Early this morning (UK time, and lunch time in Singapore) Katy and I were delighted to take part in the Marketing Society’s webinar: ‘Wonder Women – what does the future hold for women in marketing?’, streaming from Singapore.

It was hosted by David Mayo, Chief Operating Officer at ADNA Global, who kept the conversation flowing brilliantly and even managed to keep the session to time.

I spoke about the inspiration behind the book and the impact it appears to be having. Katy talked positively about the future for women in marketing.

We also heard from two inspirational marketing leaders, Barbara Balm-Wijnands and Peik Lean Yap, who spoke about their experiences across industries and continents.

Some of the take-aways:

• The need for adaptability to new situations, new cultures and new ways of working. Barbara talked about how working in Africa made her understand their focus on fundamental needs, and Peik Lean talked about her surprise at how sex was still used to sell in the oil business.

• “I have never thought of myself as a woman doing marketing. First and foremost, I am a marketer.” – Peik Lean Yap
  
• “Be open minded and flexible. Stay true to yourself. Believe in yourself and have faith.” – Barbara Balm-Wijnands
  
• “Men are learning and still need to learn new things.” – David Mayo
  
• How unconscious bias needs to be called out; not in a confrontational way but with humour and humility. Katy told the story of how her sons will call her out for saying sexist things!
  
• While most men are very supportive, they need to be more actively engaged – the future of women in marketing isn’t a women’s issue, it’s a business issue. Katy highlighted the fact that the data on pay, number of women in senior positions, the impact of childhood on career progression exists to make the relevant argument powerfully.

• On a more unfortunate note, we heard about how there are still some people (men) who, when a woman gets praise for doing a good job, will try to put it down to “well, they are just trying to promote women”.

In summary, while the future is bright there is still much more to do.