Posts in Propel: Take The Lead ...
“3 Percent Certified” Program to Audit Ad World Gender Equality

Kat Gordon started the 3% Conference three years ago to change the fact that only three percent of creative directors in advertising are female. (We know—crazy, right?) At its annual conference in New York last week, the organization announced a plan to do more than talk about the problem.

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The Wage Gap Exists for MBAs, Too

There’s no doubt about it: going to business school can boost a woman’s career. In a recent survey of MBA graduates by Bloomberg Businessweek, women who earned an MBA six to eight years ago reported that their degree increased their earning potential and connected them to a powerful network of fellow alumni. They’re also pretty happy with what they’re doing: 64 percent of women described themselves as “very satisfied” with their current job.

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Poland Is Being Run by Women

Over the weekend the right-leaning Labor and Justice Party won a majority in Poland’s general election, setting up 52-year-old Beata Szydlo to become the country’s next prime minister. She will be the third female prime minister in the country’s history, and will take over from another woman, Ewa Kopacz of the Civic Party.

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Execs Are Optimistic about Gender Parity

The World Economic Forum may think we’re a long way away from leadership parity, but today’s business leaders have a much sunnier outlook on the issue. In a Weber Shandwick survey of 327 executives across the globe, 73 percent said they believe we’ll achieve gender equality in the C-suite by 2030.

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Barbie Is a Career Woman Now

At least, that’s what Mattel wants you to think. And we have to admit: with marketing like this, we might be convinced, too.

The company just released a new ad that rebrands the iconic doll as a source of inspiration for young girls. If your daughter plays with a Barbie, Mattel seems to be saying, she’ll grow up believing she can be anything she wants to be, whether that’s a professor, a veterinarian, or a football coach.

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All-Male Panels Should Become Extinct in Israel

Israeli ad agency McCann Tel Aviv is known for its top-notch advertising work, but now it can add “brilliant women’s advocacy” to its list of company specialties. The agency recently rolled out a website, Persona, that lists nearly 700 Israeli women qualified to speak on panels on a wide variety of professional topics.

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Rent the Runway Founders Pay It Forward

Jennifer Hyman and Jenny Fleiss know a thing or two about entrepreneurship. The Harvard Business School grads cofounded the fashion-rental service Rent the Runway, one of the most buzzed-about startups of the past few years (with $80 million in revenue projected for 2015), and now they’d like to help other women follow in their footsteps.

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