The conversation about women in advertising cannot be a seasonal topic, raised only during awards season or Women’s Month. It must be continuous, intentional and backed by action, write founders of Ko.Kreate, Koketso Masisi and Kgothatso Maditse.
We’ve all heard the phrase: women need a seat at the table. But in advertising, and across many industries, it has become clear a seat is not enough. Representation without recognition and inclusion without influence is hollow. For many women in advertising, the table may be set, but the meal is often out of reach.
Advertising is a space that prides itself on creativity, disruption and new ideas. Like many women, we are attracted to the industry because we are ambitious, multi-skilled and eager to contribute. Many of us gravitated towards the industry because it promised room to be ourselves and to shape culture.
And yet, behind the glossy campaigns and award-winning work, the reality for women, especially women of colour, remains sobering.
The pay gap won’t close
One of the most stubborn challenges is pay. Underpayment or lack of fair compensation is still pervasive in advertising. Women now make up significant portions of agency teams, often carrying disproportionately high workloads due to understaffing and under-scoping.
We are the ones with multiple certifications, diplomas and learnerships; the ones volunteering to help keep teams afloat. But our compensation does not reflect our value.
The pattern is familiar: women who feel underpaid and undervalued exit the industry or resort to job-hopping in search of increases they can’t secure where they are. The result? A revolving door that drains the industry of talent and leaves women perpetually starting over.
Motherhood still penalised
Childbearing and caregiving remain coded as liabilities instead of a human reality. Agencies may tout progressive policies, but on the ground, women are put in positions where they have to rethink and delay their family ambitions.
Maternity leave policies that leave you unpaid if you fall pregnant within the ‘waiting period’, a disappointing fraction of your salary if you are paid, and the requirement to remain in the company for one to two years after returning put women in an awkward position, or worse, stuck in toxic environments simply because they had children.
The implicit message is that motherhood is counterproductive and opposed to ambition, a message that ignores the resilience, empathy and problem-solving that parenthood actually sharpens.
Leadership without mentorship
Then there’s the leadership gap. While women are climbing into leadership positions, we are not always given the mentorship, tools or networks to thrive in them. Negotiating salaries, asking for promotions or even navigating how to lead in male-dominated spaces are often left to trial and error. Too many women are promoted for optics without the systemic support that would make their success sustainable.
For women of colour, the challenge is even sharper. Equity appointments are sometimes treated as symbolic ticks rather than meaningful empowerment. Decisions are questioned. Authority is undermined. Ideas are dismissed, until echoed by male or white counterparts, at which point they are suddenly brilliant.
Recognition denied
And then there’s the matter of credit. Too many women in advertising carry the scars of work they poured themselves into – work that went on to win awards, boost revenue and earn prestige – without their names attached. Leaders they trusted to advocate for them instead claimed the spotlight. The result is not just professional frustration; it’s a form of betrayal that lingers long after the campaign has ended.
The lived reality and the opportunity
Yet, because of our lived realities, women bring invaluable insights to this industry. We know what it means to juggle. We understand the audiences that advertising seeks to reach because we are those audiences: mothers, daughters, sisters, consumers, professionals. Our ability to hold multiple truths at once makes us not only effective creatives and strategists, but also empathetic leaders.
The tragedy is that these perspectives are still treated as secondary, when they should be central to shaping campaigns, strategies and organisations.
What needs to change
So, what will it take for a seat at the table to become meaningful? Three things feel urgent:
Equitable pay structures: Agencies must put their money where their mouths are. Pay transparency, and accountability are non-negotiable if women are to stay and thrive in this industry.
Real support for working mothers: Parental leave, flexible working, and re-entry programmes need to be lived realities, not just policy statements. We cannot call ourselves an industry of innovation while clinging to outdated ideas of what leadership and ambition look like.
Mentorship and sponsorship: Women in leadership need more than titles. They need mentors who share tools for negotiation, growth, and resilience. They need sponsors who actively open doors, not just cheer from the sidelines.
Paving the way forward
This is why initiatives like Ko.Kreate exist. Born from the frustration of misrepresentation — and from navigating our own challenging leadership journeys – Ko.Kreate is about creating smoother paths for future leaders. It is about shifting the culture of advertising so that women don’t just occupy seats at the table but help set the agenda.
The conversation about women in advertising cannot be a seasonal topic, raised only during awards season or Women’s Month. It must be continuous, intentional and backed by action. Ko.Kreate is not merely a space; it represents a profound shift placing conscious collaboration, inclusivity and transformative growth at its core.
The official launch of Ko.Kreate in March marked a pivotal moment in the advertising industry. Imagined as a platform to elevate and empower women of colour, founded on the principles of intentional creation and collaboration, Ko.Kreate is built on the belief in the power of collective wisdom, shared experiences and innovative ideas to inspire meaningful change.
Because women don’t just deserve a seat at the table. We deserve to have our voices heard, our contributions recognised and our leadership respected. Anything less is not inclusion, it’s decoration.
Koketso Masisi and Kgothatso Maditse, the award-winning creative director duo at Retroviral, are redefining advertising through inclusive, culturally rooted storytelling. With 12+ years’ experience, global recognition and jury roles, they craft impactful campaigns while championing the next generation of black female creatives.
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