Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) sets up DAN Women's Council

Launched on February 2, the Council will be chaired by Rajni Menon, executive vice-president, Carat India.

In order to recognise its women workforce, Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN), a global media Group which specialises in the domains of media, digital and creative communications services, has announced the launch of DAN Women's Council.

The DAN Women's Council will help the agency's female employees on a pan-India basis to grow and realise their potential based on merit, within the senior organisational hierarchy, through a structured mentoring process which would be safe as well as equal.

The Council will be chaired by Rajni Menon, executive vice-president, Carat India, while the advisory committee comprises of the following as its key members: Nipun Kapur, chief operating officer, WATConsult, Divya Karani, chief executive officer, Dentsu Media, Sunita Prakash, senior vice-president, Dentsu Marcom, Neha Mayekar, vice-president, finance, Dentsu Aegis Network, Dimple Maheshwari, director, human resources, Dentsu Media, Harsha Joshi, executive vice-president, group trading, Dentsu Aegis Network, Komal Verma, associate vice-president, human resources and administration, Fountainhead-MKTG, and Simi Sabhaney, chief executive officer, Dentsu Communications.

A physical interaction among the Council's members will take place every quarter, while a conference for the same will be organised every fortnight, both of which will be held depending on the requirements, says the company in an official communique.

The company further says in a press note, "This is for the first time that a Council of such stature has been envisaged and crafted by any marketing communications agency in India."

The note further states, "While the number of women working in the industry is steadily increasing within the junior and mid-levels, the workforce at senior positions witness a significant decline when compared to their counterparts in other Asian countries. This is because a compelling number of women choose to move out post marriage/child birth due to various circumstantial pressures. If they do choose to join back the workforce post their maternity gap, they tend to lose their seniority. Of course, reasons such as harassment at workplace, the feeling of getting lower compensation than their male counterparts and lack of flexibility at workplace, which could allow them to manage work and home, also add to the pressure."

The press note further goes on to say, "Dentsu Aegis Network plans to expand the Council to include more women leaders in the future. The Council will also work on getting the male perspective through representation within the Council. It will conduct gender sensitisation workshops and create options for delivering additional flexibility."

Chairperson Menon says, "Though at an overall level the DAN numbers are significantly healthier than the industry average, we felt it was time to take a proactive step as leaders of the marketing communications industry to ensure that in a growing network, the environment and policies are conducive to grow the women numbers at all levels."

Ashish Bhasin, chairman and chief executive officer, South Asia, Dentsu Aegis Network, and chairman, Posterscope and MKTG, Asia-Pacific, feels that women leaders and managers will continue to play a very crucial role in the agency's growth to become the second largest marketing communications agency Group in India by the end of 2017.

"Today, we are already the leading network when it comes to creating a balanced and uniform work environment for our women workforce in India. Now, our ambition is to surpass global standards and make DAN the gold standard for encouraging the women talent force. I believe our women managers are second to none," says Bhasin.

In India, Dentsu Aegis Network is supported through its seven global network brands namely Carat, iProspect, Isobar, Posterscope, Vizeum, MKTG, Amnet, and the Dentsu branded agencies -- Dentsu Creative Impact, Dentsu Marcom, Dentsu Communications, Dentsu Media, Taproot Dentsu and Dentsu Webchutney. Also, newly added to the group are the recently acquired local brands of Milestone Brandcom, WATConsult and Fountainhead-MKTG.