UNICEF joins the Unstereotype Alliance to confront harmful gender-based stereotypes around the world

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The Unstereotype Alliance is a thought and action platform that uses advertising as a force for good to drive positive change. It seeks to eradicate harmful gender-based stereotypes. The alliance is focused on empowering women in all their diversity (race, class, age, ability, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, language, education, etc.) and addressing harmful masculinities to help create a gender equal world.

http://www.unstereotypealliance.org/en

 

https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/unicef-joins-unstereotype-alliance...

 

The Alliance, which was launched a year ago by UN Women and private sector partners, brings together a range of brands across industries, including some of UNICEF’s existing partners, such as Unilever and Cannes Lions.

“We are pleased to join the Unstereotype Alliance, and to join UN Women and our other partners in taking a stand against gender discrimination and to empower women to help build a gender equal world,” said Gary Stahl, UNICEF's Director of Private Fundraising and Partnerships.

Also at Cannes, young creatives Gerardo Saavedra and Emiliano Salmon were named the 2018 winners of the prestigious Young Lions Health Award, a creative competition for young talent in the communication and marketing industry to submit campaign ideas that can help combat gender stereotypes and highlight discriminatory barriers women and girls face when accessing healthcare.  

The wining idea envisions a cartoon-driven social movement called #metoon. As part of the campaign, cartoon heroes would communicate with children to combat gender stereotypes, recognizing that both girls and boys are vulnerable to abuse.  

The Cannes Lions Festival is the largest global gathering of the marketing, communications and tech industries. This year, Cannes Lions, UNICEF and UN Women joined forces for the award, which rewards original, attention-grabbing ideas developed by creatives and marketers under the age of 30. The competition received over fifty submissions from all over the world, and was judged by a jury of professionals from the marketing industry, Cannes Lions, UNICEF, and UN Women.

 “Every year, this award focuses on a different humanitarian or development theme,” said Louise Benson, Director of the Lions Health Festival. “The common element is that we always mobilize creativity to build a healthier world for children and youth.”

In 2018, for the first time, UN Women is a co-organizer and partner of this award.

Women and girls in developing countries are frequently confronted with a myriad of socio-cultural factors which negatively affect their personal safety and access to appropriate health care services. UNICEF recognizes that everyone has a role to play to reduce barriers and promote the health and wellbeing of all.

Notes for editors:

About UNICEF

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone.

About UN Women

UN Women is the global champion for gender equality, working to create an environment in which every woman and girl can exercise her human rights and live up to her full potential. UN Women works to challenge harmful gender-based stereotypes that hold back progress for all, and to empower women. It is present in 90 countries around the world, and works across multiple sectors with a wide range of partners at multiple levels to affect positive change. Under the Unstereotype Alliance, UN Women brings together a wide range of partners from multi-national corporations to advertisers, ad agencies, and others working to eliminate stereotypes from advertising and communications. The initiative is in line with the overall mandate of UN Women to drive the achievement of gender equality globally. 

About the Unstereotype Alliance

The Unstereotype Alliance is a thought and action platform that uses advertising as a force for good to drive positive change. It seeks to eradicate harmful gender-based stereotypes. The alliance is focused on empowering women in all their diversity (race, class, age, ability, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, language, education, etc.) and addressing harmful masculinities to help create a gender equal world. 

About Cannes Lions

Cannes Lions is the world’s biggest festival and awards for the creative and marketing, communications, entertainment, design and tech industries. All shortlisted ideas from the Young Lions Health Award are posted on the Cannes Lions website.

 

http://www.unstereotypealliance.org/en/about

Recognizing the power of partnerships to accelerate progress, this industry-led initiative convened by UN Women will unite leaders across business, technology and creative industries to tackle the widespread prevalence of stereotypes that are often perpetuated through advertising and content.

The Unstereotype Alliance has been embraced by businesses and organizations who have been champions of addressing gender bias in the industry. The Unstereotype Alliance aims to tackle how the industry can affect positive cultural change by using the power of advertising to help shape perceptions that reflect realistic, non-biased portrayals of women and men.

"Stereotypes reflect deep-rooted ideas of femininity and masculinity. Negative, diminished conceptions of women and girls are one of the greatest barriers for gender equality and we need to tackle and change those images wherever they appear. Advertising is a particularly powerful driver to change perceptions and impact social norms. UN Women is excited to partner with the foremost industry shapers in this Alliance to challenge and advance the ways women are represented in this field." - Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka Executive Director of UN Women

MANIFESTO

Stereotypes are everywhere, we can’t escape them. It’s that unconscious bias we place on things before we even know it, that is why they can be harmful.As advertisers and creatives, we have the power to influence culture and society in a positive way. Today, we need to ensure creativity, whether in the advertising or content we create, shows people as progressive and modern, authentic and multi-dimensional. 

This unstereotyped world is our job to deliver now, not the next generations. And is no longer only a social imperative, but a business one. Starting today, we stand together as one.

CODE OF PRINCIPLES

As Members of the Unstereotype Alliance, to realize our common vision, we commit to create unstereotyped branded content by:

  • Depicting people as empowered actors
  • Refraining from objectifying people
  • Portraying progressive and multi-dimensional personalities not vacuous

We aim to foster an unstereotyped culture, through:

  • Driving gender balance in senior leadership and creative roles
  • Directly addressing unconscious bias, diversity and inclusion through training as a standard across the industry
  • Challenging each other as advertisers and advertising agencies to deliver the best unstereotyped marketing content - and ensuring, as brands, that we only buy the best, most unstereotyped work
  • And we pledge to hold ourselves accountable by setting clear goals and measuring change annually, aiming for significant change by 2020

 

 

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