a few thoughts from me here - some businesses are recognising the power of brands in engaging consumers more meaningfully to lead change through a purpose driven approach. Unilever is best in class, demonstratingsuperior performance.
Smirnoff’s ‘We’re Open’ campaign is engaging consumers’ perceptions of diversity and inclusion in exciting and uplifting ways and creating much conversation -Chris Fonseca Deaf dancers campaigntells the story of Chris Fonseca, an inspiring deaf dance teacher from London, who teaches other deaf dancers that there are other ways to enjoy music beyond just hearing it. Through story telling, the brand is encouraging dialogue and challenging perceptions among consumers. the theme of “We’re Open” as a diverse and inclusive brand is global but markets are localising content to address issues or themes that resonate in their geography, allowing for more bespoke content and engagement. It’s still relatively early days, but the feedback has been hugely positive.
Hester le Roux said:
We will leave it there for the first two questions - though please remember that you can keep adding comments to the conversation after this session has ended. Turning now to our third question, and we’ll spend a bit more time on this one:
SESSION 2, Q3: How can business use external marketing and customer engagement to support women’s economic empowerment?
Internal or industry specific codes and practices - Diageo’s brands have for many years been guided by theDiageo Marketing Codea self-regulatory code of compliance for responsible marketing which includes in its provisions that protect against the objectification or demeaning of women or either gender. Business can influence change through their suppliers through codes of conduct, or guidelines on issues such as gender equality. All suppliers are required to adhere toDiageo’s Code of Business Conduct, which include issues such as child labour and human rights.
georgie said:
a few thoughts from me here - some businesses are recognising the power of brands in engaging consumers more meaningfully to lead change through a purpose driven approach. Unilever is best in class, demonstratingsuperior performance.
Smirnoff’s ‘We’re Open’ campaign is engaging consumers’ perceptions of diversity and inclusion in exciting and uplifting ways and creating much conversation -Chris Fonseca Deaf dancers campaigntells the story of Chris Fonseca, an inspiring deaf dance teacher from London, who teaches other deaf dancers that there are other ways to enjoy music beyond just hearing it. Through story telling, the brand is encouraging dialogue and challenging perceptions among consumers. the theme of “We’re Open” as a diverse and inclusive brand is global but markets are localising content to address issues or themes that resonate in their geography, allowing for more bespoke content and engagement. It’s still relatively early days, but the feedback has been hugely positive.
Hester le Roux said:
We will leave it there for the first two questions - though please remember that you can keep adding comments to the conversation after this session has ended. Turning now to our third question, and we’ll spend a bit more time on this one:
SESSION 2, Q3: How can business use external marketing and customer engagement to support women’s economic empowerment?
SESSION 2, Q3: How can business use external marketing and customer engagement to support women’s economic empowerment?
I find the approach taken by Unilever through their new Axe campaign really interesting - how can businesses use their adverstising to change social norms and expectations about gender and create really good, compelling and memorable content?
Industries can lead change through collaboration to address issues such as safety for women – Diageo is a member of theBeer Selling Industry Cambodia(BSIC) which with leadership from CARE International, implemented a code of conduct to improve the health and working conditions of beer promoters in Cambodia, who faced regular sexual harassment and misconduct or exploitation. The code covers 7 key standards around: employment status; organization of work; uniform; transport; training and information; harassment; alcohol information, as well as regular independent research to evaluate performance against commitments and guide improvements. This has demonstrated increased awareness of workers’ benefits and rights, a drop in sexual harassment and an increase in the number of beer promoters addressing incidents of sexual harassment directly, indicating improved working conditions for beer promoters covered by the BSIC’s code of conduct, compared with those who are not.
georgie said:
Internal or industry specific codes and practices - Diageo’s brands have for many years been guided by theDiageo Marketing Codea self-regulatory code of compliance for responsible marketing which includes in its provisions that protect against the objectification or demeaning of women or either gender. Business can influence change through their suppliers through codes of conduct, or guidelines on issues such as gender equality. All suppliers are required to adhere toDiageo’s Code of Business Conduct, which include issues such as child labour and human rights.
georgie said:
a few thoughts from me here - some businesses are recognising the power of brands in engaging consumers more meaningfully to lead change through a purpose driven approach. Unilever is best in class, demonstratingsuperior performance.
