Smelly Lunch Stories: ‘I started to realise that I’m not all that different’
Last week's panelists
Being “different” should be a superpower, not a barrier that hinders one’s progress in a career, industry leaders explained at a panel event.
At the inaugural Smelly Lunch Stories event at Kyiv Social in Sydney last Thursday, the industry gathered to listen to co-founder, An Le, WPP’s ANZ president, Rose Herceg, and Pedestrian.TV and Linkby co-founder, Chris Wirasinha, share their stories and experiences of being “different” in the industry.
Smelly Lunch Stories, launched last month, champions people from culturally diverse backgrounds, with hopes to increase the number of ethnically-diverse executives and managers in the marketing, media, and advertising industry.
It was founded by BWS’ An Le, It’s Friday’s Michelle Miroforidis, Mediahub’s Linda Fagerlund, and Dentsu Creative’s Graham Alvarez-Jarratt, and hopes to create change in the industry, making it one where people from diverse backgrounds can belong and build careers as future leaders.
United by similar childhood experiences – that being their lunchboxes didn’t look or smell like everyone else’s – the four hope to acknowledge the current state of the industry, share success stories, understand the lived experiences of ethnically-diverse leaders, and break down the current cycle to create change.
Moderated by Gambol Creative’s Camey O’Keefe, the panel delved into their own ‘smelly lunch stories’ – and experiences growing up.
(L-R): O’Keefe, Herceg, Wirasinha, Li
A common experience was the pressure from their communities, families, and friends – particular their parents – to take “the safe path” in their careers.
Wirasinha said he remembered his Dad trying to talk him out of doing marketing, and being pressured to do finance, accounting, something “safe”.
“The concept of making money from something that is in any way creative, it’s something that he didn’t understand.”
Herceg, who joked about having 99 cousins, all of which are lawyers or doctors except for her, shared a similar experience from when she was university-aged, which demonstrated the pressures from the community.
“When I was younger this very old man came up to my brother and me, and he said to my brother, ‘you’re going to be a famous lawyer’, then he turned to me as went, ‘hello girl, you married yet?’,” she reflected.
“So it’s not just the industry, it’s what’s happening in our own communities too.”
According to Wirasinha, while the conversation is obviously wider than the industry, a lot of it still comes down to leadership.
“That’s where I think leadership and role models makes so much sense, because if you’ve got people you can point to and go, ‘look at them’… that actually has huge impacts on those communities.”
Le noted that there’s still a bias when we think about what our leaders should look like – we have images in our heads of what they look like, and those images are typically not diverse people.
“Potentially that’s what’s stopping us from progressing further,” she said. “Recruitment is not a problem, its leadership that is.”
One of the key takeaways from the panel was that being “different” should be seen as a superpower, not something that should hinder oneself.
Wirasinha explained: “I like to stand out, and I realised from the age of, oh I don’t know, maybe my late teens, that I instantly stand out in most groups in Australia, so I try to harness that and use that to my benefit.”
And while he acknowledged that the switch from struggling because one is different, to using it to one’s advantage can be difficult and might not work for everyone, in his experience, it’s helped to unlock the positive.
“I know it’s something that people struggle with, it’s not an easy thing to do,” Wirasinha continued. “It’s like knowing that people might be looking at you strangely, but actually they just want to understand you because you’re different and you’re interesting. I know that can be a lot of weight for people to carry on their shoulders, but it can also be something to step into… it’s a superpower.”
Herceg agreed, and said at WPP she encourages people from culturally diverse backgrounds to champion themselves and share their unique stories as much as possible.
“There are cultures everywhere, we speak other languages. We have 108 nationalities at WPP,” she explained. “I encourage people to bring the joy that you have in your multicultural life into the office. There’s great joy in family, and in food, and in storytelling… There’s so much joy of being in a community.
“If there are moment to share, share it. Because the more we talk about it, the easier it will become.”
Li concluded: “I didn’t realise the power of a shared experience or relating to others… It gives you confidence. That’s when I started to realise that I’m not all that different, and there are so many of us out there.”
The event was supported by lifestyle publication Urban List, a decision that was a no-brainer according to chief commercial officer, Jacqui La’Brooy.
“This just felt so right, from the very start. At Urban List we’re always committed to shaping culture in a way that inspires and drives positive change for the future,” La’Brooy said.
“Our mission is to champion a more diverse and inclusive media industry, and we really lead by example. We’re proud to be here today and amplifying these voices.”
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