Open Chair, in partnership with Nedbank, hosted ‘Friends in High Places’ – a speed dating event for young women in advertising and marketing. This was speed dating with a difference. It took place on The Cape Wheel where 65 mentees had face time with 31 mentors from across the industry. The pods on the wheel served as an ideal safe space for women to share knowledge and receive guidance on how to navigate their careers, while taking in a breathtaking view.
The event took place on Thursday, 10th October during Loeries Creative week, the biggest event in the calendar for the advertising and marketing industry in Africa and the Middle East. With most of the industry having descended upon Cape Town from 7-11 October, it provided the perfect context for nurturing and inspiring the next generation of young women in the creative industry.
The plan is to continue to host more speed dating events throughout the year in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
Loeries is all about recognising, rewarding, inspiring and fostering creative excellence. This aligns very well with the mission of Open Chair, a non-profit organisation, dedicated to two key objectives:
1. To uplift and inspire the women of industry.
2. To help make the industry safer for all our people.
Open Chair was founded by Suhana Gordhan, Independent Creative Leader and former Chairperson of the Loeries, as part of a vision to help create more consciousness and connection between women in the industry. Gordhan’s partners at Open Chair are all industry stalwarts, including Nkgabiseng Motau, CCO and Founder of Think Creative Africa, Roanna Williams, CCO of Boundless, Fran Luckin, CCO of VML and Melina McDonald and Lorraine Smit, Co-Founders of Darling Films.
The women at Open Chair believe that one of the challenges we face as an industry is empty chairs. There are far too few women occupying those chairs and far too many leaving them. This community was formed for the purpose of creating access to industry leaders. ‘Our events are about creating a safe space for women to meet face-to-face, to gather guidance, to navigate the tough parts of our industry and ultimately to learn from and be supported by each other. We want to focus on our futures, and to encourage each other to fill those chairs, to be visible, present and unashamedly extraordinary,’ said Gordhan.
Open Chair has also developed a Code under the hashtag, #OnMyWatch, to advocate for better behaviour across the industry. ‘Our industry, unfortunately, has a history of destructive behaviour – physical and psychological – that we need to talk about. Our Code is not about naming and shaming, but rather about painting the picture of the industry we believe is possible. It’s about creating an intentionality around addressing the harmful behaviours – from bullying to harassment and microaggressions – that have persisted over time. We want women to stay in the industry, and rather than feeling threatened and disrespected, we want their only challenge to be about creating great work,’ said Motau.
‘We are truly grateful to our partners at Nedbank for supporting this event, and for recognising the importance of investing in mentorship, as a pathway to ensure that those empty chairs in leadership are filled by the brilliant, bright, young women coming up in this industry,’ said McDonald.
You can adopt Open Chair’s Code here.
OPEN CHAIR
LinkedIn
