New York, USA – ANA’s SeeHer, a global movement to eliminate gender bias in advertising and media, partnered up with media measurement and analytics company Comscore to reveal ‘GEM Audiences’, an industry-first digital planning audience insight tool, at the 2023 ANA Data, Analytics & Measurement Conference. 

Working in conjunction with SeeHer, Comscore created a new way for brands and advertisers to understand the significance of gender equality for their target audiences from their behavior, interests, and attitudes by embedding gender equality attributes in the Comscore Plan Metrix Suite.

GEM Audiences is poised as the new intelligence solution to be the digital standard that helps brands understand, beyond demographics, how to reach and engage consumers with a gender equality mindset.

Talking about the reveal, Christine Guilfoyle, president of SeeHer ANA, said, “SeeHer has continued to advance vital tools that allow marketers and their agencies to embed gender equality in their media planning and buying practices. This ground-breaking measurement system for the ever-evolving digital ecosystem is one that will reach the next generation of consumers like no other has before.”

“We encourage every marketer to critically evaluate and challenge their current system of operating, since consumers, 52% of which are women, say that the accurate representation of women and girls should be a business imperative. Those who tap into what we offer not only experience immense sales success, they join a movement in shaping society for the better. We are incredibly honored to partner with Comscore on this next dimension of world-changing technology,” she added. 

Meanwhile, Danan Ren, senior vice president, head of client insights at Comscore, commented, “This partnership with SeeHer is part of Comscore’s larger effort to amplify the belief that every dollar, every screen, and every person counts as well as the importance of looking past demographics and generalizations for fair representation in audience intelligence. As we bring this to market with SeeHer and the ANA, we hope to engage with more brands who are looking to deepen their audience understanding beyond demographics and quantify the impact of their responsible media initiatives.”

Mumbai, India – Since 2015, detergent brand Ariel in India has been sparking meaningful conversations to drive equality in the division of household chores through its campaign, ‘Share The Load’. 

Up until today, managing the family’s household is still a responsibility seen to be exclusive for the women of the house – the wives and the mothers – and Ariel, the brand, is determined to continue with strides that would shatter this uncompromising stereotype. 

In the latest instalment of ‘Share The Load’, we see a sentimental film about a senior married couple whose relationship is hitting the rocks. The interesting feature of the latest narrative is that the ‘problem’ is unbeknownst to the couple themselves. 

Whilst in the car, the senior couple’s daughter asks the father what is wrong between him and the mother, and the other half of the couple is obviously stumped. Through their conversation, the daughter bravely comes clean and emphasises to the father that the ‘Silent separation’ may very well be because the mother has been continuously ‘giving her all’. The mother who has been owning all the responsibilities in managing the household and taking care of the daily chores may have had her zest – and most importantly, her trust – dampened.

The latest ad in the campaign is a diversion from last year’s narrative where the length of the feature is a straightforward conversation perpetuated by the wife to ask that things be changed and that the relationship be more of a teamwork. 

Sharat Verma, CMO of P&G India and VP of Fabric Care in the company, shared that this year’s communication is based on the insight that the unequal distribution of chores can have a long-term effect on relationships. 

“Over time the unequal distribution of household chores can lead to one partner giving up and create a distance in the relationship. But on the other hand, we know that the foundation of a strong relationship is based on equality, where both partners feel respected, appreciated, and valued,” said Verma.

The brand’s creative partner for the campaign, BBDO India, also shared its insights on the latest ad. 

Josy Paul, chairman & chief creative officer, said that this year’s edition is an eye-opener for married couples and for the younger generation. The narrative has been based on something they have been noticing in society – a growing section of men who are discovering that they have lost out on their relationship but don’t know why. 

“It is a hidden truth that no one is talking about. The truth that there is an emotional distance between couples because of the unequal distribution of household work. As we see in the film ‘the woman keeps on giving and giving… till she finally gives up’. ‘See the signs #ShareTheLoad’ is a resolution, a step towards realizing that to share life together, we need to share the load,” said Paul.

Each year, within the ‘Share The Load’ campaign, Ariel engages audiences with a thinker – a profound question or message – that aims to leave a lasting impression so they could further reflect on the movement for gender equality. 

For the first edition in 2015, it asked, ‘Is laundry only a woman’s job?’. Other past instalments such as in 2019 saw the campaign asking, ‘Are we teaching our sons what we are teaching our daughters?’, whilst just last year, in 2022, it communicated the message ‘When we see equal, we share equal.” 

This year, the ad chronicling an elderly couple’s plight, wants audiences to ponder, ‘Are you growing together or apart?’ 

