The initiative was launched in 2014 when Festival organizers identified a dramatic gender imbalance in its audience of middle and senior level creatives, reflecting the low numbers of women in upper levels of the industry globally. Fewer women involved in the creation process resulted in more gender-biased work, which perpetuated a cycle of objectification and maintained the low levels of female creative directors, which at the time was around 3%.
More information: https://www.shootonline.com/news/15-female-future-creative-leaders-set-cannes-lions-see-it-be-it-program