Smirnoff’s ‘We’re Open’ campaign is engaging consumers’ perceptions of diversity and inclusion in exciting and uplifting ways and creating much conversation -Chris Fonseca Deaf dancers campaigntells the story of Chris Fonseca, an inspiring deaf dance teacher from London, who teaches other deaf dancers that there are other ways to enjoy music beyond just hearing it. Through story telling, the brand is encouraging dialogue and challenging perceptions among consumers. the theme of “We’re Open” as a diverse and inclusive brand is global but markets are localising content to address issues or themes that resonate in their geography, allowing for more bespoke content and engagement. It’s still relatively early days, but the feedback has been hugely positive.
Hester le Roux said:
We will leave it there for the first two questions - though please remember that you can keep adding comments to the conversation after this session has ended. Turning now to our third question, and we’ll spend a bit more time on this one:
SESSION 2, Q3: How can business use external marketing and customer engagement to support women’s economic empowerment?
Building on Benjamin's comment: Is advertising a way to take role models and let them have an impact at a much greater scale?
Benjamin Zeitlyn said:
SESSION 2, Q3: How can business use external marketing and customer engagement to support women’s economic empowerment?
I find the approach taken by Unilever through their new Axe campaign really interesting - how can businesses use their adverstising to change social norms and expectations about gender and create really good, compelling and memorable content?
Hester, These are good steps but only really covering what they won't do - and any company that uses stereotypes is exposed in social media. We need to encourage business to move beyond the base line and be positive and proactive about marketing and engagement. Walmart, for example, now has special labels actually on the products that are supplied by women owned businesses making it very easy for the customer to make buying decisions.
Hester le Roux said:
Regarding question 3, I referred earlier to theDFID Surveywe are running as part of this Challenge. In terms of external marketing and custome engagement aimed at supporting women’s empowerment, around a quarter of the 148 respondentshave policies on responsible advertising, such as against objectifying women or perpetuating gender stereotypes. What are some of the best practice examples you have seen?
Given strong influence of brands on consumers more generally, I would think yes. Brand loyalty and brand-connected emotion is a powerful driver of behavior and is well-studied in the marketing literature. That being said, I think there is an inherent tension - companies that have the most ability to switch behavior through advertising are likely to be most cautious about using this lever - we will need to make a strong business case here.
Polly Le Grand said:
Building on Benjamin's comment: Is advertising a way to take role models and let them have an impact at a much greater scale?
Benjamin Zeitlyn said:
SESSION 2, Q3: How can business use external marketing and customer engagement to support women’s economic empowerment?
I find the approach taken by Unilever through their new Axe campaign really interesting - how can businesses use their adverstising to change social norms and expectations about gender and create really good, compelling and memorable content?
Polly - I think it is but it looks like an uphill task - few advertisers break out of standard framing
Polly Le Grand said:
Building on Benjamin's comment: Is advertising a way to take role models and let them have an impact at a much greater scale?
Benjamin Zeitlyn said:
SESSION 2, Q3: How can business use external marketing and customer engagement to support women’s economic empowerment?
I find the approach taken by Unilever through their new Axe campaign really interesting - how can businesses use their adverstising to change social norms and expectations about gender and create really good, compelling and memorable content?
Georgie - we've mentioned elsewhere in this discussion the issue of gender based violence and many people worry about the role of alcohol as a contributing causal pathway - what challenges does that raise for a company like Diageo
georgie said:
Industries can lead change through collaboration to address issues such as safety for women – Diageo is a member of theBeer Selling Industry Cambodia(BSIC) which with leadership from CARE International, implemented a code of conduct to improve the health and working conditions of beer promoters in Cambodia, who faced regular sexual harassment and misconduct or exploitation. The code covers 7 key standards around: employment status; organization of work; uniform; transport; training and information; harassment; alcohol information, as well as regular independent research to evaluate performance against commitments and guide improvements. This has demonstrated increased awareness of workers’ benefits and rights, a drop in sexual harassment and an increase in the number of beer promoters addressing incidents of sexual harassment directly, indicating improved working conditions for beer promoters covered by the BSIC’s code of conduct, compared with those who are not.
