IWD 2026 ‘Give to Gain’ – Media leaders share their views

‘Give to Gain’ is the key theme of this year’s International Women’s Day, taking place on the 9th of March.

As the IWD movement marks its 115th year, we’ve been asking some of the leading voices in media and marketing for their views on IWD 2026 and how they are meeting the ‘Give to Gain’ challenge…

 Jess Aylett, Head of Sales, UK & International, GumGum

“In our industry, we often talk about growth, performance, and return on investment. But the most powerful returns come from investing in people.

“Giving time to mentor emerging female talent, advocating for women in rooms they’re not yet in, and amplifying female voices across campaigns and panels — this is what it means to gain.

“When we create space for women to lead, we don’t just diversify leadership — we strengthen decision-making, creativity and commercial performance. Gender equality isn’t separate from business success; it fuels it.

“For me, “Give to Gain” means giving visibility, giving mentorship, and giving honest access to networks and opportunities that have traditionally been gatekept. It means being intentional about whom we recommend, promote, and back.

“When women thrive in advertising, the work gets better. The culture gets stronger. And the industry becomes more representative of the audiences we serve.”

Wenjie (Charlene) Gao, Head of Business Development, Preciso

The adtech industry has made meaningful progress on women’s equality in recent years, with more women in leadership roles and a growing awareness of diversity challenges. At Preciso, we have more than 50% of female leaders.

“But we still need systemic changes including pay equity, flexible work policies that accommodate caregiving responsibilities, and intentional sponsorship programs that actively advocate for women’s advancement into senior leadership positions.

Smita Pillai, Regional VP Customer Success, EMEA, impact.com

“In terms of equality, the industry has made genuine progress, but we’re still mid-journey. There are more women in senior roles and far more open conversations about inclusion than a decade ago.

“That visibility matters, but equality isn’t only about representation at the top, it’s about access to influence, sponsorship and strategic decision-making.

“Women often drive a significant proportion of the work behind high-performing programmes, yet they don’t always have equal access to early conversations or advocacy in the rooms where decisions are shaped.

“The next phase for the industry is less about intent and more about infrastructure – transparent progression pathways, equitable recognition of contribution, and leadership models that value different styles.

“Progress is real, but sustainable equality will come from embedding fairness into systems, not just celebrating individual success stories. For real change, we need to focus more on sponsorship, not just mentorship.

“Mentors guide you; sponsors advocate for you. They put your name forward and trust you with responsibility before you feel entirely ready. That shift can accelerate progression meaningfully.

“We also need to normalise different leadership styles. Leadership doesn’t have one accent, personality or playbook. It can be collaborative, empathetic and commercially sharp at the same time. When organisations broaden what leadership “looks like”, more diverse talent can see themselves progressing.

“There’s shared responsibility too. Businesses must create transparent structures and equitable opportunities.

“Individuals, equally, need to raise their hands, stretch themselves and step into opportunities that feel slightly uncomfortable. Growth rarely happens in complete comfort, but it does happen with consistency.”

Joanna Sagan, Head of Strategy, Feeders Agency

“This year’s theme, “Give to Gain,” resonates strongly with me because real progress in gender equality has always been rooted in collective effort.

“Giving is about creating momentum – when we share knowledge, open doors, recommend talented women, amplify their voices, or simply make space at the table, we actively reshape opportunity.

“For me, “Give to Gain” means being intentional about sponsorship as well as mentorship: not only advising women, but advocating for them in rooms they may not yet have access to. It means challenging bias when we see it, redistributing visibility, and ensuring that growth opportunities are equitable.

“It also means investing time in building inclusive cultures where diverse leadership is not an exception but an expectation.

“Equality benefits everyone. Diverse perspectives drive stronger creativity, better decision-making, and more sustainable businesses.

“To help accelerate equality, I will continue to give my voice and my time to support and champion women’s advancement.”

Rachel Lewandowska, Managing Director, AVANTGARDE

 “For me, the theme ‘Give to Gain’ is a reminder of how far we have come. Women are now shaping their work life to suit them, and many businesses have become more flexible in response.

“I’ve seen many women across the industry redefine what it means to be successful, taking control of their work life and protecting their personal time and interests. It’s a far cry from the days when women needed to give every bone in their body to get ahead. Great talent shouldn’t be lost because we can’t provide greater flexibility.

“This year I think businesses can go one better and give all staff – not just women – opportunities to develop themselves and their career at the same time.

“At AVANTGARDE, we’ve instituted a global mentoring programme where we match mentors and mentees across our global offices. It enhances collaboration across our network, provides impartial support, and upskills both mentor and mentee – a real win-win.”

Subhrata Sinha, Project Manager, Cogworks

“It’s so important to encourage women to share their perspectives through internal talks, panels, and mentorship — hearing how other women navigate leadership helps make different paths visible and possible.

“It’s also vital to make mentorship part of the culture — hearing how other women navigate leadership can be both grounding and empowering”

Kasira Iqbal, Head of Delivery, Cogworks

“One thing organisations should actively give is greater awareness of where opportunity and responsibility sit. In the tech and digital industries, women often take on invisible work alongside their core roles, organising conversations, taking notes, or keeping projects moving.

“These contributions matter, but they shouldn’t automatically fall to the same people.

“When women step into leadership roles, there can also be unspoken pressure to prove more and to carry additional expectations.

“Leaders need to be intentional about how work and visibility are distributed, ensuring women have equal opportunity to lead and influence decisions.

“Stronger support networks between women in the industry are also key, championing each other helps build confidence, momentum and more balanced workplaces.”

Ana Santos, Associate Director, Solutions Architect EMEA, impact.com

“This year’s IWD theme is  “Give to Gain”, and this theme is my leadership philosophy in a nutshell – I believe in giving knowledge to gain strength.

“By equipping my team with new skills and frameworks, I’ve seen them grow in confidence, which has directly helped us improve our win rates.

“I also believe in giving support to gain excellence – by acting as a bridge for my team and ensuring they have what they need, they’re empowered to do their best work.

“And finally, by giving opportunities, we all gain innovation and build a stronger, more successful company.

“As a long-time impact.com employee who has grown through different roles, I am passionate about paying forward the career opportunities I’ve received.

“A key priority for me, particularly as the leader of the EMEA Solutions Architect team, is mentoring talented women and helping them build their own successful paths.

“I firmly believe that fostering an environment where everyone has an equal opportunity to take on challenging projects is mutually beneficial for the entire team.”

Stephanie Parry – EVP Client Management, Jellyfish

“Framing Give To Gain within the broader UN theme of ‘Rights, Justice, Action. For all women and girls’ is critical. Put simply, what can we give – be that time, mentorship, support, our voices, so all women gain / retain rights?



“As an industry that has the privilege of shaping culture – and working with the companies and brands that do that every day – spending our time consciously to advocate and actively drive change is essential.

“Initiatives such as BrandTech’s Bias Breaker (tackling bias in foundation models) enable us to lead this change, and I’m excited to see more of this in 2026 and beyond.”

Juliana Jackson – Cloud Director (Data Science), Jellyfish

“For as long as I can remember, I’ve just… shared. Knowledge, time, shortcuts, honest opinions…whatever I had that could help someone else, I gave it.

“I was never worried about losing anything by doing that. And over 15 years, somewhere between the community I stumbled into and the stages I somehow ended up on, the career took shape around the giving. The awards came. The trust came. The rooms got bigger.

“This International Women’s Day, I keep coming back to how much of that was possible because I never treated what I knew as something to protect.”

Also published in: Mediashotz