As of this writing, Ariel’s latest ad ‘See the signs’ has already garnered a total of 3 million views within only 18 hours of its launch.

Singapore – Just right on time for International Women’s Day, global PR and social media agency W Communications has announced that it has sealed a partnership with Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations (SCWO), the national coordinating body of women’s organisations in Singapore, to manage its corporate communications, community outreach, and engagement programmes.

The agency’s mandate will also include supporting SCWO in redefining its core narratives to further introduce itself as the national coordinating body of women’s organisations in the country.

Moreover, the said partnership goes under the agency’s efforts to boost its portfolio of clients in the social impact sector.

Jolin Ng, general manager at W in Singapore, said that the agency gives importance to equity, therefore, it works with organisations like SCWO to fulfill its commitment towards such causes and support the organisation’s plan of impacting the lives of women and society.

Koh Yan Ping, chief executive officer at SCWO, commented, “We wanted a PR partner who truly understood the intent behind the impact we are making towards the cause and enables us to better engage stakeholders from all walks of life. W stood out with their understanding of our objectives, excellent media relations and of course, strength in corporate storytelling.”

Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations boasts more than 60 member organisations representing over 600,000 women in the country. It provides opportunities, platforms, and services to empower and support Singaporean women. 

Earlier this year, W Communications has also been tapped by food company Deliveroo to manage its corporate and consumer communications.

Singapore – Unilever’s global beauty brand LUX has been consistent in exercising its platform to rally against sexism, and this time, it augments its support by launching a new global training resource. The Allies e-learning programme is a learning tool targeted at the workplace setting, aiming to impart how to call out and stop bad behaviour in the workplace. 

Led by Wunderman Thompson, the communications are rooted in real-life insights relevant to the audience in developing and emerging markets that LUX serves. The new course called ‘LUX Allies Against Workplace Sexism’ is said to have been designed together with a DE&I behaviour change expert to help counter sexism in the workplace. Furthermore, it was created specifically for emerging markets where patriarchal values and the traditional mindset about gender roles are entrenched in society. 

Severine Vauleon, global brand lead at LUX, said, “Beauty can be a powerful source of strength and self-confidence for women. At the workplace in particular, confidence and self-belief can make a huge difference in a woman’s job satisfaction and career trajectory.” 

“As a brand that touches the lives of millions of women worldwide, we want to be an enabler that supports women’s confidence and authenticity to thrive, rather than see them self-edit and wither. As such, we will continue to help women everywhere fight casual sexism especially related to their experience, at home, in the workplace and in wider society.”

The ‘LUX Allies Against Workplace Sexism’ programme is structured as three module pillars – AWARE, ACT, and ALLY. It confronts participants with everyday scenarios in the workplace where women may face casual sexist remarks from colleagues – whether male or female – and gives simple yet effective actions to call out these belittling comments. 

To further drive home the agenda, LUX worked with organisational and behavioural scientist and indigenous rights advocate, Matthew J Yazzie, who specialises in workplace discrimination. Yazzie played a pivotal role in creating the content schedule for the modules. Part of them is him shedding light on casual sexism. 

The modules use short-form videos to highlight seemingly casual remarks that disempower individuals based on gender stereotypes and share how simple yet effective actions to call out belittling comments can make a difference. 

Nicolas Tran Dinh, global digital & masterbrand lead at LUX, shares, “Women, just like men, want to live in a world where they have equal opportunities to be their best selves. The first step in reducing the pressures of everyday sexism that women face starts with us. We must be more aware of our actions and be allies rather than bystanders to support women to rise above daily judgements. This is how we can build a world where men and women are celebrated equally and why we are providing this training as a free resource for all companies.” 

Echoing his comments, Hinoti Joshi, global business director from Wunderman Thompson, Singapore, who leads LUX communications, adds, “This is the next step in our Purpose journey towards our end goal of putting an end to everyday sexism. WT APAC and Unilever staff will be actively using it as part of our training to help empower and inspire a community of women and allies to speak up and hold their truth for their beliefs.” 

Anyone can access the Allies programme at no charge via LUX’s website and complete the modules to be a certified ‘ally’ against sexism.

Previously, LUX launched campaigns under its social inclusivity advocacy, the “In Her Shoes” and ‘UNSTOPPABLE” campaigns. In the past, the brand also released the ‘Finding Strength in Beauty’ 2021 whitepaper which shared data showing how discrimination against women continues to be prevalent in different forms.

