Mums In Ads (and finding work/life balance!)

22 November 2023

Peachy’s new hire

We recently advertised for a Content Creator/Marketing Manager position.  Like all of our roles at Peachy, the benefits included a part-time time position with flexible hours, flexible days, and an ability to work from anywhere.

We were blown away by the quantity and calibre of applicants from all corners of Australia (and beyond).
Clearly positions like this are rare as hen’s teeth!

Angela Cerasi founded Peachy Keen Colour with the intention of it being a female-led, progressive workplace.  Peachy champions flexible working conditions and a great work/life balance for people and families.  We aim to extend that work/life balance to our clients as well – if they need to stop their grade and pick their kids up from school or nip out to watch a dance recital – no problem!

Peachy Founder Angela Cerasi fitting in some grade time while baby sleeps!

Supporting Mums In Ads

We also love to see more of these flexible, family-friendly roles emerging in the film and advertising industries – which is why we joined MIA as a supporter.  MIA is a network of Mums In Ads and Mums In Ads enthusiasts that aims to tackle the underrepresentation of mothers in the advertising industry, particularly in creative departments, and to drive discussion around the reasons behind the underrepresentation – and ultimately create change.

The Part-Time-Pitch

Mums In Ad’s latest initiative is The Part-Time Pitch.  The pitch asks agencies to classify all advertising job roles as full-time/ part-time negotiable as a standard, in an effort to retain women in the industry.  Their pitch deck was sent directly to 50 Australian agencies.

Advertising Council Australia’s Create Space Census Results

The initiative came about following the release of 2022 statistics, unearthed by Advertising Council Australia’s (ACA) Create Space Census.  The census revealed an underrepresentation of women in senior roles and a sharp decline in women’s participation in the advertising industry from the age of 35.  Julia Spencer, co-founder of MIA, was quoted in this Stable article:

“We think it’s no coincidence that the age women begin to leave advertising coincides with the age where child-caring responsibilities are at their peak. By better supporting women to not only stay, but thrive, during these spicy years of motherhood, our industry will start to see the gender imbalances in leadership begin to even out. We know that 77% of women in Australia are mothers and that 69% of part-time workers in Australia are women. So by advertising job roles as full-time only, as our industry currently does as standard, we are putting in place a barrier that shuts down conversations and shuts out women – and the findings of the Create Space Census reflect this.”

The second co-founder of MIA Regina Stroombergen also stated:

“We strongly believe that by having agencies commit to purposeful changes, like the simple language change propositioned in The Part-Time Pitch, advertising will truly become that pioneering place of inclusivity that it strives to be – future-proofing our industry and leaving ladders down for the next generation of talent. With more people wanting more flexible employment, and increasingly more men wanting to take on more caregiving themselves, it’s not just the mums in the advertising industry who would benefit from de-stigmatising part-time work but also dads, caregivers and anyone else who wants more balance, for whatever reason.”

Job Board

Mum In Ads have a job board on their website (where Peachy advertised our latest open position).  This is not meant to be a permanent fixture, but rather a bridge to the change in companies’ own recruitment language and a way to promote this change to the industry. We love this initiative and encourage everyone to check it out! Meanwhile, we’re so happy to welcome our new Marketing Manager, Steph Cole, to the Peachy Team!