The DDB Mudra Group has successfully launched ‘The Phyllis India Project’, a year-long mentorship programme to empower and encourage women to thrive in leadership roles and drive professional advancement, in order to create a more gender-balanced firm.
Each participant receives a personalised career plan based on their goals and development areas as part of the comprehensive training programme. The curriculum goes beyond professional bounds by assisting participants in navigating mental and societal problems such as guilt-free motherhood, overcoming impostor syndrome, courage and self-belief, making one's voice heard, and other topics.
In the form of training modules, mentoring meetings, and fireside chats with industry professionals, the Phyllis India programme is designed to give consistent and individualised interventions. The leadership team tracks and reviews each participant's career goal and growth on a monthly basis.
Several industry professionals will offer one-on-one and group mentorship sessions as part of the programme such as Virginia Sharma (VP - Brand Solutions, Jio Saavn), Suparna Mitra (CEO – Titan Watches), Diana Sukopp (CCO, DDB Germany), Gayatri Yadav (CMO – India & SEA, Sequoia Capital), Noelle Baer (VP & Strategy Director, DDB Chicago), Vasuta Agarwal (MD - APAC, Inmobi), Varsha Kaura (Global Business Director, DDB Worldwide), Indira Rangarajan (National Content Director - Digital, Mirchi) and others. The Group aims that by launching this programme, it will be able to build a community of today's women leaders who can serve as role models for future women leaders.
In 2017, the DDB Mudra Group was the first to enrol people in the global Phyllis Project. The company launched the Indian edition, which addresses the cultural obstacles that women leaders confront in the nation, based on the worldwide program's key concepts and pillars. The pilot of the Phyllis India Project began in 2020. Since then, the programme has been preparing its first group of female leaders.
'Equal Parenting’ is another campaign aimed at assisting employees in balancing their personal obligations as parents with their professional ambitions. It is motivated by the need to keep moms in the employment and to make men equal parents. The focus of both guided and unstructured sessions is on ungendering and reframing the roles of mothers and fathers.
Aditya Kanthy, CEO & MD, DDB Mudra Group, said, “Gender gaps influence the society, culture, economy and the way in which we shape our world for the next generation. Supporting the advancement of women and non-binary individuals by addressing the challenges they face is a global priority for the Group, and we in India have taken it very seriously. It’s inspiring to watch the participants of the Phyllis program grow personally and professionally, take on new roles, and steer the company towards a future with unbound potential. Leaders like Mehak Jaini who now heads Strategy at 22feet Tribal WW, and Sharon Misra who is now leading Exxon Mobil’s business, are great examples of how the program enables and empowers women to lead the biggest businesses in the market. Our notable alumni from this global programme include Shagun Seda, Marketing Director at Netflix, and Sonal Jhuj who leads Global Brand Strategy at Lego Global”.
The UN's Women Empowerment Principles (WEP) were recently endorsed by the Group. The WEPs platform provides a global network of like-minded enterprises as well as assistance on improving gender equality and women's empowerment in the workplace, marketplace, and community to the private sector.
Rita Verma, Executive Vice President and Head-HR, DDB Mudra Group said, “At DDB, we know that better product and cultures emerge from diverse and inclusive teams. That’s why initiatives like The Phyllis Project are at the heart of our people strategy. We hope to learn and strengthen our current efforts from the UNWEP network, which is yet another step in making a deeper, meaningful impact. This impact drives culture, company policies, business, and gender parity at work and at home”.
'The Phyllis India Project' presently collaborates with 25 of the DDB Mudra Group's top female talent and has held over 35 group sessions and 100 one-on-one mentoring sessions. The programme is named after Phyllis Robinson, the first female copy chief in the United States and the first copywriter at DDB Worldwide. Phyllis was noted for her defiant creative energy, challenging the status quo and breaking down barriers for women in the profession. Her energy continues to inspire women leaders today as a symbol of the creative revolution.