Manila, Philippines — The Philippines’ fully integrated telco company, PLDT, and its mobile unit Smart Communications continue to champion gender equality in the workplace. In a recent campaign, the group showcased how women thrive, amid rapid technological changes in the telecommunications industry.

Now in its second year, the group’s “Yes, She Can” campaign highlighted the important role of women in the workplace, through digital activities and webisodes featuring female employees of various roles and persona.

Gina P. Ordonez, chief people officer of PLDT and Smart, shared, “We celebrate women and the many hats they wear everyday—as hardworking people in the organization, mothers, wives, daughters and talented individuals.”

Ordonez added, “We will continue to provide female employees with opportunities to pursue their passion and purpose, and to achieve success in the organization.“

As an equal opportunity employer, gender equality is high on the agenda of the group’s Environment, Social and Governance initiatives. This is evident in its leadership team, where 58% of direct reports to the CEO, 40% of executives, and 23% of board members are women.

PLDT and Smart’s commitment to gender equality may also be seen in the partnerships that the group has built throughout the years. Via a collaboration with the Philippine Eagle Foundation, PLDT has helped bridge the digital divide in upland communities of Arakan, North Cotabato, by equipping women with technological tools and skills. In partnership with the Philippine Business for Social Progress, the group also works with Solidarity with Orphans and Widows, a community in Payatas Quezon City, for livelihood opportunities.

Additionally, in 2021, PLDT and Smart became the first Philippine telcos that signed up as members of the Philippine Business Coalition for Women Empowerment, in an effort to achieve large-scale organizational transformation through evidence-based strategies and best practices in the workplace.

Melissa V. Vergel de Dios, chief sustainability officer of PLDT, said, “At PLDT and Smart, women are taking their rightful place at the table, proving that in our organization, one’s worth is not defined by gender, but by capability. This is a source of encouragement and inspiration for us all—in the workplace, and in the communities we serve.”

Australia – Fck The Cupcakes (FTC), an industry movement that helps address gender inequality, has launched its first major campaign, ‘Be the Change’, an initiative motivating men to help women drive change.

FTC, which is led by Jasmin Bedir, Innocean Australia’s CEO, and a team within the agency, has brought together a powerhouse of communications professionals to help develop and implement the campaign. The FTC committee includes creative by Innocean, media by Hearts & Science, and PR by Edelman, as well as digital by Razorfish, and publishers by Paramount ANZ, JCDecaux, Nine Network, Nova, and News Corp, as well as Mamamia, and Yahoo, amongst others, supporting organisations Never Not Creative, shEqual, The ManCave, and Line & Length, as well as Omnicom Group, and DHL as a sponsor of the campaign.

The ‘Be the Change’ campaign aims to help shift the gender conversation from being a women’s issue to one that seeks to engage men and give them permission to enter the conversation and actively support women. It features a short-form sitcom as its centrepiece that helps Aussie men recognise spoken and unspoken casual misogyny in the workplace, in which the script was written based on results and answers to numerous equality surveys, as well as using the many lived experiences of Australian women. 

Although shot in a sitcom style like ‘The Office’, the sad reality is, for many women, the film isn’t a parody. The viewer is deliberately drawn to the main character’s obvious displays of sexism and misogyny when what takes place behind him is just as important. It’s the lack of reaction to the seen and unseen moments that the campaign aims to draw attention to and guide men on how they could better respond in those situations.

Moreover, the film lives on the ‘Be the Change‘ website, where men can unpack the moments to motivate behaviour change, and then take action in the form of tools, information, and workshops from male organisations. All communications are written in a language to get everyone on the same level, not play the blame game.

Bedir shared, “If the election has taught us anything, women do not want men to stand by in the struggle for equality. But we also acknowledge that many men want to help but don’t know how – so we have created a safe space for men to learn the tools and give permission to contribute to the fight for gender equality 365 days a year.”

Meanwhile, Rod Prosser, Paramount’s chief sales officer for ANZ, said that the truth is many men have disengaged from the conversation, and for the vast majority of men, they do not relate to the stories of extreme sexual assault, unfair dismissal, or domestic violence so often covered in mainstream media. 

“We have no lived experience of what the average woman goes through in their daily workday, nor our unconscious contribution to it,” added Prosser.

Singapore – Ariel India has launched the fifth edition of its #ShareTheLoad campaign titled ‘See Equal’. Conceptualised by BBDO India, the film raises a pertinent question: “If men can share the load equally with other men, why not with their wives?”

The film aims to be reflective of the reality of today’s times and wants to remind families that true equality is only reflected when everyone ‘shares the load’ of domestic chores. 

