How can brands be more authentic when it comes to International Women’s Day?
With march marking women’s history month, We take a look at some of this year’s international women’s day campaigns, and ask how you can learn from them - plus tips on how to plan for 2024.
Today, 8 March 2023, marks International Women’s Day (IWD), and this year’s theme? #EmbraceEquity. “The aim of the IWD 2023 #EmbraceEquity campaign theme is to get the world talking about Why equal opportunities aren't enough,” reads the official IWD website. “People start from different places, so true inclusion and belonging require equitable action.”
There’s no doubt that IWD is a powerful global movement: last year, its #BreaktheBias theme garnered 44.3m views on TikTok and nearly 474,000 posts on Instagram. Today will see brands from all sectors, including drinks and increasingly whisky, posting their own IWD campaigns – from highlighting the women in their companies, to activities aimed at raising money for women-centric charities.
It’s an important day in the calendar for brands: according to consumer research platform Quantilope, 63% of Gen X and 76% of Gen Z expect their favourite brands to address diversity and inclusion, and authenticity will play a role in how successful those campaigns are too. Are these brands using IWD as a marketing tool when their own internal makeup isn’t equitable for women (check out Gender Pay Gap Bot on Twitter)? Have these campaigns been carefully conceptualised and make a statement or are they a last-minute virtue-signalling exercise? And are brands engaging with the women they use to market their campaigns in an equitable way?
We take a look at brands and businesses spanning the sectors to highlight some of the ways they’ve been marking International Women’s Day this year – and what more you can do too.
four 2023 campaigns that got us talking
1. Häagen-Daaz remembers its forgotten woman founder
Did you know that Häagen-Dazs was founded by a woman? Us neither, because while her husband Reuben may have created the ice-cream, Rose Mättus was in fact the person behind the brand and the business. In order to finally honour Rose, Häagen-Dazs has launched The Rose Project, pledging $100,000 in bursaries which will support women who are global trailblazers. Fifty women will be picked from from nominations and put forward to win one of five $20,000 bursaries. The brand has also undertaken a global rebrand across its shops and digital and social platforms, adding ‘Rose Mättus, Woman Founded Business, Established 1960’ alongside its logo.
It begs the question ‘Why has it taken so long to honour Rose Mättus?’ but offering financial support to women in business is tangible step forward from the brand.
Takeaway: Are there women in your company who are regularly unsung? Or a woman in your brand’s history who has been overshadowed? Why not set up a fund to help other women succeed in business or dedicate a product to their work?
2. Barbie honours women in STEM
The Barbie brand might not be the first you think of when it comes to promoting fair standards among women, but its 2023 campaign has seen the iconic American doll brand honour women working in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics spaces with their own doll replicas. One such woman is space scientist Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock who has been named as Barbie Role Model for her work promoting science careers to girls. "I hope my doll will remind girls that when you reach for the stars, anything is possible," she said of the honour. "I want to inspire the next generation of scientists, and especially girls, and let them know that STEM is for them.”
Takeaway: While you might not have a Barbie equivalent to honour women with, creating a recognition platform for women who you believe are doing good for the wider industry is easily implemented and recognises hard work often going on on a much broader level.
3. Scottish Widows shines a light on the pension gap
While the Gender Pay Gap is often spoken about when discussing equity for women in work, pensions and life insurance company Scottish Widows is using International Women’s Day to highlight the Gender Pension Gap. It has found some startling figures: “Today, on average, women are retiring with £123,000 less in their pension than men. Gender imbalances in pay, working patterns and time out of work for childcare and caring responsibilities are the key drivers of the pension gap. We have seen a slight improvement in the outlook for young women over the years, but it remains stark.”
To help redress the balance, Scottish Widows is bringing the staggering stats it has found to life across multimedia channels, and setting out ways in which women (and businesses) can address this issue.
Takeaway: Take a look internally and see what your business is doing to make sure men and women are being paid equitably and have a fair pension projection. Learn more here.
4. Josh app creates videos to help women feel safe when getting a taxi
Indian video app Josh has created a series of videos that women can play on their phones in a taxi to make it sound like they’re talking to loved ones. Called #SafeSwipe, the videos have been created using impersonators pretending to be parents or loved ones engaging in a conversation with the passenger. All the woman has to do is play a video and read the lines provided.
Takeaway: Is there something more related to societal or social inequity that you can focus your time and money on? Think outside of the box and do something that could help women outside of the industry too.
Tips for planning IWD 2024
While some of these campaigns may have given you food for thought going into 2024 IWD activities, here are a few more factors to bear in mind as planning begins:
1. Start planning early. Year-on-year, businesses take the last-minute approach to pull together their campaigns, with call outs for contributions, short lead times for social media assets and inevitably no real strategy or focus for what their campaign is setting out to achieve. Why not take control and start planning your 2024 campaign right now. Those 12 months will give you time to conceptualise something special, plan year-round actions to lead up to your IWD activity and set goals for achievements you can showcase when they big day comes. Work it into your annual work plan - and sooner than later, it will no doubt branch out into more organic women-focused activity year-round.
2. Give financially to initiatives that support women. Money talks and aligning your brand or business with initiatives that support women financially is a way of unequivocally putting your money where your mouth is. The OurWhisky Foundation is one of these very initiatives - find out how to support our work here.
3. Pay your campaigners. It’s not unusual for brands to approach influential women in the industry to promote IWD, but when this comes without a payment fee, the issue of women not being paid what they deserve for their work continues indefinitely. If you’d like a woman in the industry to be the face (or one of the faces) of your campaign, make sure she is compensated. After all, this is marketing for your brand. Oh, and don’t only get in touch for IWD - build a year-round relationship if you want that person to really champion your work for women in the industry.
4. Look at internal policies. Last year, we asked whisky brands what they do for their staff to promote equity all-year-round. From maternity and paternity policies, to working with charities, offering women-only internships and showcasing its women staff on a regular basis, it is important that if you’re projecting a belief in equity for women, you’re business holds those values at its heart.
5. Think holistically. When it comes to creating IWD content, think holistically about who you’re hiring to create it. If you’re interviewing staff, perhaps ask a woman to be involved in the decision-making process; if you’re doing a photography campaign, as a woman photographer to take the photos; and if you’re collaborating with influencers or famous individuals, it’s worth asking why you are featuring a man over a woman.
