Who gets to be a champion of change?
Last week, I attended the inaugural Champions of Change awards hosted by Adnews. It was, in many ways, a hopeful night. A new awards program, new faces being recognised, and a chance to reflect on what progress really looks like in our industry.
One of the most moving moments for me was watching my dear friend, and fellow values-led agitator, Jen Dobbie win the Golden Hammer for Changemaker of the Year, nominated by none other than Cindy Gallop. That kind of recognition matters. It tells us that the heart work, the invisible work, the values work is finally being seen.
But amid the applause, I found myself holding discomfort.
Two of the night’s most prestigious Champion of Change awards went to WPP—a global holding company that recently removed all DEI commitments from its annual report. Not scaled back. Not reframed. Removed entirely.
(L-R) Mikhaila Warburton, Claire Waring, Jen Dobbie, Jasmin Bedir, Jet Swain
How can an organisation step away from diversity, equity, and inclusion as a public priority and then be honoured, even locally, as a leader of that very work?
This isn’t about blaming individuals. But when the head of People & Culture at WPP, a man, got up to accept both awards with a silent female colleague beside him, I asked: why wasn’t she invited to speak? His response? “She didn’t have the confidence.”
In the Affection Economy, we talk about leadership not as title or tenure, but as the ability to lift others into visibility. It’s about nurturing voices, not replacing them. Coaching confidence, not gatekeeping it. You don’t get to claim a DEI award if you don’t practice inclusion in the moment that matters most: the one where the mic is passed.
What made the evening even more complex is that some aspects of diversity were being rightly celebrated, especially around neurodivergence, disability, First Nations work, and cultural inclusion. That’s progress, and it deserves to be recognised.
But what was missing?
Gender.
Gender diversity, the kind that still sees women underrepresented in creative leadership, excluded from awards, and overlooked on power lists, was quietly left off the table.
Gender equity isn’t optional. It’s foundational. Women are not a special interest group. We’re 50% of the population and often the ones doing the invisible labour of nurturing other forms of diversity, inclusion, and care.
I couldn’t help but notice who wasn’t on the Power List. Jen Sharpe, founder of Think HQ, a values-led, female-founded agency with groundbreaking practices around parenting, workplace flexibility, and equity, didn’t appear on that list. But the MD of Thinkerbell Margie Reid, an agency at the centre of Campaign Brief’s all-male creative leadership scandal last year? She did.
This isn’t about exclusion. It’s about recalibration. Who do we reward? Who do we centre? And are we brave enough to recognise the people doing the deep, slow, system-changing work … even when they’re not part of the in-crowd?
The author Jet Swain
We believe in a way of doing business that puts people before ego, values before vanity, and care before convenience. It’s not soft. It’s not fluffy. It’s the hardest work of all because it requires us to be accountable, visible, and human.
That’s what the Champions of Change awards should be about. And to Adnews’ credit, this new initiative creates space for these exact conversations. But now we must go further. Let’s move toward peer-nominated recognition. Let’s diversify judging panels, not just demographically, but in thought, lived experience, and sector context. Let’s stop mistaking corporate clout for cultural contribution.
Because when we give our highest honours to those walking away from their commitments, we send a dangerous message: that change is only performative. That leadership is only cosmetic.
Real change-makers are out here doing the work. Often without awards. Often without platforms. Often while also raising kids, fighting burnout, and navigating the very systems they’re trying to change.
Let’s make sure we see them.
Let’s honour them.
Let’s lead like them.
Jet Swain is the founder of The Affection Economy, a ‘values-led leadership practice redefining how we live, lead, and belong’. She is a keynote speaker, mentor, author, and former agency executive.
I agree that awards nominations aren’t perfect – none of them are. But naming those who you think shouldn’t have won – is that necessary, or even accurate?
WPP globally has removed DE&I from its reports, yes. And it’s very frustrating. This only happened in March 2025, towards the end of the awards period, but that’s by the by. Also, I wouldn’t necessarily class WPP as part of ‘the in crowd’. But whatever – the point is that these are Australian awards, not global. Read Aimee Buchanan (she was in B&T the other day) about how gender diversity remains so central to the WPP media operation she leads. In couple of weeks I am personally giving a DE&I diversity/gender-related talk to a WPP company all-staffer, organised by their still thriving DE&I team/committee.
Incidentally, I’ve also given this talk to Thinkerbell, proactively requested, organised and moderated by…yes, Margie Reid. Who also does a lot behind the scenes that not many are aware of, ironically enough qualifying her by one of your definitions. Thinkerbell certainly wasn’t the only agency involved in the Campaign thing but I do remember them being one of the few agencies (at least that I saw) to own their mistake and pledge to do better. As for the man saying that the woman didn’t have the confidence to speak on stage…well, unless she contradicts this, what was he supposed to do, force her to talk?
Truly, I do understand your frustration with the way lists are put together – and I would love to see the field broadened, and for Jen Sharpe to win something in this space, I think she’s amazing. But do you really need to tear down actual winners like this, after the fact? It just feels a bit churlish; at the end of the day they’ve won for reasons, some known, some less known; and while yes of course there are unsung heroes who should be up there, and the selection method could be improved, in the spirit of us being united and rowing the same set of oars here, I think the winners should be accepted, not publicly censured.
Hi Jet – did you ask the woman beside the WPP exec why she didn’t speak? Instead of relying only on the male’s POV? Weird decision given the focus of this piece.
Also a bit ironic if she simply dislikes public speaking.
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Im reading this wondering why the author gets to point out the women she thinks should and should not be recognised.
This article is everything wrong with the woman’s movement.
All women need to be encouraging all women – if you’re not doing that you’re a part of the problem.
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I’m with Jet on the bigger issues, our industry still has a really long way to go on real diversity in leadership.
But, calling out and singaling out another woman in leadership to make the point feels like the wrong fight.
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I don’t like the idea of women publicly singling out other women of not being deserving of an award they’ve won. This feels mean.
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I find this article bearing absolutely no relationship to the fact that the overwhelming majority of CMOs in this industry are female .
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Warren Buffet completed a 5 year study for Berkshire Hathaway and his team of analysts concluded DEI had not added one dollar to the productivity of companies.
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Is this really about DEI ?
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I’m not sure that singling out the only male succeeding in an almost exclusively female profession helps your argument about gender equality.
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I think sections of this piece miss the mark for sure, but you do tend to see the same thing on display at B&T WIM awards. It’s the same (very high up) people across largely media companies – and select agencies, who really enjoy their annual spotlight. They’ve even done photo shoots for it in the past… Sad reality is it’s about profile. How about for one year, they step aside and give an up and coming female colleague the limelight ? Do people privately practice what they publicly preach? Just a thought.
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