georgie said:
Internal or industry specific codes and practices - Diageo’s brands have for many years been guided by theDiageo Marketing Codea self-regulatory code of compliance for responsible marketing which includes in its provisions that protect against the objectification or demeaning of women or either gender. Business can influence change through their suppliers through codes of conduct, or guidelines on issues such as gender equality. All suppliers are required to adhere toDiageo’s Code of Business Conduct, which include issues such as child labour and human rights.
georgie said:
a few thoughts from me here - some businesses are recognising the power of brands in engaging consumers more meaningfully to lead change through a purpose driven approach. Unilever is best in class, demonstratingsuperior performance.
Smirnoff’s ‘We’re Open’ campaign is engaging consumers’ perceptions of diversity and inclusion in exciting and uplifting ways and creating much conversation -Chris Fonseca Deaf dancers campaigntells the story of Chris Fonseca, an inspiring deaf dance teacher from London, who teaches other deaf dancers that there are other ways to enjoy music beyond just hearing it. Through story telling, the brand is encouraging dialogue and challenging perceptions among consumers. the theme of “We’re Open” as a diverse and inclusive brand is global but markets are localising content to address issues or themes that resonate in their geography, allowing for more bespoke content and engagement. It’s still relatively early days, but the feedback has been hugely positive.
Hester le Roux said:
We will leave it there for the first two questions - though please remember that you can keep adding comments to the conversation after this session has ended. Turning now to our third question, and we’ll spend a bit more time on this one:
SESSION 2, Q3: How can business use external marketing and customer engagement to support women’s economic empowerment?
This is interesting Shruthi, measuring attitudinal shifts and demonstrating the power of these new approaches have on narratives and norms would likely perpetuate change which could lead to greater economic empowerment?
Shruthi Jayaram said:
We are seeing in India a range of businesses starting to acknowledge gender dynamics in their advertising, which is very interesting. Prominent examples are the recent ads by companies like Tanishq (jewelry) and Ariel (laundry detergent) that acknowledge skewed gender roles explicitly. While not directly supporting economic empowerment (rather, social empowerment), it's an interesting use case for businesses to bring in women consumers.
Hester le Roux said:
We will leave it there for the first two questions - though please remember that you can keep adding comments to the conversation after this session has ended. Turning now to our third question, and we’ll spend a bit more time on this one:
SESSION 2, Q3: How can business use external marketing and customer engagement to support women’s economic empowerment?
We know that women's burden of unpaid care work is a critical factor in economic empowerment. Does anyone have any good examples of advertising that promotes the role that men can play in care work?
Hi Gerry we strongly support gender diversity and equality which is critical in tackling the core issues. We are providing skills training and employment opportunities to women through Plan W which includes gender equity training and responsible drinking information wherever possible.
We actively support programmes around the world that aim to prevent alcohol abuse and promote responsible drinking such as DRINKiQ which raises participant’s understanding of the effects of alcohol on the body, and equips people to make more informed decisions about drinking or not drinking alcohol. We have developed a specific DRINKiQ course for women.DRINKiQ.comis available in multiple languages and is promoted on all our communications including packaging.
We’re exploring options to do more to address this.
Gerry Boyle said:
Georgie - we've mentioned elsewhere in this discussion the issue of gender based violence and many people worry about the role of alcohol as a contributing causal pathway - what challenges does that raise for a company like Diageo
georgie said:
Industries can lead change through collaboration to address issues such as safety for women – Diageo is a member of theBeer Selling Industry Cambodia(BSIC) which with leadership from CARE International, implemented a code of conduct to improve the health and working conditions of beer promoters in Cambodia, who faced regular sexual harassment and misconduct or exploitation. The code covers 7 key standards around: employment status; organization of work; uniform; transport; training and information; harassment; alcohol information, as well as regular independent research to evaluate performance against commitments and guide improvements. This has demonstrated increased awareness of workers’ benefits and rights, a drop in sexual harassment and an increase in the number of beer promoters addressing incidents of sexual harassment directly, indicating improved working conditions for beer promoters covered by the BSIC’s code of conduct, compared with those who are not.
georgie said:
Internal or industry specific codes and practices - Diageo’s brands have for many years been guided by theDiageo Marketing Codea self-regulatory code of compliance for responsible marketing which includes in its provisions that protect against the objectification or demeaning of women or either gender. Business can influence change through their suppliers through codes of conduct, or guidelines on issues such as gender equality. All suppliers are required to adhere toDiageo’s Code of Business Conduct, which include issues such as child labour and human rights.
georgie said:
a few thoughts from me here - some businesses are recognising the power of brands in engaging consumers more meaningfully to lead change through a purpose driven approach. Unilever is best in class, demonstratingsuperior performance.
