When I joined Nice and Serious, out of twenty people I was one of four women. It seemed strange to me that an agency that’s so values driven in their work would have such a gender imbalance. After speaking to the team about it, I was told that we get so many more male applicants than female. This is a reflection of the industry but it shouldn’t define the industry or be accepted. So, Nice and Equal was born as an experiment to understand what some of the underlying issues were and if there was anything we could do to fix this.
A survey was sent out to 250 women in the creative industry, or those wishing to work in the sector. We asked questions like what they look for in an employer, where they look for job adverts, and more. When the results came in there were a lot of clear and actionable things we could change. Basic things like have an industry leading paternity/maternity policy came out of this and also changes in how we structure job contracts. A lot of the woman we spoke, more than 70% of those surveyed cited flexible working is a key benefit they look for in an employer.
The output of all of this was a zine with badges and stickers which feels somewhat trivial. But we know that this project has had a profound impact on the business. I’m proud to have worked in an environment where questioning these things is accepted and encouraged. In fact, it’s the biggest testament to how the industry is changing to be more inclusive. You can read more about Nice and Equal here.