In an effort to inspire broader collective action for gender equality, P&G (NYSE:PG) is co-hosting the first #SheIsEqual Summit with Global Citizen and the Association of National Advertisers’ (ANA) #SeeHer movement. The event will take place on Friday, September 28, as a part of Global Citizen Week held during the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly.
The #SheIsEqual Summit will convene the brightest minds in policy, the private sector and entertainment. Confirmed speakers include Reese Witherspoon, Katie Couric, Jane Rosenthal, Helle Thorning Schmidt, Alma Har’el, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngucka, Sunny Hostin, Abby Wambach, Madonna Badger, Hugh Evans, Marc Pritchard and Carolyn Tastad, with more to be announced. MILCK, Maysoon Zayid and Sulene will also make special performances.
“At P&G, we aspire to build a world where everyone sees equal,” said Carolyn Tastad, P&G Group President, North America, and Executive Sponsor, Gender Equality. “We know that when we do this, communities are healthier, businesses thrive, and the world is a better place for everyone. It benefits all of us, and it will take all of us, working together, to create a more equal world. That’s why we’re delighted to partner with Global Citizen and #SeeHer to bring so many powerful voices together at this event.”
“Gender equality is at the center of our shared mission to end extreme poverty. Empowering girls and women enables future generations to prosper. We are proud to partner with P&G and the ANA #SeeHer movement to host the inaugural #SheIsEqual Summit, to share important perspectives on women’s empowerment, gender equality, and how to continue moving forward to demand opportunity for girls and women everywhere,” said Hugh Evans, CEO of Global Citizen.
As one of the co-hosts, the ANA’s #SeeHer initiative will lead an engaging discussion about the importance of increasing the accurate portrayal of women and girls in the media. As the leading movement of 70+ united marketers, the group’s goal is to use the power of media and increase 20% accurate portrayal of women and girls in ads and entertainment by 2020, the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote in the U.S.
“We are using our voice in advertising and media to tackle gender bias and promote gender equality,” said Marc Pritchard, P&G Chief Brand Officer and ANA Chair. “It’s a responsibility and an opportunity because gender equality is not only a force for good, it’s a force for growth. It’s time to come together to be agents of change to achieve gender equality in the creative world. The #SheIsEqual Summit will celebrate progress and inspire action to achieve that goal.”
High-profile speakers will announce important new initiatives and progress
Guest speakers at the #SheIsEqual Summit will highlight the current state of female representation, the importance of including the female point of view both in front of and behind the camera, and how organizations like Hello Sunshine, the Queen Collective, Katie Couric Media and Free the Bid are helping move the needle for women in the industry.
Reese Witherspoon will be joined in conversation with Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, Head of WME’s Book department and #SeeHer Board Member, to speak about the power of content by women, for women, and the upcoming Hello Sunshine x Together Live Tour – a live touring experience, co-created by Walsh, that will feature authentic storytelling and inspiring conversations for and by intersectional, intergenerational women – at an affordable price. P&G and its brands Always, Olay and Secret, are sponsoring the tour along with #SeeHer. The tour kicks off later this fall and will visit 10 cities in the U.S. and Canada.
“We’re giving some amazing women a place to share real stories with the hope that more women will be inspired to share their own,” says Sarah Harden, CEO Hello Sunshine. “Our goal with this project is to empower female authors and storytellers to continue their awesome work, and also to know that they will always have a powerful community of other women to support them. The #SheIsEqual Summit will provide just a preview of what is to come on the road.”
Jane Rosenthal with Tribeca Enterprise will introduce The Queen Collective – a program developed in partnership with Queen Latifah, Tribeca Studios, and P&G. The Queen Collective aims to accelerate gender and racial equality behind the camera by creating distribution for films produced by diverse female directors. To be considered for the program, women directors of color were invited to submit a treatment for an original short documentary. Those chosen will participate in a mentorship week curated by Tribeca Studios, have their movies financed, made and distributed. The winners will be announced at the Summit.
“As an actress and filmmaker, I feel I have a responsibility to help enact change and support other women in the industry,” says Queen Latifah. “I know how difficult the industry can be, and I’m determined to use my position and experience to help others. The Queen Collective is all about making sure female filmmakers are getting the opportunity to tell their stories so that diverse audiences can see stories they can relate to on screen.”
