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Monday, October 19, 2026

The CEO taking action on workplace policies for women - BBC News

There is a graphic image of female empowerment seared in to Fiona Gordon's memory.

In the early 1990s, she was an impressionable young graduate, just starting her career in advertising. She attended a company event where a woman took to the stage to speak.

The imprinted image is of billiard-ball-red high heels.

The owner of the striking shoes was Ogilvy's global CEO at the time, Charlotte Beers. "She had this 'statement look' to magnify her persona," says Ms Gordon, "I remember just thinking, 'gosh, a woman can really get up to that position'."

In early 2021, Ms Gordon became CEO of Ogilvy UK. In the intervening three decades the advertising industry has made some progress towards becoming more gender-balanced, with representation of women in the workforce increasing - although it still has some way to go.

Inspired by those unforgettable shoes, Ms Gordon says she wants to make her own statement by bringing very practical changes in to the workplace that benefit women.

As an English Literature graduate, Ms Gordon was first attracted to advertising as it offered a mix of business and creativity.

The industry was starting to lose its male-dominated, macho, ethos by 1992 when she joined, according to Ms Gordon. This was the kind of culture epitomised by the Mad Men TV series set in the 1960s, a time when male executives had big offices and bigger egos.

"There was casual sexism when I started out, but not really overt," remembers Ms Gordon.

She says, these days "feistiness"...



Read Full Story: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60169366