to help workplaces support victims of domestic violence. In Australia, 1 in 6 women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by a current or previous partner – and 60% of these women are currently working. That means it’s likely that most workplaces will have women who are dealing with the devastating consequences of family or domestic violence – whilst still trying to hold down a job. There is a lot that workplaces can do to support women, from access to mental health services, to providing paid domestic violence leave and helping prevent financial abuse.
For more information on Lida Australia please visit www.lidaaustralia.com.au
Latest News

SEN Bags Australian Broadcasting Rights To English Premier League
SPORTS Entertainment Network (SEN) has strengthened its position as the home of football by securing the Australian audio broadcast rights to the English Premier League (EPL). The EPL broadcast adds to SEN’s existing football coverage. The current stable of football content includes broadcasting the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup, 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the […]

BTS Teams Up With Samsung And Cheil Worldwide As Part Of Global Promotion Of Flip4 Series
Pop sensation BTS and Samsung Electronics have continued their collaboration, releasing a campaign for the new Flip4 phone as part of the biannual Galaxy Unpacked event. As part of its global activation, Samsung launched an hour-long takeover of the world’s iconic screens in popular districts including 15 digital billboards across New York’s Times Square, one […]

“Go Woke, Go Broke!” Chocolate Brand Whittaker Gets Blasted For Progressive Name Change
Yesterday, B&T bought you news of misogynistic paint. Today it's news of woke blocks of chocolate causing the outrage.

Coates Group Named As Global DMB Parner For McDonald’s
Global digital merchandising technology company Coates Group has been named a global partner to quick service restaurant, McDonald’s. The relationship between Coates and McDonald’s, which currently spans 50 years, is set to continue thanks to the recent announcement which is the largest global agreement between the two companies to date. Coates was recently named McDonald’s […]

Reddit Wants Australians To Join New Developer Platform
Reddit has today announced a new Developer Platform a unified space for developers to create and launch programs and apps to run specifically on the platform that will make it simpler and more engaging for users. The Reddit Developer Platform will focus on improving support, flexibility and performance for Reddit’s third party developers, and will […]

Australia’s Best Places To Work List Reveals You’re Better Off In Tech Then Adland
A list of the best places to work is in and, as expected, it's all bad news for salt mines, knackeries & sewerage works.

GroupM’s Wavemaker Retains Mondelez & Vodafone Accounts
Peter Vogel's Christmas bonus still nicely on track after his agency, Wavemaker, retain some big brands today.

Michael Cassel Group Names Former SMH Producer Nathanael Cooper As Director Of Publicity
Michael Cassel Group today announced the appointment of journalist Nathanael Cooper as director, publicity to spearhead the company’s Australian and global communication campaigns and strategy. Cooper was previously the executive producer, audio at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, responsible for the audio strategy and distribution at both publications. He also hosted the daily […]

HT&E Post $172 Million In Revenues In First Half Of 2022
HT&E the latest media company to post impressive numbers. That's despite sifting through said numbers being rather dull.

Report: As Inflation And Cost Of Living Hits, Aussies Are Turning To Side Hustles
In bad news for friends trying to sell you scented candles or secondhand clothes, side hustles now on the rise.

Ladbrokes Remakes Iconic Rocky Scene With Drag Queens, Sports Stars & Punks & It’s Truly Glorious
You could argue a Rocky remake reeks of a 40-something male ECD's midlife crisis. Feel the old back creak watching it.

Crimtan Lands New ANZ Sales Director Jeff Purser
Programmatic marketing group Crimtan today announced the appointment of Jeff Purser (pictured) as its new ANZ sales director. In his new role, Purser will be responsible for driving revenue and results for Crimtan’s broad customer base across Australia and New Zealand. He will be working closely with JAPAC commercial director, Joshua Wilson, to build on […]

Idris Elba Stars In New Campaign For Booking.com
Idris Elba proves he's everyone's favourite actor in Booking.com ad. B&T means no disrespect to Toadie in that comment.

DGtek Appoints Edge As Creative For Retail Arm Pineapple Net
Edge has been appointed by DGtek to provide brand, creative, and media services for its retail brand Pineapple Net. DGtek has rapidly expanded its full-fibre optic broadband network in Melbourne and in other major cities in Australia with network covering over 35k premises. Pineapple Net, as DGtek’s retail brand, was awarded the prestigious CommsDay Eddison […]

Wednesday TV Wrap: No One Really Watching Martin Clunes: Islands In The Pacific, As Nine Takes The Night
TV numbers show MKR continuing to struggle. Not that anyone's phoning Pete Evans just yet.

