Between Applause and Absence: A Reflection on Recognition

A Night of Celebration and Complexity

Last Thursday night, I witnessed something beautiful. My dear friend—creative agitator, compassionate disruptor, all-around powerhouse—Jen Dobbie stood on stage at the inaugural AdNews Champions of Change awards, receiving the Golden Hammer for Changemaker of the Year. Nominated by none other than Cindy Gallop. Celebrated for the kind of quiet, steady work that rarely gets airtime but shifts entire cultures.

I felt proud. I felt hope.
And, if I’m honest, I also felt uneasy.

“Progress doesn’t have to be perfect to be powerful.”

What We Celebrate, and What We Don’t.

There was something in the room that didn’t sit right. Something just beneath the surface applause. A tension between what we say we value, and what we actually honour.

Because alongside women like Jen, doing the real, values-led work, there were winners who raised eyebrows. WPP, for example, who just months ago removed all DEI language from its global annual report, walked away with two of the top awards for inclusion. And Thinkerbell, at the centre of last year’s Campaign Brief controversy for publishing an all-male list of top creatives, was celebrated again.

What message are we sending?

It’s not about taking recognition away. It’s about widening the lens. Making space for all the voices, not just the most networked. We say we value diversity, but somehow gender equity still feels too spicy, too uncomfortable, too political to centre.

“When inclusion is applauded on stage but not practiced in the moment—it shows.”

The Absences We Feel

I noticed the discomfort in the room. I felt it when certain names weren’t on the Power List. Like Jen Sharpe, founder of Think HQ, a values-led, female-founded, parenting-friendly, culturally safe agency that lives and breathes real inclusion. She wasn’t named. But others were.

I noticed it when a man accepted an award on behalf of his agency’s people and culture team, while the woman beside him stood silently. When I gently asked why, the answer was, “She didn’t have the confidence.” And I thought isn’t coaching confidence part of the job? Isn’t inclusion also about sharing the mic?

“Leadership isn’t about who takes the mic—it’s about who’s handed it.”

Living the Values We Honour

This isn’t a takedown. It’s a love letter to the ones doing the work—the ones whose labour is emotional, complex, often invisible. It’s a gentle provocation. A call to remember that DEI is more than a report section or a PR line, it’s how we show up when no one’s watching.

I honour the organisers of the Awards for creating something new. That takes courage. These things don’t need to be perfect to be powerful. But we do need to reflect. Progress only grows when we water it with feedback.

“Recognition should not just be about reach, but resonance.”

This Is the Affection Economy in Action

In the Affection Economy, the model I’ve spent years shaping, we talk about leadership not as power or polish, but as the ability to lift others into visibility. Recognition should not just be about reach, but resonance. Not just about who’s applauded, but who’s included.

To the women raising children while raising standards.
To the queer leaders, First Nations thinkers, cultural builders, neurodivergent creators, and quietly fierce changemakers who didn’t make the shortlist—
I see you.

You are not invisible. You are not alone.
You are the future we’re trying to build.

Let’s keep going.
Let’s keep noticing.
Let’s keep making stories worth telling.

With affection,
Jet

Author’s Note:

This piece was originally published here on The Story Maker. It is available for republication, syndication, or editorial adaptation.

For commissions or licensing, please contact Jet Swain.