It’s that time of the year again.
Women’s Day is just around the corner, and so is the rush to jump on the pink wagon.
If you’re a brand, or an agency, on the verge of creating a Women’s Day campaign, here’s a quick test for you to reassess.
How is the woman (or women) being treated in your advert: Yes / No
Is her screen time equal or more than the man in the ad?
Does she outnumber male characters?
Is her voice or speaking time equal or more than the man in the ad?
Is she rewriting her own future without the help of a male protagonist?
Is her role more than the role of the brand?
Is the ad without a product shot?
Is your campaign idea more than a limited edition packaging?
Does the ad include women of all races, color and sizes?
Does the ad include non-binary people and trans women?
Does the end message empower women for the future, without stating “This Women’s Day?”
Does the ad talk about a systemic societal change, rather than a woman being responsible for herself?
Is the ad free of stereotypes in portrayal and language?
If it’s a humorous ad, is it the woman who’s cracking the joke?
Is the ad targeted at both men and women?
Are you creating the work without a hashtag?
If you’ve changed your logo, is it permanent?
Is your Women’s Day narrative shaped and influenced by women: Yes / No
Do you have an equal or more number of women in the brand, agency and production teams who’ve created the work?
Do women have equal or more decision making power in the brand, agency and production teams who’ve created the work?
Is the work shot by a woman director?
Do you hire women directors for projects beyond women’s day and women empowerment?
Do you treat women in your workplace with equal opportunity: Yes / No
Do your board rooms and leadership reflect enough gender balance?
Do you have enough women from diverse backgrounds and various life stages?
Are women paid the same as men across levels?
Are women promoted like men?
Are the number of women hires the same or more than men?
Do you consciously hire women from diverse backgrounds?
Do you have exclusive acceleration programs for women in your workplace?
Are the women in your workplace treated safely?
Does your organisation have strict policies against sexual and workplace harassment?
Does your organisation have strict anti-discrimination policies?
Have all the men on the project treated women fairly without any history of obvious gender bias or sexual harassment?
Are all the managers in your organisation trained to recognise unconscious gender bias?
Is your organisation’s maternity leave more than the lawful limit in your country?
Does your organisation have paternity leave?
Do you have childcare for mothers?
If the work was created by women freelancers, have you paid them fairly?
Do you hire women freelancers for other projects too?
If you’re doing an internal communications campaign, apart from the above: Yes / No
Does your leadership often listen to the same women who you’ve recorded or asked for a quote?
Are you also introducing a new policy/program for women in your organisation rather than sending them a greeting or a gift voucher?
If you’re inviting a guest speaker, are you paying her?
Do you have a reason to do this piece of work other than being part of a trend? Yes / No
Do you make such kind of women-centric work throughout the year? Yes / No
