Every International Women’s Day the design industry says the same thing: we need more women in design.

And ABSOLUTELY we do. But let’s be clear about the problem.

In the UK, around 60% of design students are women. Yet only around 40% of working designers are.* So the talent is there but somewhere between education and employment, we’re still losing people.

We see it ourselves; our creative team is male-heavy — and they’re also the first to say they want more women and more diversity in the studio. It makes the work better, it challenges thinking, it reflects the real world (IT’S MORE FUN).

But when we recruit, we’re overwhelmingly sent CVs from men.

That’s not about capability. It’s about confidence, networks, visibility and who feels like they belong in certain spaces. If we simply hire “who applies”, we’ll keep reproducing the same team, and the same imbalance.

So, our annual internship scheme deliberately prioritises women and people from ethnic minority backgrounds. It’s paid at Real Living Wage. It’s hands-on. Proper briefs, proper feedback, proper experience.

This isn’t tokenism nor is it discrimination – it’s positive action. A small, practical intervention in a system that doesn’t currently level the playing field.

We’re a small studio and we’re not pretending this fixes the industry. But we can take responsibility for our corner of it. And isn’t that the kind of thing International Women’s Day is all about?

If you’re early in your career and want a genuine opportunity to step inside an agency, applications are now open.

How to apply

Placements are 1-2 weeks and take place across the summer. They’re suitable for graduates looking to get into the creative industries in a creative role.

Send your portfolio and a short covering note to jobs@threetenseven.co. And tell us your favourite project from our website – we want to know what you’re drawn to, and why. Do us a favour, don’t get ChatGPT to do it for you. We don’t care about spelling mistakes, we want to hear what makes you tick.

We’ll be going through applications in the next couple of months so please be patient if you don’t hear back from us straight away. We’re a small team and fitting this in around the day job means we can sometimes take a minute, but we promise we’ll get back to you.

*Stats from a 2026 report from Gitnux.