JAA Planner/Buyer Rosie Bettis and Account Manager Hollie Blaxill reflect on Lori Meakin‘s talk at the JAA offices earlier this month, From Conflict to Connection: Lori Meakin on Turning Insight into Impact. Here are their key takeaways:

At JAA, one of the UK’s first independent media agencies, we’ve always championed creativity, diversity and independent thinking. As an industry, advertising has made huge strides – but we’d be the first to admit there’s still work to do, especially when it comes to gender dynamics.

Enter Lori Meakin, Award-winning strategist, Author of Amazon bestseller No More Menemies. Consultant, coach & speaker & Planning Partner at adam&eveDDB. Lori’s work is rooted in tackling a deep-seated cultural issue around how traditional gender roles – and the tension they often create are holding us all back, men included.

🔧 ACTION 1: Address gendered design defaults – Too many systems, spaces and products are still designed around male defaults. Time to question what we’ve normalised – and rebuild with everyone in mind.

👂 ACTION 2: Position listening as a power move – Listening isn’t passive – it’s powerful. In leadership, collaboration and creativity, listening drives trust and results.

🏠 ACTION 3: Don’t forget about the domestic sphere – Domestic life impacts professional life. Let’s stop pretending they’re separate – and start valuing caregiving and emotional labour as real contributions.

🌸 ACTION 4: Get men to value more feminine-coded things – Empathy, care, vulnerability – these aren’t “nice to haves.” They’re essential. And everyone benefits when they’re truly valued.

🧠ACTION 5: Challenge masculine superiority myths – Let’s rethink what “strong leadership” really means. It’s not about dominance or ego – it’s about emotional intelligence, humility and shared success. True strength isn’t gendered.

At JAA, we’ve always believed in doing things differently. As one of the UK’s first independent media agencies, challenging the status quo is in our DNA. We’ve built our reputation by backing the underdog – championing voices, brands and causes that deserve to be heard. We don’t rest on reputation – we build on it.

Supporting and amplifying voices like Lori Meakin’s is part of our commitment to creating a more inclusive industry. She reminded us that we all must play a part in making change. It’s time we moved past combative conversations and into collaborative ones. Her message isn’t just feminist – it’s humanist.

Disclaimer: This blog was written by the JAA team with the support of AI-assisted research and ideation tools in editing, including ChatGPT. All content was created and approved by a human author.