In the News

• Publish Date: Mar 03, 2023

The  official theme for International Women’s Day, 8 March 2023 (IWD 2023) is, “ DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality ” .  This year, the Unstereotype Alliance joined efforts with its members and allies  to highlight initiatives aligned with the theme and the intentional efforts to close the digital gender gap.    Read on to find out more.        H&M GROUP    ...

• Publish Date: Jul 04, 2022

Unstereotype Alliance celebrates 5th Anniversary at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity Monday 20th June On the opening day of the festival we marked a momentous occasion at the WPP Beach - our fifth anniversary! Having launched at Cannes in 2017 with 24 members, we celebrated our +867% growth, the launch of 12 national chapters across 5 continents and the continuous improvement of Unstereotype Metric scores among Unstereotype Alliance members.  ...

• Publish Date: Mar 07, 2022

To commemorate IWD, the Unstereotype Alliance is highlighting women across the Alliance who are contributing to a sustainable future through their work.

• Publish Date: Mar 05, 2021

To mark International Women’s Day on 8 March 2021, the Unstereotype Alliance is celebrating UN Women’s official theme, “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world,” by showcasing the women leaders across the Unstereotype Alliance.

• Publish Date: Feb 01, 2021

An advertisement published by the UK Government on social media has been withdrawn after receiving widespread criticism for perpetuating harmful gender stereotypes.

• Publish Date: Jun 09, 2020

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women, and Stephan Loerke, CEO, WFA, issue a joint statement and call for action.

• Publish Date: Feb 11, 2020

UN Women launches South Africa Chapter of the Unstereotype Alliance UN Women South Africa Multi-Country Office launched the South African National Chapter of the Unstereotype Alliance in Johannesburg on 11 February 2020. The Unstereotype Alliance, a thought and action platform, seeks to eradicate harmful gender-based stereotypes in all media and advertising content. Convened by UN Women, the Unstereotype Alliance contributes to empowering women in all their diversity and addressing harmful...

• Publish Date: Dec 27, 2019

World leaders, civil society and the private sector are preparing to make 2020 the biggest year yet for the advancement of women’s rights. Over the course of the year, thousands of people are expected to attend high-level UN events and forums in Mexico City and Paris to mark the 25th anniversary of the Beijing platform for action, a landmark agreement to end gender inequality. More than 160 countries have already submitted reports outlining the progress made and the obstacles faced in achieving the Beijing agreement. In January, the UN secretary general is expected to publish an assessment of global efforts, and member states are already negotiating ways to accelerate action.

• Publish Date: Dec 14, 2019

Eşitlikçi Reklamlar İçin Türkiye’den Dev Adım Reklamlardaki zararlı toplumsal cinsiyet kalıp yargılarını dönüştürmeyi amaçlayan Unstereotype Alliance Türkiye platformu kuruldu. Platform, reklam verenlerin, markaların ve reklamcıların ortaklaşa çalışmasıyla reklam ve medya içeriğini eşitlikten yana değiştirerek dünyaya örnek olmayı hedefliyor. Kaynak: Eşitlikçi Reklamlar İçin Türkiye’den Dev...

• Publish Date: Dec 13, 2019

On December 13 th , the  Unstereotype Alliance , UN Women’s flagship partnership with the marketing industry, announced the launch of a local chapter in Turkey at an event in Istanbul, with support from the Gender Equality in Advertising Board (RTCEK) rel="noopener noreferrer" initiated by the  Association of Turkish Advertisers  (RVD). This would be the second local chapter established to date, with the first one launched  in Brazil  in early 2019. Unstereotype...

