Publicis has established a business resources group, VivaWomen!, to help promote positive changes for women in the workplace.
The initiative will focus on pay equality, unconscious bias and sexual harassment and bullying this year and has already developed a new parental leave policy.
VivaWomen! has also launched a ‘Mentoring in the Mid-Years’ program for 170 women from 13 different brands with events and workshops in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
The group will be led by Sarah Palmer and Melinda Geertz from Leo Burnett; Shelby Robinson from Sapient Razorfish; Julie Dormand from Mercer Bell; and Pauly Grant from Publicis Media (pictured).
“VivaWomen! is an accelerator for change, and I’m so proud to be part of the team bringing this initiative to Australia. There’s a grass roots momentum driving progressive conversations about diversity and gender, and there’s a growing expectation that organisations step up and meet the challenges,” Leo Burnett CEO Geertz said.
MercerBell MD Dormand explained that VivaWomen! consulted a broad group of women to make sure its focus areas are relevant to the 1,000-plus women who work Publicis Group in Australia.
The new parental leave policy includes “industry-leading” parental leave payments, as well as flexibility and increased support during the return-to-work months.
“Many of us have children, and we know firsthand how important it is to have the right financial, workplace and cultural supports in place,” Leo Burnett head of talent Sarah Palmer said.
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