#FlexibleFirst: to accelerate gender equality, make flexible working the norm

Speaker at WACL Festival of Talent

Mel Exon, WACL Campaigning Chair, makes the case for Flexible First

WACL is leading a campaign for flexible working in the advertising, media and communications industries, calling for all organisations to be #FlexibleFirst.

‘Flexible First’ means adopting flexible working in all its forms and at scale from Day 1 of employment, and for all jobs to be advertised as flexible. Why? Because flexible working directly closes the gender pay gap, accelerating gender equality and is proven to have benefits for everyone, regardless of gender.

Take action now
Check your progress with our free Flexible First Checklist below, download the Toolkit and discover the evidence driving this campaign.

A Flexible First ally speaks up – Alex Mahon, CEO, Channel 4

A Flexible First ally speaks up – Dara Nasr, UK Managing Director, Twitter

Visit our Vimeo showcase to watch previous Flexible First interviews featuring WACL Leaders and Allies including: Dame Carolyn McCall (ITV), Kerry Chilvers (Direct Line Group) and Katrina Lowes (Vodafone).

Filmed and produced during lockdown. With huge thanks to our production partners, NPL Media.

Designed to give leaders and talent the information and strategies they need to implement two-way flexible working in their organisations, this toolkit looks at the business case, what flexible working in all its forms really means, possible hurdles (and how to address them) and – most importantly – how to get started.

Discover more

Why Flexible First

Discover why WACL is campaigning for flexible working and get the business case for why your organisation should be #FlexibleFirst. When organisations offer genuine, two-way flexible working, it’s win-win for employers and employees alike.

New Flexible First Checklist 2022/23 launched as All In’s action on gender

27.01.22: Kate Waters launches our Flexible First Checklist at Renew 2022 in partnership with All In as their ‘action on gender’.

WACL launches new Flexible First tools

“Flexible First” companies bring more women into the workforce. Leadership positions focused on output, not presenteeism have the most impact on the GPG in the boardroom” ~ Jackie Stevenson (WACL President 2020/21)

The role of autonomy and trust in the new world of work

WACL hosted a Flexible First round table exploring the role of autonomy and trust in the new world of work. Jenny Varley (WACL Campaigning committee 2020-22) shares what we learned.

WACL hosts AWE Debate 2021

“The house believes the era of the office is over” – An Advertising Week Europe Debate, hosted by WACL.

Forget flexibility, let’s talk about autonomy

WACL Campaigning Communication Leads, Sera Holland & Caireen Wackett, unpack why industry leaders need to step up to flexible working now, or risk losing our brightest & best talent.

Flexible First and the Future of Work

Many of the old myths about how best to manage workforces for optimal performance have been debunked after months of radical change, and new questions asked. How do we retain talent and achieve our DEI goals in a hybrid or remote setting?

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