• Publish Date: Nov 29, 2019

The  Advertising Regulatory Board has ruled  that a Volkswagen radio ad stereotypes women and ordered it to be withdrawn. The ad depicts a man in a mall who is accompanying his shoe-shopping female partner. The voiceover reports from the scene: “It’s dusk and you’re in unfamiliar territory, surrounded by predators hunting for fresh prey. And they found it. 50% off all shoes. They attack, lunging mercilessly. As you guard the 12 shopping bags, seated on a bench alongside the other men, you watch the feeding frenzy take place. This is Shoe Sale Country and you don't belong here, man. This is not your habitat, so go where you belong in the V6 Amarok... Visit your Volkswagen dealership for great Amarok V6 offers today, man.

• Publish Date: Nov 20, 2019

Dubai Lynx has now launched for 2020. The festival, taking place from 8th – 11th March 2020, celebrates the creativity and innovation that drives commercial growth for brands and businesses across the Middle East and North Africa. The Lynx Awards, which are judged during the festival, are the benchmark for creative excellence in the MENA region. The Creative Strategy Lynx Award is new for 2020 and honours how strategic planning can redefine a brand, reinvent a business or influence...

• Publish Date: Oct 11, 2019

The World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and its associations of advertisers in Latin America have pledged to take action on harmful stereotypes in marketing, during the meetings held this week in Buenos Aires. The Declaration of Buenos Aires has been presented by the WFA and the national associations of advertisers from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile and Paraguay at the annual regional meeting of the WFA.

• Publish Date: Oct 08, 2019

By  Katie Deighton -08 October 2019 13:09pm It’s been just over two years since UN Women unveiled its  gender stereotype-busting advertising alliance  alongside Unilever and a host of multnationals. Now, the organization’s executive director plans to turn up the message by making room at the table for smaller, local brands. UN Women unveiled the Unstereotype Alliance at Cannes Lions  back in 2017 . The program’s aim is to wipe out stereotypes in...

• Publish Date: Sep 05, 2019

Award jurors given new criteria to combat negative stereotypes. Spikes Asia today announced it has revised its judging process for all Spikes Awards this year, in collaboration with UN Women’s Unstereotype Alliance.  The festival has issued new jury guidelines for jurors reviewing entries to ensure they consider whether the work perpetuates negative stereotypes and inequalities regarding gender, age, race, ethnicity, disability or other biases. The change is line with Spikes...

• Publish Date: Aug 29, 2019

As executive director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is a leading advocate of gender equality, working since 2013 globally to combat critical issues like domestic violence, childhood marriage and inequitable laws that deny women the same rights as men. Mlambo-Ngcuka was actively involved in the struggle to end apartheid in her home country of South Africa. From 2005 to 2008, she served as the country’s deputy president, overseeing programs to combat poverty and bring the advantages of a growing economy to the poor, with a particular focus on women. She was a member of parliament from 1994 to 1996 as part of South Africa’s first democratic government.

• Publish Date: Aug 13, 2019

Two television ads, one featuring new dads bungling comically while looking after their babies and the other a woman sitting next to a pram, have become the first to be banned under new rules designed to reduce gender stereotyping. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned the ads for Philadelphia cream cheese and Volkswagen, following complaints from the public that they perpetuated harmful stereotypes. The new rules, introduced at the beginning of the year, ban the depiction of...

• Publish Date: Jun 06, 2019

Cannes Lions continues its mission to celebrate creativity that changes the world for the better with the introduction of updated jury guidelines for the judging process. The new criteria urge the jury members reviewing entries submitted into the Awards, to consider whether the work perpetuates negative stereotypes and inequalities.

• Publish Date: Jan 28, 2019

Marketers feel the need to move away from gender-based stereotypes when it comes to targeting strategies, but many are confused about how to do it.

• Publish Date: Jan 28, 2019

Some marketers are starting to edge away from dated gender-based strategies—such as exclusively targeting household cleaning products at women, or entirely overlooking men who buy diapers—but others haven’t changed at all, according to a study due to be published this week.

• Publish Date: Jan 27, 2019

Some marketers are starting to edge away from dated gender-based strategies—such as exclusively targeting household cleaning products at women, or entirely overlooking men who buy diapers—but others haven’t changed at all, according to a study due to be published this week.

