It’s International Day of the Girl – a time for us to address the challenges girls face, to promote their empowerment and the fulfilment of their human rights
I am proud to lead a diverse agency, with strong female representation in leadership roles. Together, we’ve exchanged plenty of ideas and debated ways to mark International Day of the Girl.
For me, this should be a time for self-reflection. About how issues like gender equality creep up in the work we do. Because let’s be honest, the advertising industry hasn’t always got this right.
With agencies falling over backwards to sign up to sustainability pledges – to prove they are doing good, it struck me that the point of a longer-term future is seriously brought into question if that future perpetuates gender bias.
Advertising/marketing and PR not only shape our culture, but co-create it. The ideas we sell to our clients and their brands appeal to emotion; they influence values, attitudes and perceptions of the world. Combatting gender bias in advertising should be central to the UAE’s efforts in reducing gender inequality, in line with its development goals for 2030.
At M&C Saatchi, we navigate, create and lead meaningful change for our clients. Change is our commitment, not a catchphrase.
That’s why, as an agency, we’ll be the first to hold our hands up. It was only last week that we took a critical look at some of our own work and questioned whether we had questioned it enough. We are transparent enough to say “possibly not”, and that we, like many others, have much more to do in this space.
What is the wider industry doing in our region to drive change?
In 2020, we saw a step in the right direction for the UAE. Through the launch of the Unstereotype Alliance – a thought and action platform that seeks to eradicate harmful gender-based stereotypes in all media and advertising content. Several of our industry’s key players all joined the movement, but 12 months on has it changed enough?
We ask all our employees to sign policies around diversity and inclusion, but do we think about how that manifests itself in the work we all create?
In line with International Day of the Girl, and a commitment to reduce gender inequality across the globe, we have made a very simple first step towards that change, in asking employees to sign our “gender discriminatory practices in advertising” policy as an addendum to their own employment contracts.
We ask all our employees to sign policies around diversity and inclusion, but do we think about how that manifests itself in the work we all create?.
A simple way to recommit to each other, and our industry, that we will not build or reinforce negative and outdated gender stereotypes in any of our work. Sounds too easy, but the most powerful first step towards change is to be seen, and heard.
Now all our employees commit to raising matters that we believe contradict this policy. Addressing them with each other and the leadership team, to prevent the perpetuation of these practices in our industry.
This is just the start
Our change agenda will continue every day. A couple of weeks ago, I came across a campaign on social media: #thislittlegirlisme. A campaign by Inspiring Girls International, which is an organisation dedicated to raising the aspirations of young girls around the world by connecting them with female role models.
What shocked me were some of the statistics. Around 90 percent of girls feel they have higher personal and career aspirations after following inspiring women on social media, and a huge percentage say that they lack female role models in their lives.
In sharing my own simple and honest story on LinkedIn, the response was extremely positive; with many graduates and future talent reaching out for advice and support. So, with that in mind, we’ll be donating our time and our resources to getting more involved in grassroots activities. Giving young talent direct access to our senior leaders and clients. To ask them, quite simply, anything they want in terms of advice and learnings from their own careers.
We will also be getting much more serious about this with our clients; re-defining our own contracts with them to commit to scrutinising the work we make together.
I’m sure that today there will be much debate and social sharing around some of the issues young girls face. But I would ask everyone in the advertising industry to reflect, step back and review their own work. Let’s change the conditions for how we get to that great work as a starting point.
Natalie Cooke, group managing director, M&C Saatchi UAE.
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By Natalie Cooke
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Today we recommit to equality
It’s International Day of the Girl – a time for us to address the challenges girls face, to promote their empowerment and the fulfilment of their human rights
I am proud to lead a diverse agency, with strong female representation in leadership roles. Together, we’ve exchanged plenty of ideas and debated ways to mark International Day of the Girl.
For me, this should be a time for self-reflection. About how issues like gender equality creep up in the work we do. Because let’s be honest, the advertising industry hasn’t always got this right.
With agencies falling over backwards to sign up to sustainability pledges – to prove they are doing good, it struck me that the point of a longer-term future is seriously brought into question if that future perpetuates gender bias.
Advertising/marketing and PR not only shape our culture, but co-create it. The ideas we sell to our clients and their brands appeal to emotion; they influence values, attitudes and perceptions of the world. Combatting gender bias in advertising should be central to the UAE’s efforts in reducing gender inequality, in line with its development goals for 2030.
At M&C Saatchi, we navigate, create and lead meaningful change for our clients. Change is our commitment, not a catchphrase.
That’s why, as an agency, we’ll be the first to hold our hands up. It was only last week that we took a critical look at some of our own work and questioned whether we had questioned it enough. We are transparent enough to say “possibly not”, and that we, like many others, have much more to do in this space.
What is the wider industry doing in our region to drive change?
In 2020, we saw a step in the right direction for the UAE. Through the launch of the Unstereotype Alliance – a thought and action platform that seeks to eradicate harmful gender-based stereotypes in all media and advertising content. Several of our industry’s key players all joined the movement, but 12 months on has it changed enough?
We ask all our employees to sign policies around diversity and inclusion, but do we think about how that manifests itself in the work we all create?
In line with International Day of the Girl, and a commitment to reduce gender inequality across the globe, we have made a very simple first step towards that change, in asking employees to sign our “gender discriminatory practices in advertising” policy as an addendum to their own employment contracts.
A simple way to recommit to each other, and our industry, that we will not build or reinforce negative and outdated gender stereotypes in any of our work. Sounds too easy, but the most powerful first step towards change is to be seen, and heard.
Now all our employees commit to raising matters that we believe contradict this policy. Addressing them with each other and the leadership team, to prevent the perpetuation of these practices in our industry.
This is just the start
Our change agenda will continue every day. A couple of weeks ago, I came across a campaign on social media: #thislittlegirlisme. A campaign by Inspiring Girls International, which is an organisation dedicated to raising the aspirations of young girls around the world by connecting them with female role models.
What shocked me were some of the statistics. Around 90 percent of girls feel they have higher personal and career aspirations after following inspiring women on social media, and a huge percentage say that they lack female role models in their lives.
In sharing my own simple and honest story on LinkedIn, the response was extremely positive; with many graduates and future talent reaching out for advice and support. So, with that in mind, we’ll be donating our time and our resources to getting more involved in grassroots activities. Giving young talent direct access to our senior leaders and clients. To ask them, quite simply, anything they want in terms of advice and learnings from their own careers.
We will also be getting much more serious about this with our clients; re-defining our own contracts with them to commit to scrutinising the work we make together.
I’m sure that today there will be much debate and social sharing around some of the issues young girls face. But I would ask everyone in the advertising industry to reflect, step back and review their own work. Let’s change the conditions for how we get to that great work as a starting point.
Natalie Cooke, group managing director, M&C Saatchi UAE.
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