On one hand, the film depicts a woman who refuses to accept inequality in her marriage, and on the other, it depicts what men are capable of and shows how they are changing. The two neighbours in the film could be roommates, friends, brothers or in a relationship themselves, but irrespective of their relationship, they represent the men of today who are open to change. 

Speaking about the new campaign, Sharat Verma, CMO of P&G India, and VP of Fabric Care, P&G India, shared that this year’s communication is based on this simple insight – when men can share the load equally with other men, then why not with their wives? 

“With Ariel #ShareTheLoad, we strive to trigger meaningful conversations that will help drive positive change. With #SeeEqual, we want to address years of unconscious bias and conditioning, that may be coming in the way of us all sharing the load,” said Verma. 

The first edition of the #ShareTheLoad campaign was launched in 2015, with Ariel raising the question – ‘Is laundry only a woman’s job?’ Since then, each film released every year under the campaign focuses on a specific issue within the equality movement.

In 2020, the campaign highlighted the impact of the unequal division of chores on wives’ well-being and leveraged it with men to drive an urgency to act.

Priyanka Rishi, GM & EVP of BBDO India in Mumbai, commented, “Ariel #ShareTheLoad is an urgent call to action – to uncover the most relevant context and insight that will trigger conversation to drive positive change in society. Unsurprisingly, this journey becomes personal. Every member brings their deep emotional confession and experiences to sharpen and nuance the idea. This continues through the executional leg where each action, every word, including the tone of delivery is minutely debated, discussed, and debated once more.” 

Auckland, New Zealand – When we fill out a form on a website, most of the time we get asked about our gender. But sadly, the large majority of sites use the same two classifications: male or female. For many people across all gender spectrums, they feel unrepresented and are forced to choose an identity that they know is not theirs.

In a bid to promote gender inclusiveness across websites, New Zealand telco Spark has worked with rainbow mental health organisation OutLine Aotearoa and creative agency Colenso BBDO to create a campaign where they developed a code that websites can adopt to their platforms to feature more gender-friendly options in their forms online.

This code revises the way organisations collect gender data by updating website forms and fields with gender-inclusive options so everyone can feel seen. In addition, the code comes with helpful materials to support businesses on their beyond binary journey, including guides on data privacy principles, how to get stakeholder buy-in and how to create safer spaces both on and offline for their customers and employees.

Claire Black, general manager at OutLine Aotearoa, said, “Often businesses default to asking for gender without considering why they need that information and how it might impact the people on the other end of the form. When trans and non-binary people are excluded, misgendered, or discriminated against during daily interactions with businesses, that contributes to an environment that is hostile to their wellbeing.”

However, the organisation pointed out that the code, known as ‘Beyond Binary Code’, is not just code, but rather a full tool that helps businesses understand, first and foremost, whether they truly need to collect gender data from their customers at all. If they do, an HTML code is generated based on their unique business needs, so they can ask in an inclusive way.

“OutLine sees this code, and its supporting resources, as a catalyst for creating better experiences that support and affirm the wellbeing of both non-binary people and rainbow communities more broadly in Aotearoa,” Black added.

Meanwhile, Matt Bain, marketing director at Spark New Zealand, notes that this campaign intersects two key ambitions at Spark – helping Kiwis have a better relationship with their data, and to champion diversity and inclusion within Spark and Aotearoa. He also added that in time and with the help of businesses adopting the code, they hope to build an internet with richer, more sophisticated datascapes that represent the true diversity of New Zealand.

“Ultimately, through publishing the code, we want to encourage digital equity at an enterprise level. By influencing big data systems in businesses to evaluate whether they need to collect gender data at all and if it is required, that they do so in a way that helps people from all genders feel valued and visible online,” Brian said.

Simon Vicars, CCO for Colenso BBDO added, “For lots of people, filling in an online form is a simple box-ticking exercise. But for people who identify beyond male or female, it can reinforce the feeling that society doesn’t acknowledge them. Beyond Binary Code has the power to rectify this – to help rewrite the internet to see more than two genders. We’re proud to finally see the idea out in the world, and excited to see the difference it can make.” 

Beyond Binary Code launched 21st February with a powerful film and digital campaign to support the website. 

Mumbai, India – To help brands and agencies create campaigns with inclusive gender narratives, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) in collaboration with management consulting company Futurebrands has launched the ‘GenderNext’ study, which aims to give actionable insights in representing women in advertising.

The ‘GenderNext’ study includes patterns of female portrayals across multiple categories, such as personal care, fashion, beauty, home and hearth, gadgets and wheels, money, and education. The study presents insights on how advertising portrays women versus how they see themselves and want to be seen.

