Fiona Salmon currently leads Global Partnerships for Captify. A digital industry veteran in the UK, she was the first person to work for 1plusx in the UK. Prior to that, she spent 10 years at a number of media owners including Trinity Mirror, Bauer and News International.
Why did you join the DLL and what were you hoping to get out of it?
I was drawn to the DLL because it’s an open, honest group. They have not only created an amazing network of women in the digital industry but also a safe space and environment for females. It is a group dedicated to learning from others’ experiences and sharing your own in hopes of offering guidance and supporting colleagues and industry friends navigating similar circumstances.
What are the biggest challenges, and opportunities for women in the industry today?
There are so many opportunities opening up. The recent (and much needed) awareness into DE&I is an open invite to the party, and I really feel like women’s voices are starting to get heard. I’ve been impressed by the work that’s gone into industry panel events to represent more diverse voices and opinions. The all white male panel is definitely starting to feel like a thing of the past but we still have some way to go and groups like this are helping us to get there
Of course there are still some challenges and I think that these are held at a systemic level, not necessarily at industry level. The global Pay Gap is still a huge issue, and I feel society still sees women as primary carers. As long as this belief continues and we still see unequal maternity/paternity policies, I don’t believe equality will truly happen. While the C-suite is still predominantly men , the awareness around the need to address this and drive change is growing and the conversations that need to be had to take action are starting to happen.
What does the industry need to do to better champion women?
There is still a lot of work to do at the top, with only 30% of leadership roles being taken by women (IPA) versus 50% in junior roles. It’s clear we are losing women and we need to fully understand what’s causing this. We need to do more digging here if we are ever to get gender diversity at the top.
You work with companies across the digital ecosystem – what are the biggest challenges, and opportunities overall for digital advertising this year?
Sustainability. The Greenpeace activism at Cannes Lions is a wake up call, showing we all need to educate ourselves and take responsibility for the role our industry has in burning carbon. We then all need to take action and start to reduce it. I’ve been impressed with companies like Scope3 and Good-Loop and excited about the Ad Net Zero drive. I’m currently trying to make their online course available for Captifiers.
What is your biggest achievement in digital to date?
I’m passionate about using ad technology to keep quality journalism free to access. I’ve devoted my digital career to creating meaningful and profitable partnerships to support this reality.
