BBDO Lanka pays tribute to inspirational women on International Women’s Day

BBDO Lanka has sent out plaques to Sri Lanka’s most powerful women as a tribute to the inspiration they provide to millions of aspiring women in the country. BBDO Lanka used a published list by a leading publication in Sri Lanka. The move was inspired by the conversation started by BBDO Asia to confront the confidence gap 
For International Woman’s Day on March 8, BBDO Asia is taking the Confidence Gap head-on by sparking a conversation for everyone to #ConfrontTheConfidenceGap viewing link http://confronttheconfidencegap.tumblr.com/. 

The Confidence Gap – the habit of doubting one’s ability and competence, despite evidence that suggests the opposite – affects nearly everyone, men and women alike at some point in their career, yet tends to go under the radar. BBDO Asia hopes this conversation and debate can help people realise their potential.  

To kick off this conversation, senior female clients from the BBDO Asia client portfolio: P&G, Fonterra, Visa, HP and J&J, were filmed sharing their personal experiences and advice for confronting the confidence gap. This short film, along with additional content from internal agency members, audience polls and an opinion piece, will be housed on a Tumblr site as well as distributed through Facebook and BBDO channels.

BBDO Singapore Head of Planning Rebecca Nadilo commented, “Despite this topic making headlines, when we asked a selection of people from senior to junior positions in our industry whether this was a topic of conversation among friends or colleagues, the response was a resounding no, despite all admitting experiencing it. The fear of appearing vulnerable has held us back from making this a conversation point and by not talking about it, we are made to feel this issue is uniquely our own.”

BBDO Asia Chairman and CEO Jean-Paul Burge added, “We are championing this initiative across the region with agency events plus content. We hope to achieve mass conversation and reach to make a genuine impact on this issue – an issue that affects all of us but can be particularly damaging for women. International Women’s Day felt like a great launch pad for this and we look forward to getting everyone, men and women everywhere to #ConfrontTheConfidenceGap”. 

BBDO Lanka Senior Account Director Chanithi Gunasekera said, “It was truly inspiring to know about BBDO Asia’s initiative to take the Confidence Gap head-on by sparking a conversation for everyone to #ConfrontTheConfidenceGap. We are beyond proud to be part of this initiative by extension. AT BBDO Lanka, we have 56 percent female representation, while the advertising industry in Sri Lanka itself has a large percentage of ladies inspiring and leading by example. It is for this reason that we wanted to celebrate International Women’s Day by honouring these special ladies who have been identified as leaders in the corporate world.”

BBDO Lanka Creative Group Head Wyomi Abeywickrema added, “Despite making up 52 percent of the country’s population, women have very little representation in many fields. In this context, it is a wonderfully inspiring thing to see women of power and success who have empowered others in Sri Lanka, being honoured for their contribution. I feel very proud to be part of an industry well represented by women and part of a network that goes beyond the norm on this special day to recognize women for the powerhouses that they are and making them feel truly valued.”    

BBDO Lanka Managing Director Santosh Menon said, “We witness women power at work every day in our office, where the ladies outnumber the gentlemen, and the output is needless to say, fantastic. It was natural and easy for us to say thank you to all those powerful women out there, and once BBDO Asia came up with the inspirational idea, we wanted to add to it with our own unique thought – a plaque that recognizes them.”