Why women in Adland can’t win, unless they self-promote

Work hard, don’t brag, stay humble, be a ‘good girl’. For years, I believed that was the equation for success. Adland proved me wrong.

Women in advertising should be likeable, agreeable. “Clients prefer that”. Shrinking your achievements is positioned as a way to make more space for others. Shrinking your point of view to make space for the loud opinions of others.

And the women who confidently tell the world what they think? Often labelled difficult or cast out.

That’s the double bind I experienced. Stay quiet, and watch someone else get the pay rise you earned. Speak up, and get branded braggy, difficult, or greedy.

For men, the rules ran in reverse. Assert. Shout. Take space. That's how you get recognised (and paid).

And I’ve experienced this first-hand. I've been laughed at in a performance review for asking to be paid the same as men in the same role. I’ve been told to make myself smaller to protect the egos of others. I’ve watched women shape-shift and shrink in front of others.

The shrink-or-shout trap isn't just frustrating. It's expensive.

It leads to stalled promotions for women, gender pay gaps and unequal leadership opportunities. And these compound over time.

Just this week, Campaign reported the average pay gap across the advertising industry in the UK was 11.2%, compared with a national average of 8.3%. (Source)

And across the UK and much of Europe, women hold only around 31-32% of leadership roles, according to 2026 LinkedIn research, which argues that one reason for this is that women are promoted more slowly in their careers. (Source)

2025 Cambridge research links it to what they call the 'female modesty constraint': women are five times less likely to self-promote than men. Why? Because we're afraid of being disliked for it. (Source)

That insight is why we built the The Unhumble Project for Galaxy chocolate: a free five-step masterclass on the art of self-celebration, developed with confidence coach Tiwalola Adebayo. Because self-promotion is a skill we can all learn. And when done right, it can open up a whole new world for us.

The Unhumble Project is built around the 5Cs.

Clarity: Seeing your own value. Easy in theory, but women have been trained to shrink since childhood, so even spotting our own worth takes effort.

Confidence: Not the absence of fear. The willingness to act before fear talks you out of it.

Connection: Your win doesn't shrink anyone else's. Lift the women (and men) around you with the same energy you lift yourself.

Credibility: Quiet excellence is still excellence. But it doesn't get promoted. To be seen as a leader, you have to let yourself be seen.

Celebration: Joyful self-compassion. Not loud, not performative. Just the active habit of letting your achievements feel good.

My favourite tip from the training?

Keep an evidence log of your wins - big and small - for performance reviews, but mostly for yourself! We tend to quickly forget the amazing things we do, and it's such a joy to read through. It also helps to look through before posting on LinkedIn, for example, to give you a confidence boost.

And I’m starting to see the impact of the training.

A few days ago, I posted on LinkedIn about becoming the CEO of Onward. A few years ago, I wouldn't have. I'd have softened it. Called it luck. Stayed a ‘good girl’. Now I'll say it plainly: I earned it.

As Tiwalola says, 'It's time to stop shrinking, and start shining.'

If you want that next opportunity, promotion or pay rise, I’m telling you, it's time to start self-promoting.