Portfolio Evenings: Breaking bias, building talent

When she participated in the 2023 Indian Creative Women (ICW) Portfolio Evening, advertising student Nidhi Shah impressed Rahul Mathew, DDB Mudra Group’s chief creative officer, and Harshada Menon, founding member of ICW and executive creative director at DDB Mudra. They were elated—but not entirely surprised—when she went on to win a Gold Cannes Lion in the ‘Audio and Radio’ script category in 2024 for her humorous radio campaign.

It is to boost the confidence of such young women and non-binary creatives that ICW, DDB Mudra, and D&AD continue to host Portfolio Evenings. These events provide a platform for young talent to showcase their portfolios to industry leaders, gain critical insights, and refine their skills to advance their careers.

But beyond talent discovery, these gatherings also shine a light on a deeper issue within the advertising and design industry—the need for greater gender and diversity representation at leadership levels.

McKinsey & Company’s Diversity Wins report highlights a compelling financial advantage for businesses with diverse leadership—companies with boards in the top 25% for gender diversity are 28% more likely to achieve superior financial performance compared to their counterparts. Yet, progress remains slow. Research from Harvard reveals that men are still 2.5 times more likely than women to hold executive roles in top leadership teams.

The disparity is evident in India’s corporate landscape as well. LinkedIn data from early 2023 shows that women occupied only 23.3% of leadership roles, marking a decline from the 27.4% peak in Q3 2020.

Despite years of efforts and numerous conversations around gender parity, the advertising industry, too, remains largely male-dominated at the top. Leadership roles are still disproportionately occupied by men, raising the question: why hasn’t this status quo changed?

Dara Lynch, CEO of D&AD.

Dara Lynch, CEO of D&AD, acknowledges the problem, referencing research that suggests gender parity in leadership could still be 150 years away. “Our job at D&AD is to help reshape the industry for the better by developing and designing programs that ensure better representation,” she told Campaign.

While such programs certainly help, they are only part of the solution. According to Darshan Gandhi, global head of design at Godrej Consumer Products, women and non-binary creatives face a dual challenge—establishing themselves in an industry that is inherently competitive and navigating additional gender biases.

“Women who have overcome these bottlenecks and see the world from a different lens need to step in more to empower younger women and gender-agnostic creative professionals,” she explained. “Creativity has its own struggle, and on top of that, there is the gender struggle.”

Her advice? Focus on the work itself and cut through the surrounding noise. By shifting the emphasis to the strength of ideas rather than preconceived notions of gender, creatives can take charge of their careers with greater confidence.

Bias: The invisible barriers

Even as women and non-binary professionals push forward, they continue to encounter both conscious and unconscious biases—particularly within larger agencies. Harshada Menon points out that even confident women can be undermined by dismissive attitudes in the workplace.

“When it comes to women, people around them have to be schooled a lot more. Because no matter how confident a woman is, someone could talk her down. Hence, the surrounding people need to change their mindset,” she said.

Harshada Menon, founding member of ICW and executive creative director at DDB Mudra.

The process of challenging these biases must go beyond one-off training sessions. True change requires a sustained and conscious effort from organisations to uncondition themselves from outdated notions of leadership and meritocracy.

In her experience collaborating with women and non-binary individuals, Gandhi found that the most effective approach is to strip away preconceived notions tied to gender. The focus should always be on the strength of their creative vision—what they aspire to express and stand for.

“By centering on the idea itself and shutting out external distractions, they can fully channel their potential. This is a principle I not only apply in my own work but also encourage others to embrace,” she added.

Rahul Mathew acknowledges that while some progress has been made, the industry has only “scratched the surface” when it comes to unconditioning gender biases. He is glad that things started early on in DDB.

The first woman copywriter in the US and the world was Phyllis Robinson, and she was from DDB. Six years ago, the company started the Phyllis Project to help the next generation of women creative leaders in the DDB network. today, it is a global program, the strongest in India, and has also been extended to Asia.

