Agencies have made substantial strides in upping gender diversity in leadership roles—recent research from She Runs It shows the makeup of women holding industry executive positions is just shy of half and work from the 3% Movement has bumped the percentage of female creative directors to 29% over the past decade. But few of these surveys manage to capture diversity all the way at the top.

“You don't really have the power until you own it,” said Christy Hiler, president and owner of ad agency Cornett, who is creating with Jean Freeman, principal and CEO at Zambezi, a new initiative called Own It to collect comprehensive data on the number of female-owned agencies.

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Hiler is well acquainted with the agency ladder. She began at Cornett nearly 20 years ago as an account planner, progressing to chief strategic officer then president and just over a year ago, 100% owner.

Self-reported data

Hiler is one of a small number of female agency owners in North America—as far as she knows. According to data cited by Own It from the North American Industry Classificaiton Systerm, which Hiler notes is remarkably incomplete and outdated, fewer than 1% of the 22,000 shops in the country are owned by women.

“Shortly after buying the agency [Cornett], I started asking how many other female agency owners there are and how many female agencies there are in the business,” she said. “And it was really hard to get a number and I still don't have one.” Own It aims to do just that via self-reported data.

The Own It website declares, “We want to see more woman-owned ad agencies. A lot more. That starts with knowing how many of us are already out there—and what’s standing in the way of everyone else.”

The statement links to a survey that asks whether or not the filer’s agency is owned by a woman or non-binary person, the percentage owned by that person and basic contact and agency information. It also has an option for those that aren’t yet agency owners to write in what stands in the way of their ascent to the top.

The result is a table that lists agencies and their owners, some linking out to agency websites or owners’ LinkedIn profiles to connect.

Who the bank calls

“I talked to a lot of folks that are at See Her and She Says and Have Her Back and 3% and Female Quotient—there's a lot of organizations that are focused on getting women into more positions of leadership,” said Hiler. “Why are we just stopping there? Let's stop at ownership, where they really have the power and they're building wealth.”

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“There are numerous efforts to increase women in leadership roles, which are needed and showing change,” said Freeman. “We are focusing on ownership because an effort like this hasn’t been done before. Ownership is a very different set of realities. You are not only the company leader, but also the first number the bank calls.”

As of writing, the table only lists 19 female or non-binary agency owners, but Hiler hopes that by connecting this community, Own It’s reach can expand at an exponential rate. The initiative already has support from prominent industry figures like Terri Meyer and Sandy Greenberg of Terri & Sandy, Frances Webster, CEO of Walrus and Valerie Moizel, chief executive and chief creative officer of The Woo. 

“The goal is to increase the numbers because we’ve seen the powerful impact data can have on creating change,” said Freeman. “Another need for data is to create awareness for brands that have the power to work with women-owned agencies. This database can educate brands who are working to support diversity among the agencies they add to their roster.”

Podcast guests

“Let's put more women in the position of ownership and let's just talk about it,” added Hiler. “I really do believe sometimes it can be as simple as being aware and intentional in order to see great progress made.”

Part of Own It’s initial plan is a podcast where Hiler interviews influential women in advertising. So far the podcast, which launched earlier this month, has featured Freeman as well as Asmirh Davis, partner and chief strategy officer at Majority; Susan Lee Colby and Kathy Sjogren, co-owners of Grace Creative; 3% Movement’s Kat Gordon; and Nancy Hill, former president and CEO of 4A’s.

As Own It expands, the duo hopes the initiative can be a source of community and inspiration for current and aspiring female agency owners, perhaps even one day incorporating a mentorship program.

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“Our first hope is to create a community to showcase success stories, which will inspire more women to start their own agencies,” said Freeman. “We also want to identify and show that there are women agency owners who are available and ready to help others propel their businesses. There has never been a better time to start a business. The past two years have turned upside down and many work constraints for women have been lifted. Zambezi was started with a cellphone and computer full of contacts. Sometimes the hardest thing is giving yourself permission to start.”