The PPC Directory
Connecting Search Marketers with Stages, Pages, and Podcasts.
The PPC industry moves fast, but our representation isn't keeping up. While women make up a significant portion of the digital marketing workforce, they remain vastly underrepresented in the "authority" roles: the keynote speakers, the lead authors, and the podcast guests who shape our industry’s future.
The PPC Directory is a curated resource for event organizers, editors, and hosts to find the experts they’ve been missing.
The Reality of the Gap
We aren't just guessing that there is a problem. The data from 2024 and 2025 shows a persistent "visibility tax" on women in our field:
The Pay Gap is Widening: In 2024, the gender pay gap in the advertising industry actually increased to 19.7% in favor of men, up from 15.2% the previous year (The Media Leader, 2025).
The "Manel" Persists: Even in 2025, women hold only about 30% of the seats in many leadership and speaking environments (House of Commons Report/Equal Voice).
The Leadership Ceiling: While women represent over half of the agency workforce, they hold less than 40% of C-suite roles (IPA Agency Census).
How It Works (And Why We’re Different)
This directory is open to all talented PPC professionals, but we use a Balanced Entry model to ensure we are actively solving the visibility gap.
For Women: Simply apply. Your presence here helps organizers find you and ensures our industry’s "expert pool" looks like the people actually doing the work.
For Men: You are welcome and encouraged to join. However, to submit your application, you must refer one woman in PPC to be added alongside you.
Wait, Is This Fair? (FAQs)
"Why can't I just refer another man?" Men are already frequently referred through existing informal networks. This directory is a tool for systemic correction. By asking you to refer a woman, we are asking you to be an active ally in balancing the scales. For every established male voice we highlight, we want to ensure we’re also discovering a female voice that deserves the same spotlight.
"Why don't women have to refer anyone?" Statistics show that women are less likely to self-nominate for high-visibility roles due to the "confidence gap." Our goal is to remove every possible barrier for women to get listed. Adding a referral requirement for them creates an extra hurdle that often results in fewer women applying, which defeats the purpose of the directory.
"Isn't this gatekeeping?" Actually, it’s amplification. We aren't keeping men out; we are simply making sure they don’t come in alone. This ensures the directory grows into a 50/50 resource that offers genuine variety to event organizers, rather than just a list of the "usual suspects."
Ready to join the movement?
Help us build a more balanced future for Paid Search.