March 7, 2022

International Women’s Day X JUMP 2022

The first version of this article was written in March 2020. To say a lot has happened in the last two years is a bit of an understatement.

In 2021, Kamala Harris became the first female Vice President as well as the first African American and first Asian American Vice President.

Tragically just before this, the world lost Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who did so much work for gender equality.

The pandemic challenged the planet but Jacinda Ardern demonstrated true compassion in her leadership of New Zealand.

And now the world is watching a devastating and disgusting war being launched on Ukraine by Russia. Our hearts go out to the whole country. Two amazing women to follow are the chefs / food writers Olia Hercules and Alissa Timoshkina who are doing so much brilliant work running their #CookForUkraine campaign.

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We’ve revisited our conversation with some of Jump’s super-talented women and updated our International Women’s Day reel.

The sequence features many of the amazing women of all ages, nationalities and talents that have appeared in graphics designed by Jump over the years.

The edit begins with authentic black and white photos from the titles of the BBC sitcom ‘Up The Women’. Appropriately, this series was based on the early 1900s suffragette movement. The world has come a long way since then but there’s still much further to go – which is why International Women’s Day is so important.

We are lucky at Jump to work with inspiring, creative, talented women. Whether they are art directors, producers, designers, animators, illustrators, production managers, runners or of course our clients.

We asked them a few questions about what it’s like being a woman in this industry and which women have particularly inspired them in life.

Contributors:

Karon Hall – Operations Director

Kate Norley – Creative Producer

Hannah Nicholls – Senior Production Manager

Becky Clacey – Middleweight Designer

Sancha Worthington – Production Manager

Harriet Gillian – Animator

Nicky Thompson – Director at improperagency.com

 

What women have inspired you or continue to inspire you the most?

(KH) Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her fight for freedom. Nazanin has been detained for almost seven years by the Iranian authorities on charges she strenuously denies. Nazanin continues to be used as diplomatic leverage by Iran in their negotiations with the British government over the settling of a £400 million debt which dates back to the 1970s. Despite serving her first and second sentences, she is still under house arrest. #FreeNazanin #EndHostageDiplomacy

(KN) The New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern for her handling of COVID in New Zealand. At a time when it has been very challenging to be a leader of a country she has shown a huge sense of conviction in her response to the pandemic. She kept COVID out of New Zealand while vaccines were being developed and by doing so saved thousands of lives. Now the country is opening up and she is having to be strong once again as she faces a large anti-vaccine movement.

(HN) Erin Gibson – Feminist and teacher of what it is to be an ally. Ava DuVernay – insanely talented filmmaker.  Ruth Bader Ginsburg – no explanation needed.

(BC) Inspiration isn’t the right word but when I think about what my life would have been like if I was born even just a century ago I feel a great privilege. The women who sacrificed and suffered for me to be where I am today I am forever grateful to.

(SW) Growing up I always thought Frida Khalo was pretty badass, being her own muse and persevering through severe physical and mental pain. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Michelle Obama and Jacinda Ardern also have a huge place in my heart for their warmth, strength and brilliance.

(HG) Recently it’s been all my female friends – in and out of the industry – who I am in awe of the most. They’re so incredible it’s mind-blowing. I’m lucky to have that. Also, for any animators out there that don’t know about She Drew That, that’s been a huge inspiration over the last year, check it out!

(NT) Mary Beard, who is an amazing and inspiring historian. Who also still speaks out despite the constant negative press because she is an outspoken woman…. and loves Europe : )

 

What would you change to make the world more gender equal? (#BreakTheBias)

(KH) The laws and culture in some Middle Eastern countries need drastic reform to address the inequalities between men and women and enable the region to be more progressive.

(KN) The responsibility for child care and home life, which I feel is still largely dealt with by females despite them having equally important jobs as their male partners. This has been even more prevalent during the pandemic which added homeschooling, dealing with children’s anxiety and lockdown to the list.

(HN) Equal pay, Flexible working for all, Better funding for childcare, End period poverty, More women in positions of power.

(BC) Other than the already often talked about topics of equal pay, equal rights and equal opportunities – one thing I would change, although it does seem to be getting better, is the stereotypical views and opinions pushed onto children before they are even born. Pink dolls for girls, blue cars for boys. As a loather of pink, I could rant on about this alone – but I won’t! Like so many things it needs to start from the beginning if we are going to get real long-lasting change. Also people should be respected and valued based on their actions and behaviour and not by someone else’s preconceived ideas. That goes for anybody / any gender.

(SW) I’d love to see more mentoring for young girls, more women supporting women. There’s already a massive increase in women-focused networking events. I actually occasionally attend Women In Media at The Hospital Club, it encourages successful women in media & arts to speak up about their journeys in a male-dominated society and every time I leave feeling inspired and empowered. More, more, more, please.

Another thing is not just questioning what it is to be a woman, but questioning what it is to be a man, it’s important that we all self-reflect and widen the conversation.

(HG) Something as simple as asking your female friends what they’ve experienced and how it makes them feel, can enlighten and inspire more men to support the cause more proactively. Equality is for all, it shouldn’t be down to one group of people to fight for it.

(NT) The patriarchy….. so therefore pretty much everything.

 

Have you ever had to overcome any obstacles in the industry based on your gender?

(KH) Not in our industry directly, but one client from Qatar would not recognise a female (me) in a senior position, it was very frustrating! Even more so when our London based partner, failed to introduce me in order to respect their culture.

(KN) I don’t have a specific obstacle but, like anyone in any job, I’ve had to work hard to make the most of every moment. Design isn’t a 9 to 5 job so those moments tend to turn into long hours, long days and long years.

(HN) Fifteen years ago (and before my time at Jump) I was probably expected to make the tea over my male colleagues and occasionally asked to wear a skirt when an important client was coming in, but times seem to have changed (or at least, I’ve stopped working for misogynists).

(BC) I am sad to say I have come across the same issue a lot of women have with equal pay for equal opportunities. It’s an issue we are all aware of, notably the BBC and their best paid ‘stars’ – that’s happening at the top so there is no surprise it also happens at the bottom.

(SW) I’ve worked in a few industries now and I’ve often experienced environments where women get all the niceties and are frequently glossed over while men get to answer all the serious questions and make all the hard-hitting decisions.  At moments in my life, I definitely feel I’ve suffered from the fear of failure and have often felt that I would have to adopt stereotypically male attributes in order to succeed. I seriously admire women who find their own voice and own that we can do this attitude.

(HG) The industry can be a hard nut to crack for everyone but I’ve definitely been in situations where suggestions I’ve made about a project have been overlooked, only for a male coworker to make the same comment and for it to be implemented. (I also once got told, “it looks better when a woman makes the tea,” right before a meeting.)

(NT) Yes. As one of the 12% of senior female creatives I have to shout louder to make myself heard.

 

What advice would you give to young girls growing up in this world?