It was International Women’s Day earlier this week, and whilst the day should prompt conversation about our collective need to #breakthebias and take a stand against the inequalities that are still being faced by women every day… we feel as though it is equally as important to celebrate the wonderful women around us, by making their voices heard and celebrating their accomplishments.
As a relatively new starter at Brilliant, I took this opportunity to learn about the women I work alongside. I asked them to tell me about the women who have inspired them, their accomplishments, and what they would like to see in the industry.
Laurra is the Creative Director and Founder of Brilliant Agency. She runs her company alongside working as part of FIVE Create, a product design agency that work to reengineer consumer goods like their briiv air purifier to make them more sustainable which is an important cause that Laurra cares hugely about. Alongside bringing up her two children, Laurra founded the agency 11 years ago at a time when social media was in its infancy. She considers Mary Portas to be an inspiring woman: “I think she has the ability to spot what needs to be sorted and succinctly come up with solutions that have a massive impact.”
Lynne Ella is the Studio Director and a Shareholder at Brilliant – a position she has reached through “years of hard work and grit”. She added “I feel seen and appreciated for the dedication and passion I’ve always had for my career”… which sums up the empowering atmosphere that exists here at Brilliant.
Lynne is inspired by the wonderful and iconic Betty White describing her as “a true icon of persistence-beats-resistance and championing the power of just being a damn good person. Betty White, waited until middle age to be cast in a leading role and went on to have one of the longest and most successful TV careers in history.”
Quoting Betty White, “I know unless I’m true to myself I couldn’t be happy. Too much emphasis is placed today on externals and too little on character.”
Paegan is our Queen of Organisation at Brilliant and she talked about Cindy Gallop “although very successful in her field I admire her mostly for refusing to conform to age and gender stereotypes. She challenges patriarchal views on what a woman should be, do and dress like and I love to see someone so outspoken on these issues.”
When talking about women in marketing Paegan says; “Although not something that is a problem at Brilliant, I’d like to see more women in management positions across the industry in general and more training opportunities provided to those in junior roles to encourage them to advance in their careers.”
Last but not least, Our Marketing and Brand Assistant Shay reflected on how she would love to see progress within the industry: “to see a bigger push for showing the range of roles in a workplace like Brilliant. The business world can seem like an intimidating place to integrate yourself, especially as a young woman first entering the industry, and being able to find my own niche has allowed me to take ownership of my work in a way I wouldn’t have known I could before I became a part of the team.”