The integration and utilization of data is a key discussion throughout the marketing community, mainly with the aim of resonating with consumers. But that data can also be used to affect social change at scale.
With the aims of using that data and technology for good, The Association of National Advertiser’s #SeeHer initiative has created the Gender Equality Measure, or GEM, that will call-out unconscious bias in ads and media.
While 75 companies representing $50 billion in marketing spend have signed on to support #SeeHer, the Meredith Corporation is having their brands reviewed by the methodology to become GEM certified and plans to “put its vast resources and brand power behind the #SeeHer movement” and will “promote the partnership across all platforms.”
Meredith Corporation expects this partnership to kick off in December and to expand in scope in 2019. For a media company whose reach extends to 100 million consumers, this will put pressure on the media industry at large to follow suit in being more conscious of representation.
“Women influence or make 85 percent of all purchase decisions. As a company that connects and engages with 110 million American women, coming alongside #SeeHer is the right thing to do socially and for the bottom line,” said Alysia Borsa, chief marketing and data officer, Meredith Corporation in a press release.
#SeeHer launched in 2016 with the goal of improving representation of women throughout media by 2020.
This is not the first time data is being utilized to understand gender representation in media and advertising. Actor Geena Davis, who is a member of the advisory board for #SeeHer, has long championed the cause under her organization The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media.
Last year, research compiled from the Institute’s Inclusion Quotient tool had revealed that twice as many men as women appeared in TV ads, enjoyed four times as much screen time, and had three times as much dialogue—a significant gap in gender representation.
