Shauna Mahoney, Group Account Director, LIGHTBLUEI landed in the region in June 2024, moving from London to Dubai to take on a new challenge. Almost immediately, I found myself asking: what does it mean to be a woman in advertising here?
The answers weren’t straightforward. What I’ve discovered is a place of remarkable ambition, full of opportunity and momentum that is still negotiating the balance between tradition and progress. Some days I’m inspired by the power and presence of women I work alongside; other days, I walk into meetings where my outstretched hand is left hanging.
This isn’t a retrospective on how far we’ve come—I haven’t been here long enough to comment on the past. But in my time on the ground, I’ve noticed the complexity and contradictions of gender dynamics in our industry.
Thrown into the deep end
My first project in the region was no soft landing. I was leading the launch of an experience centre working across the UAE and Saudi Arabia —high-stakes, fast-paced, with a team skewed heavily male.
There wasn’t time to settle in. I had to establish credibility quickly: take initiative, drive meetings, and make decisions without waiting for permission or consensus.
That approach earned me trust. But I won’t pretend it wasn’t intimidating. There was no room for imposter syndrome or quiet confidence. I had to lead with certainty, even when I didn’t feel it.
There’s a pressure in these spaces — to be perfect, to be unshakeable — that I don’t see applied as intensely to men. And perfectionism, as we know, is the enemy of progress. It discourages the risk-taking we need for real creativity and innovation.
Loud voices, fast decisions
Leadership here often seems to reward volume and speed. The loudest voice usually wins. That’s not necessarily a bad thing — decisiveness can be powerful—but it doesn’t leave much space for reflective thinking or rigorous strategic planning.
In my experience, clients skip straight to execution. We’re briefed on what needs to be made, not what problem needs to be solved.
That can limit the transformative power of creativity and means solutions can be a risk, and for women who don’t often get the same grace when failures happen, it’s not easy to make the big calls without doing your due diligence, a luxury that is rare in the region.
The double standard
I’ve worked with incredible women in senior roles — at least half of my key clients are women. They’re smart, decisive, and capable.
But there’s often a thread of risk aversion I’ve noticed — not because of a lack of courage, but because the stakes feel higher.
For many women, failure isn’t just failure. It can be seen as confirmation that we didn’t belong in the room in the first place.
The data reflects this dynamic. A 2023 Wilson Centre study found that 90 per cent of men in the MENA region believe men are better leaders than women — even though women more consistently demonstrate the qualities that both genders value in leadership. The contradiction is staggering.
When women lead on their own terms
Some of the most inspiring women I’ve worked with are those who run their own businesses. With autonomy comes freedom — not just in decision-making, but in how they lead.
Take Fix, for example, led by the incredible Sarah Hamouda. In a short space of time, she’s built a brand with real industry influence, without compromising her vision or diluting her voice.
She doesn’t accept every opportunity that comes her way, and as a result, she’s built something more meaningful. She leads as a woman, not by mimicking male leadership styles, and the results speak for themselves.
The path forward
There’s undeniable talent here — and not just among women. But we need to create environments where that talent can show up in all its forms. That means rethinking what leadership looks like. The skills many women bring — empathy, emotional intelligence, nuanced team management — are often undervalued, despite being essential to effective and sustainable leadership.
My experience and recent MBA helped me to refine and apply those skills. Now that I can see them clearly, I’m also painfully aware of how often they’re missing from the leadership conversations in this region. And yet, they’re the very skills that drive loyalty, collaboration, and performance.
I’m fortunate enough to manage a team of all women, women who are at different stages of their career, but all with undeniable potential and excitement for what comes next and my biggest mission is to support them on that journey – to instill a high-performance mindset that leads to consistent performance regardless of the circumstances. I want them to have the confidence and resilience to thrive in the current context whilst upskilling them to be part of the change we want to see.
The Middle East is a region in motion — attracting global talent, leading in innovation, and redefining what’s possible. But if we want to realise its full potential, we need to make space for different voices and leadership styles. We need to stop asking women to prove themselves and start recognising the value they already bring.
It’s an exciting time to be here. But the real progress will come when talent isn’t just welcomed — it’s understood, respected, and trusted in all its forms.
By Shauna Mahoney, Group Account Director, LIGHTBLUE
