Growing up on Kilphysic, our seventh-generation sheep farm in Gunnedah, north west NSW,
I learned resilience from our family’s remarkable matriarchs. The farm was steeped in the
quiet strength of my mother, grandmother, and the generations of women who came
before.
My mother, a true pillar, fought a courageous battle with breast cancer, enduring treatment
with the same grit she brought to the challenges of farm life. She passed away in her early
fifties, leaving behind a legacy that has grounded me.
Leaving Kilphysic, I sought my place in the city, beginning with a degree in Fine Arts that led
to my first job as a visual arts teacher, working with an Aboriginal community in Wilcannia, far north west NSW. This experience taught me the power of empathy, nurturing, and kindness in leadership.
Back in Sydney, I found my way into advertising – a world as demanding as the bush but
entirely different from its red dirt and open skies. Advertising in the ’90s promised creativity
and innovation, yet it felt like a boys’ club. Women’s voices were frequently muted, and ingrained biases made the journey to leadership challenging.
Three decades later, change remains slow. The culture of the “boys’ club” lingers, especially in creative leadership, where white men remain dominant. Talented women and other underrepresented voices struggle to find parity, even as the industry celebrates diversity.
Women, people of colour, people with disabilities and people from marginalised backgrounds still face barriers to leadership. Despite its progressive image, the creative
industry has yet to confront its biases.
I’ve faced obstacles that had little to do with my abilities and everything to do with an industry uncomfortable with intelligent, assertive women. Too often, women are placed in supportive roles, expected to nurture ideas rather than lead them. This subtle undercurrent of misogyny is deeply embedded.
Women’s ideas were overlooked or appropriated, while men with half the experience were
celebrated as visionaries.
In October, Campaign Brief published their ‘Top Creatives in Advertising’ for 2024. The list was made up of one woman, to nine white men for Australia’s top creatives, and all white men made the cut in New Zealand.
Mortified at the list, I took to LinkedIn calling out this blatant misogyny of the ‘old boy’s pay-to-play club’. The ‘shame on you’ post went viral, and the women media unanimously agreed, enough is enough. The silence was deafening from our male colleagues, and when they did engage it was with #notallmen.
Finally, we have a movement.
Balancing a career in advertising with raising two daughters as a single mother was no easy
feat.
There were many late nights and difficult choices. Still, I wanted Eva and Hester to see a
future where women could lead without limitations.
Then, at 49, like my mother, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Facing treatment as a single parent was terrifying; the thought of leaving my daughters
behind haunted me. But four years later, I stand here, grateful to call myself a breast cancer
warrior, determined to make a meaningful impact.
I’ve transitioned from agency advertising into my role as founder of the ‘Affection
Economy’. The humanity-centred design approach places empathy for people and the
planet at the heart of everything we do. My work now focuses on creating workplaces,
communities, and societies that value diverse voices and foster environments where
underrepresented people can lead authentically and with heart.
It’s bittersweet, though, to see my 23-year-old daughter stepping into the same
industry I entered all those years ago. While strides have been made, she will still face an
environment where many barriers remain.
I hope for a future where young women and individuals who are underrepresented in
creative roles are valued for the unique perspectives they bring. Remaining silent only perpetuates environments that marginalise us. We don’t need to adopt the hardened exteriors of our male colleagues to succeed.
The future of advertising depends on leaders who value empathy, humility, self-awareness,
innovation and diversity (alongside the traditional leadership traits of competency, decisiveness, ambition and self-reliance).
Change requires those in power to step aside, make room, and champion voices that
have been silenced. I want my daughter to enter the industry and have a seat at the table as
a respected leader. Diversity in advertising isn’t just a box to tick; it’s essential for its
evolution and success.
I am incredibly proud of the young women my daughters are becoming.
I’ll continue to challenge the status quo and advocate for spaces and places that embrace underrepresented voices.
This legacy is one I’m committed to passing on to my daughters and to every woman
striving for her rightful place in a world that still has much to learn. We are here to lead,
create, and be unrepentantly ourselves, standing tall without compromise.
The industry needs us—and it’s time it realised it.
Jet Swain is an advisor, consultant and Founder of The Affection Economy.