Komo Lands Niel Isdale As Chief Revenue Officer As Sydney Arm Launches
Perth based audience engagement SaaS platform Komo has announced Niel Isdale (pictured, right) will be stepping into the role of chief revenue officer, accompanying the news it has opened a Sydney office to service and expand its growing portfolio of clients. Isdale brings 11 years’ experience in leadership roles, including two years at LinkedIn where […]

Officeworks Enters Print Media With Free In-Store Magazine
Officeworks' mag features such articles as "What your highlighter says about you" & "A survivor's guide to paper cuts".

CRA: Radio Revenues On The Rise In Capital Cities
Radio revenues on the rise, as radio ad sales people trade-up from gaberdine to polyester.

IAB Report Finds Drastic Shift Towards Programmatic DOOH Advertising
Report shows digital out of home on the up and up. And the only advertising medium where you can be shat on by a bird.

A Letter To All The Women I’ve Learnt From: Jane Ormsby, Scroll Media
The latest in B&T's 'Letter to the women I've learnt from' series. And this from people who never send a Christmas card.

Bundy Rum & Leos Launch First Mixed Gender Fantasy League For NRLW
Why is a Bundy and Coke the taste of being 17 all over again no matter what your age.

Getty Images’ Kate Rourke Talks BeReal, GenZ And The Importance Of Visual Advertising
Advertising to Gen Z is proving to be a complicated task for many companies as they try and grapple with changing interests and mediums. Recently, B&T was lucky enough to catch up with Kate Rourke (pictured), head of creative insights at Getty Images APAC, to discuss the rise of apps like BeReal and TikTok and […]

Here’s Why YOU Should Care About Supply Path Optimisation!
Could your supply path optimisation do with a zjoosh, a polish, a spring clean? This will be like an Ajax to the valves.

Optus Joins The Ash Barty Party & Becomes Her First Partner Since Retirement
Optus has announced world-champion tennis player Ash Barty as its chief of inspiration, Barty’s first new partnership since her retirement from professional tennis in March. The partnership will see Barty feature in a mix of content initiatives, employee engagement programs and community-focused campaigns to connect Australians and inspire them to say “yes” to their dreams, […]

Lisa Ronson Jumps Out Of The Trolley & Exits Coles
Lisa Ronson can finally do the weekly shop at ALDI after the CMO exits Coles after three years.

Tourism New Zealand And DDB Invite Curious Explorers In New Global Campaign
Tourism New Zealand has unveiled its first global campaign in two years, IF YOU SEEK – the country’s invitation to international visitors. Launched today in core visitor markets such as Australia and the United States, IF YOU SEEK explores perspectives unfamiliar to the travel category; enticing audiences to explore Aotearoa New Zealand via glimpses of […]

Hardhat Lands Retail Pioneer Godfreys Account Following Tough Pitch
Following a competitive pitch, retail group Godfreys has announced the appointment of independent creative agency Hardhat. Following two years of growth, with the business now sitting at more than 150 stores and 3 million customers, Godfreys has set about transforming its retail stores to more accurately reflect the business’ category leadership and expertise. At the […]

Biggest Spenders In Podcast Ads Revealed By iHeart And Magellan AI
iHeart announces top ad spenders in podcasts. No word on how many listeners skip through every ad they encounter.

Revealed: Australia’s Top Ad Spenders For The First Half Of 2022
Feeling bad about your expensive coffee habit? This read should put your woes in perspective.

Google Wins Big After Australian High Court Deems The Search Engine Is Not A Publisher
Defamation laws may finally relax in Aus! Hence, why we are revealing our editor is addicted to gaviscons.

Rural Aussie Women Celebrated With The Announcement Of 2022 Shine Awards
Rural and regional women who have excelled in making their communities better places to live and work are set to be celebrated with the launch of the Shine Awards, a six-year partnership between rural and regional newspaper, The Weekly Times, and Harvey Norman. Readers are being asked to share their stories and nominate the unsung […]

Seven Drops Education Tool Attempting To Get Marketers & Agencies To Focus On Total TV
Seven no longer calling it just TV, but "total TV". Preferring you also scream it while doing jazz hands.

Seven Supremo James Warburton Takes Massive Haircut, But Still Banks $3.4M For 2021-22
The salaries for Seven's top earning execs are in & make for interesting reading. And completely depressing reading too.

“Exciting Times Ahead”: TotallyAwesome Raises $14.24 Million In Seed Funding
If you think seed funding has to do with feeding birds, this article is not for you.

Congratulations! AWARD State Finalists Announced For Top Student Of The Year Award
Do you get jealous of high achievers that are younger and have perfect blood pressure? Get ready for your blood to boil.

Study: Aussies Drinking Less Alcohol Post-Covid, As RTD Sales Hit Record Highs
B&T staff once again bucking the national trend as latest study reveals Aussies boozing less post-COVID.