The Independent Media Agencies of Australia (IMAA) has wrapped up its inaugural Female Leaders of Tomorrow programme, culminating in events held for mentees and mentors in oOh!media’s Sydney and Melbourne office lasts week.

Aimed at providing a real-world solution to address the gender pay gap at senior levels, the 2023-24 programme was led by IMAA DE&I Chair and Affinity CEO, Angela Smith, and Wendy Gower, an executive trainer and coach from We Grow. The structured six-month mentoring programme included online and face-to-face sessions, training, and meet-ups with mentors.

"The outcomes of this programme exceeded our expectations. It was important to us to ensure this programme was so much more than feel-good rhetoric and had some baseline measures to determine its impact on the mentees," said Smith. "Based on their responses, every participant told us the programme had helped them move into a more proactive phase of leadership, and they were already applying new skills and perspectives in their day-to-day roles. This fundamental shift underscores the effectiveness of mentorship in fostering continuous learning. The results were a resounding validation of the role this programme has played will continue to play in the development of these women's careers and beyond."

The second Female Leaders of Tomorrow programme was also announced, with applications for the next intake to be announced soon. Feedback from the pilot programme was overwhelmingly positive, with 100% of mentees recording an uplift in their leadership ability and 100% recording improvement in their ability to actively apply their new leadership capabilities to their roles. Furthermore, 86% of participants felt more confident to use their leadership skills in more difficult situations and “put themselves out there”.

"The scope and depth of learning gained through the programme has been nothing short of inspirational. Without exception, these women have all grown and discovered practical ways to build on their already great potential. They have learned about the power of vulnerability, how to be themselves in difficult circumstances and how to effectively address imposter syndrome - an outsized problem for most women in leadership," said Gower.

"The way the IMAA Female Leaders of Tomorrow programme has been designed and its ability to give back to everyone involved, is invaluable to the future of our industry and the next generation of female leaders. Through my involvement as a mentor, I’ve discovered there is a new generation who have found their voices more confidently than when I was starting out, and I'm incredibly encouraged by this development," said Cathy O’Connor, Mentor and oOh!media CEO.

The IMAA was established in February 2020 as a new, national industry body that represents Australia’s independent media agencies.