P&G is also partnering with Katie Couric Media to create and support smart, thoughtful, empowering content, developed by women, in a variety of formats including digital series, documentaries, scripted projects, podcasts and live programing on platforms. This includes the new online video series “Getting There,” which profiles the journeys of successful women and was produced by and distributed by women-owned enterprises. At the Summit, Katie Couric and Marc Pritchard will discuss the importance of content powered by women and what’s coming next.
To further build the pipeline of women directors in advertising and media, P&G and others have invested in scaling up Free the Bid – a non-profit which aims to identify and spotlight women’s directorial talent across the globe – to expand the initiative into 20 countries. In the last three months, Free the Bid has significantly increased the number of experienced director profiles in their database, expanded into profiles for women in other roles throughout the production pipeline, and has begun expansion in 10 additional countries. Free the Bid founder Alma Har’el will announce additional progress at the Summit.
Several P&G brands have advertising campaigns and impact programs that promote the positive portrayal of women and girls, support education for girls, and provide economic opportunities for women.
Olay’s #FaceAnything campaign aims to inspire all women to be unapologetically bold and true to themselves. The Always #LikeAGirl campaign aims to stop the drop in confidence girls experience during puberty so they can become strong women; Always has also launched a new #EndPeriodPoverty campaign in the UK, US and Canada to keep girls in school. From young women in tech preparing for a business pitch to a woman prepping to ask her boss for a long-overdue raise, Secret campaigns have long demonstrated women of strength and perseverance. Each of these brands will highlight their initiatives at the Summit.
Other key topics covered at the #SheIsEqual Summit will include:
- Challenging the Status Quo in Sports (speakers include Jaymee Messler, Abby Wambach)
- Gender Balance in Government (speakers include Katja Iversen)
- Defining Womanhood in a Modern World (speakers include Jillian Mercado, Tea Uglow)
- Barriers to Girls’ Education (speakers include Yasmine Sherif, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Alice Albright)
- Breaking Down Menstrual Taboos to Empower Young Girls (speakers include Nadya Okamoto, Anne Muli, Jennifer Davis, Brian Underwood)
Attendees will include a wide variety of leaders in the public and private sectors, along with advocacy and civil society organizations. All can follow along online with the hashtags #SheIsEqual, #WeSeeEqual and #SeeHer.
About P&G
P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and information about P&G and its brands.
About Global Citizen
Since 2011, millions of Global Citizens around the world have taken over 14 million actions to solve the world’s biggest challenges. That’s 14 million emails, tweets, petition signatures and phone calls targeting world leaders to end extreme poverty by 2030. To date, the actions by our global community along with our high-level advocacy efforts and with our partners, have resulted commitments and policy announcements from leaders, valued at over $37 billion that is set to affect the lives of more than 2.25 billion people by 2030. A total of 650 million people’s lives have already been impacted.
About #SeeHer
Despite the strides made to accurately portray women and girls in media, an unconscious bias persists against women and girls in advertising, media, and programming. The Association of National Advertisers’ (ANA) launched the #SeeHer initiative in June 2016 in a partnership with The Female Quotient (TFQ) at the United State of Women. #SeeHer’s mission is to increase the accurate portrayals of women and girls in media 20 percent by 2020, the 100th anniversary of women winning the right to vote in the U.S. For more information, visit www.SeeHer.com, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
About the Association of National Advertisers (ANA)
The ANA (Association of National Advertisers) makes a difference for individuals, brands, and the industry by driving growth, advancing the interests of marketers, and promoting and protecting the well-being of the marketing community. Founded in 1910, the ANA provides leadership that advances marketing excellence and shapes the future of the industry. The ANA’s membership includes more than 1,000 companies with 15,000 brands that collectively spend or support more than $400 billion in marketing and advertising annually. The membership is comprised of more than 750 client-side marketers and 300 associate members, which includes leading agencies, law firms, suppliers, consultants, and vendors. Further enriching the ecosystem is the work of the nonprofit ANA Advertising Educational Foundation (AEF), which has the mission of enhancing the understanding of advertising and marketing within the academic and marketing communities. For more information, visit www.ana.net, follow us on Twitter, Instagram, or join us on Facebook.
