Natalie Shardan, Managing Partner, Serviceplan Middle EastAt 42, I can say I’ve earned my seat at the table. I’ve led, built, fought for my voice and, more importantly, used it. But I also know that I grew up in a boys’ club. Not always by intent, but by default.
The advertising world I stepped into, like many others, was built on male norms. You learned to adapt. To speak up just enough. To walk the tightrope between confidence and “likeability.” And even when you make it, you carry the unspoken code of that club inside you.
That’s the part I’m unlearning.
Because what I’ve started to notice and admire deeply is the younger generation of women around me. Women in their twenties and early thirties who didn’t grow up with
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