Rahul Mathew, DDB Mudra Group’s chief creative officer.

Yet, he knows the work is far from done. “I can only say we’ve done this unconditioning when we have enough women in leadership roles. We are better off than last year or the year before, but the work continues,” Mathew stated.

The future of DEI and purpose-driven advertising

Beyond talent recruitment and development, there’s another pressing concern: how committed are brands to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the long run?

Companies such as Target, McDonald’s, Meta, Walmart, and Disney are scaling back on hiring quotas, supplier diversity initiatives, and corporate equality rankings, largely due to legal concerns and conservative opposition. The question is, will brands also pull back from purpose-driven advertising, or will consumer expectations keep these campaigns alive?

“It’s quite early to gauge the impact of these seismic shifts,” said Lynch. “But I think good brands are going to lead the way, and consumers will demand it. The role of creators is really important, as they help reshape culture.”

Mathew added that diversity in business should never be seen as a mere box-ticking exercise. “Consumers are moving towards brands that represent their beliefs and aspirations. Creativity is going through its worst diversity crisis—rather, a crisis of diverse thinking. We’re not hiring from as many diverse fields as before. That’s a big problem, as after a while, the work starts getting predictable. The more different minds you have in the room, the fresher the work will be,” he pointed out.

Why diversity is good for business

The business case for diversity has long been proven. Studies have shown that diverse teams outperform homogenous ones, generating stronger business results.

Over the past decade, the financial benefits of gender diversity in leadership have significantly increased. McKinsey’s reports from 2015, 2018, 2020, and 2023 consistently show a rising trend in women’s representation on executive teams. In 2015, top-quartile companies were 15% more likely to financially outperform bottom-quartile peers; by 2023, this figure reached 39%. Yet, many brands remain hesitant to fully integrate diversity into their core business strategies.

Darshan Gandhi, global head of design at Godrej Consumer Products.

Gandhi believes that integrating DEI into a company’s core DNA—rather than treating it as a separate initiative—is the way forward. “At Godrej Consumer Products, we are making diversity more integrated, not looking at it separately. When creativity merges with business orientation and is commercialised effectively, scale happens,” she stated.

Attracting the next generation of creatives

One of the biggest challenges for the advertising industry today is talent attraction. Many young professionals are hesitant to enter an industry they perceive as unstable or creatively restrictive.

Mathew sees events like Portfolio Evening as a way to bridge this gap. “When I was a young creative, I couldn’t even dream of getting access to a CCO or a head of agency. With events like Portfolio Evening, young talent gets a chance to meet some of the biggest creative decision-makers in this country,” he exclaimed.

Menon recalled a particularly memorable moment from a past Portfolio Evening. “A young girl fresh out of college came running, saying she had met her idol. These young creatives come from a place of both vulnerability and strength. Meeting industry leaders at these events is incredibly empowering for them,” she said.

Gandhi, who has recently started teaching, highlights another critical gap: many young creatives don’t know how to effectively present their ideas. “My agenda is to sensitise and bring in professionals who can help build these capabilities so young people can pitch their ideas with confidence,” she added.

Planting seeds for a more diverse future

Beyond just showcasing talent, events like Portfolio Evenings and Portfolio Nights are designed to help creatives see a long-term future in the industry—one that includes financial stability, work-life balance, and sustainable career growth.

Lynch describes the process as a “two-way journey.” “What you give comes back. These programs are essential because they put talent first. There will be ideas at Portfolio Evening that aren’t fully formed yet, but with the right guidance, they can evolve into something truly amazing,” she opined.

At the end of the day, true transformation in the advertising industry requires more than just talent scouting. It demands a fundamental shift in the way the industry nurtures, promotes, and retains diverse voices.

Portfolio Evenings and Portfolio Nights may not solve everything overnight, but they are a step in the right direction—offering young creatives a glimpse of what their future in advertising could be and, more importantly, the confidence to claim their space within it.