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This year, the theme for International Women’s Day was #BreakTheBias. While many marketers created campaigns around this theme all month long, it’s likely that very few thought about the role they can personally play to break bias. Because here’s the number one question we should all be asking ourselves when celebrating International Women’s Day, Women’s History Month and other moments that spotlight the achievements of women: How are you advocating for women in the pandemic?
It’s easy to create campaigns and content with platitudes and inspirational quotes. The hard work is to show up as an advocate and break the bias when it comes to our societal, cultural and work expectations of women. Start by asking yourself these three questions to see how you can help.
How are you helping mothers return to the workforce?
Women’s labor force participation is now at a level we haven’t seen since the 1980s. And the pandemic has had a devastating impact on mothers.
How are you helping break the bias and hire more mothers into your company? Consider implementing returnships, educating recruiters and hiring managers on gaps in resumes and ensuring you have policies that support working families.
Partner with companies like The Mom Project that are committed to unlocking the potential of moms in the workforce. They worked with Accenture last year to hire 150 moms for their Chicago office. iRelaunch is another great partner for companies, with its mission to eliminate bias against people who have taken extended career breaks, helping to set up returnship programs.
How are you fighting ageism?
While women face bias as mothers, we can’t forget about the bias women face when it comes to ageism. Nearly 70% of women over 40 who are still unemployed have been out of the workforce for six months or more, with age discrimination a key factor as to why they aren’t being hired.
When it comes to hiring and retaining talent, stop biased language in its tracks including—she “lacks energy,” “couldn’t keep up with pace” or “is too old to understand TikTok.” Focus on the job requirements for the role and the experience the candidate brings to the table.
Additionally, marketers have a huge opportunity to fight ageism in the way older women are depicted in advertising. According to the AARP, older Americans are seven times more likely to be portrayed negatively in ads compared to those under 50.
Diversity of thought doesn’t happen without diversity of representation. Ensuring you have representation across generations at the table is critical to unlocking growth, especially if you want to serve baby boomers.
How are you supporting women-owned businesses?
During the pandemic, women-owned businesses have closed at a higher rate. Those businesses still open have lost considerable revenue. And they continue to face significant bias when it comes to fundraising.
Consider how you can support and break the bias for women-owned businesses, including hiring them as suppliers and buying items from them for company gifts. Vote with your wallet by supporting women-founded brands like Blossom Box Jewelry, Dalci, Harlem Chocolate Factory, McBride Sisters Wine Company and Tea Drops.
Finally, support or become involved in more accelerator programs to help invest in more women founders. Companies like Chobani, Diageo, Disney and more have accelerators to help entrepreneurs start their own companies. It’s an opportunity to lift up and support more women founders starting the next generation of game-changing companies.
This article is part of a special Voice series, Voices of Tomorrow: A More Equitable Working World for Women in Advertising, intended to educate marketers on how to continue making advances toward equity and supporting women in the workplace, business ventures and male-dominated industries.