Smirnoff’s ‘We’re Open’ campaign is engaging consumers’ perceptions of diversity and inclusion in exciting and uplifting ways and creating much conversation -Chris Fonseca Deaf dancers campaigntells the story of Chris Fonseca, an inspiring deaf dance teacher from London, who teaches other deaf dancers that there are other ways to enjoy music beyond just hearing it. Through story telling, the brand is encouraging dialogue and challenging perceptions among consumers. the theme of “We’re Open” as a diverse and inclusive brand is global but markets are localising content to address issues or themes that resonate in their geography, allowing for more bespoke content and engagement. It’s still relatively early days, but the feedback has been hugely positive.
Hester le Roux said:
We will leave it there for the first two questions - though please remember that you can keep adding comments to the conversation after this session has ended. Turning now to our third question, and we’ll spend a bit more time on this one:
SESSION 2, Q3: How can business use external marketing and customer engagement to support women’s economic empowerment?
Thank you for all those contributions. Let us now move on to our final question:
SESSION 2, Q4: Which actions should companies take (possibly in partnership with governments/donors/civil society) to tackle wider systemic constraints to women’s empowerment, such as access to finance?
For many products and in many contexts, women are the ones making purchasing decisions as consumers - is there any evidence to suggest that women (or men) would be influenced by a company's work on women's economic empowerment in terms of consumer behaviour? (over and above things like price and quality?)
There have been lots of references to access to finance yet we believe that extending financial services to all women represents a huge opportunity for banks. Accenture have estimated it as a $380bn revenue opportunity per annum, and CARE and Accenture have looked in some depths at how to gain access to this market (“Within Reach” http://bit.ly/1NEzu9o )
Two key findings are that women are an under-served market with banks not doing enough even to identify them within their existing customer base, and that savings groups are a key and highly cost-effective entry point. We believe that if mainstream banks do not soon invest in capturing this market, they will run a major risk of telcos and “insurgent” banks capturing major market share and building the strong brands that will drive the mass consumer market as well as the “bottom of the pyramid” market.
TheDFID surveythat we ran as part of this Challenge found that quarter of respondents thought there were barriers preventing women from entering their organisation as employees; half saw obstacles in the way of women staying in work; and almost 85% thought women were being held back from progressing to higher levels.
The top 3 reasons standing in the way of women entering work, staying at work and progressing to higher levels were named by survey respondents as
lack of opportunities for flexible working;
lack of affordable, quality childcare; and
lack of support for other family or personal responsibility
The wider systemic constraints vary from country to country, so there isn’t one right answer. However, key barriers include access to finance, discriminatory legal frameworks, lower human capital, care work, gender-based violence and social norms that exclude women from the most productive occupations and sectors.
Businesses can take action to address these, both themselves and in partnerships. We’ve already heard about employers providing transport to work for example, which can help to overcome barriers such as social stigmas around women working outside the home and concerns about women’s safety.
Hester le Roux said:
Thank you for all those contributions. Let us now move on to our final question:
SESSION 2, Q4: Which actions should companies take (possibly in partnership with governments/donors/civil society) to tackle wider systemic constraints to women’s empowerment, such as access to finance?
Polly, not quite the example you were looking for but there is something in companies promoting their approaches to flexible working. We work hard to ensure that our people have options around when and where they work and very deliberately highlight men who, for example, work part time so others can see role models. Companies and employees need to move away from thinking that part time or other different work patterns are only for working mothers. The flexibility create a healthier environment all round in my experience. Everyone benefits.
Polly Le Grand said:
We know that women's burden of unpaid care work is a critical factor in economic empowerment. Does anyone have any good examples of advertising that promotes the role that men can play in care work?