AUNZ Work of the Week: The Fair Treatment

In Australian commercial creativity, data tells an uncomfortable story.

Research conducted as part of the ‘Fair Treatment’ campaign, launched this week by creatives from Howatson+Company and Good Oil, shows fewer than 15% of commercial director credits go to women, and women account for 22% of directors on production company rosters.

The new initiative proposes a practical tweak, calling on agencies and brands to adopt a blind treatment process, removing identifying information like gender from director pitches before selection.

The call to action is made in a hero film featuring award-winning male directors, including Steve Rogers and Ariel Martin, who read the anonymised words of female directors who have experienced bias firsthand.

Developed with input from ECDs, EPs, and production companies across Australia, The Fair Treatment’s use of male directors to voice the experiences of their female colleagues is a powerful rhetorical move.

By focusing on a specific, actionable change, it forces the industry to confront bias through the voices of its beneficiaries, offering a testable hypothesis with a measurable outcome, with more work to follow later this year.