M&C Saatchi LA is proud to pledge its support for Free The Bid (FreeTheBid.com), an initiative created to guarantee women directors an equal opportunity to bid on commercial jobs in the advertising world.

Less than 10% of commercial directors are women. Free The Bid brings together ad agencies, brands and production companies who are committed to giving more female directors a voice in advertising. At the bidding stage, when agencies present directorial talent to clients, it’s a common practice to triple bid – that is, to present three potential directors for every job. Along with several of the world’s leading advertising agencies, M&C Saatchi Los Angeles has pledged to make it mandatory that one of the three directors presented during the triple-bid process is a woman.

“It’s all too easy to see the disparity in our industry,” says Maria Smith, ECD at M&C Saatchi Los Angeles, “so championing an initiative like Free the Bid was a no brainer. It’s a simple and smart way that we can all affect a sea change.”