The study interviewed various women across different life stages and town classes, and according to them, they feel that advertising can be their ally in this journey. The study found that for young unmarried women, common stereotypes used in advertising such as women joyfully undertaking the drudgery of work have not been aspirational for them at all.

“Typical women’s day ads that show women emerge victorious after significant struggle were not considered particularly empowering. Women are tired of ads showing young women being bestowed with freedoms only after putting up a fight,” the study stated.

In line with such misportrayals, the study proposes a category agnostic framework known as the ‘SEA (Self-esteemed, Empowered, Allied) Framework’ that aims to guide stakeholders in imagining as well as evaluating portrayals of women in their advertising by building empathy and aiding evaluation.

The study also proposes a 3s screener for scripts and storyboards, casting, styling to identify stereotype red flags. The screener looks at aspects of subordination, service, and standardization, and solves these negative stereotypes through the lens of self-esteem, empowerment, and alliance.

For Lipika Kumaran, lead author at GenderNext, the study has exposed that mainstream advertising still heavily borrows from an inventory of overused, and sometimes harmful stereotypical tropes.

“A detailed study of over six hundred advertisements revealed several problematic tropes- such as sensualizing the act of eating by women, showing women as spenders in financial advertising, women running around the house while others lounge around, male gaze acceptance in beauty ads, showing women as lower down in tech-hierarchy in gadget ads, male celebrities challenging and instructing women, among others,” Kumaran explained.

Meanwhile, Subhash Kamath, chairman at ASCI, noted that said study acts as a guide for stakeholders – brand owners, marketers, advertising professionals – to aid the creation of more progressive depictions of women in advertising.

“The deep insights on women, and what they feel about advertising is a fantastic input into advertising creation, and we hope that brands and advertisers will be motivated by the findings to depict women in more progressive ways. We also intend to set up a task force to evaluate advertising guidelines on harmful stereotypes,” Kamath stated.

Furthermore, Santosh Desai, managing director at Futurebrands commented that the study has identified some common patterns of discrimination and has also created a framework that enables marketers to identify and eliminate such undesirable representations.

“As an influential form of popular culture, advertising has historically been a significant source for the propagation of gender stereotypes. While things are changing, what this study, initiated by ASCI and carried out by Futurebrands uncovers, is that gender continues to be represented in a skewed and discriminatory manner. Some obvious ways of stereotyping are less visible, but there are many other ways, both subtle and not-so-subtle, in which gender portrayals continue to be skewed,” Desai concluded.

For this study, the primary research involved ad clinics with 160 respondents and 20 focus group discussions across 10 centers, in addition to tapping into Futurebrand’s proprietary study Bharat Darshan. More than 300 people were spoken to via social media.

Hong Kong – Digital creative agency AnalogFolk announced the launch of Bigup.Ai 2.0, an AI tool that aids to empower women, especially about societal issues and influence-related success. 

Having launched a beta version in the past eight months, the agency said the AI tool features a much bolder and visually-appealing interphase.. Concept questions such as “Tell us about a strength?” act as motivation starters, and can be improved or “bigged up” by using more confident and assertive language. The AI tool also features a quote suite, updated by the AnalogFolk team. Topics such as job rejection and COVID-19 burnout are covered, all with a positive note. The quote suite can be accessed through Analogfolk’s social media pages and their own Pinterest board.

The tool, which is developed by  Microsoft LUIS Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning technology, ‘reads’ skills found on the user’s uploaded CV and analyzes it to deliver a more expressive and assertive personal brand for the user.

Anna-Louise Gladwell, managing director at AnalogFolk and leader of the Bigup.Ai 2.0 development, commented that tool’s development is a response to many women in their leadership and work roles feeling ‘small’ due to failures of getting a new job, and hopes that the tool will aid such women to boost their professional image and their overall persona.

“COVID-19 has exacerbated a systemic social issue of female confidence, self-promotion and career advancement. So BigUp.AI is here to remind women of their value and help them find the words to express it,” Gladwell stated.

For Chris Ryan, managing partner at AnalogFolk Asia, the recent tool launch speaks about gender gap issues such as pay gap across Asia, and should be improved in every way possible.

“We feel that with more confidence and assertiveness, that picture can change in the months and years to come, starting with how women talk about themselves. AI is a powerful tool which can help to support this,” Ryan commented.

Created by an all-women team in the course of eight months, AnalogFolk’s newest AI tool launch coincides with the International Women’s Day 2020, and hopes to create more tools in the near future for women empowerment.