• Publish Date: Jan 22, 2019

The World Economic Forum (WEF) reported that progress on gender equality is stagnating as women’s participation in the workforce and politics has stalled. As global leaders prepare for the next WEF Annual Meeting, it’s time to flip this script.

• Publish Date: Jan 14, 2019

Equality and sustainability are pervasive problems, created over generations, and must be solved through both individual and collective action. So, what if brands – arguably the most pervasive forces in the world for business growth – could also be used as a force for good? Brands are ubiquitous. They touch people every day, often multiple times. Imagine the impact if all brands stepped up to be both a force for good AND a force for growth.

• Publish Date: Jan 10, 2019

Kantar has published their “2019 Media Predictions” from their experts around the globe, focusing “not on grand, airy-fairy concepts, but useful, practical ideas that will help marketers and their agencies to tackle media and effectiveness measurement challenges head on, without fear.”Between the amazing speakers of TEDWomen, there’s a carefully programmed mini film festival — brilliant short films, curated by Jonathan Wells and Anyssa Samari, that set (or re-set) the mood in the theater, and celebrate the creativity of women and men around the world.

• Publish Date: Dec 20, 2018

Between the amazing speakers of TEDWomen, there’s a carefully programmed mini film festival — brilliant short films, curated by Jonathan Wells and Anyssa Samari, that set (or re-set) the mood in the theater, and celebrate the creativity of women and men around the world.

• Publish Date: Dec 14, 2018

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has confirmed that, from June, ads must not include gender tropes that are likely to cause harm, or serious widespread offence.

• Publish Date: Nov 21, 2018

By promoting gender balanced marketing and understanding the importance of self-esteem plays in female empowerment brands could tap into £774bn of value, according to new research.

• Publish Date: Nov 09, 2018

Coverage of the second day of Brand Week where the focus was gender equality

• Publish Date: Nov 03, 2018

Initiatives such as #metoo #timesup and #balancetonporc or Argentina #NiUnaMenos - which aims to combat aggression and sexual harassment, gender violence and femicide - are an obvious sign of a global movement to achieve greater gender equality around the world.

• Publish Date: Oct 19, 2018

UN Women and a number of leaders in the marketing and advertising sector founded the Unstereotype Alliance. As part of the commitment, the WFA (a member of the Alliance) created a brief guide to get this movement across.

• Publish Date: Oct 11, 2018

International Girls Day gives pause to reflect on what has been so far a momentous year for women generally, and specifically in the marketing community.

• Publish Date: Oct 05, 2018

Em artigo publicado na imprensa norte-americana, a chefe da ONU Mulheres, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, defende que a publicidade combata estereótipos sobre o que é ser mulher e o que é ser homem

• Publish Date: Oct 03, 2018

Los estereotipos y clichés sobre mujeres y hombres siguen siendo muy habituales y los consumidores siguen sin verse en la publicidad

• Publish Date: Oct 02, 2018

“To fight gender inequality we have to work with people across the spectrum. As the UN, we don’t have the reach that the brands have. We are working with companies that care about their bottom line and care about the world – and those are not mutually exclusive,”

• Publish Date: Oct 01, 2018

A new survey by The Female Quotient and Ipsos finds marketers aren’t doing a good enough job in reflecting the diversity of real life.

• Publish Date: Oct 01, 2018

A year ago UN Women convened the Unstereotype Alliance to rally the global advertising industry to eradicate harmful stereotypes and use advertising as a force to impact social norms. A Monday morning Advertising New York session provided an Alliance progress report.

• Publish Date: Oct 01, 2018

Unconscious bias is pervasive. And this morning, a panel of leaders from Unilever, IPG, A&T, the United Nations, and TFQ (The Female Quotient) gathered at The Girls Lounge to discuss the importance of unstereotyping within the advertising industry.

• Publish Date: Aug 21, 2018

Ogilvy, Google and the UN Women’s Unstereotype Alliance have joined forces to show how technology can be used to unite advertising’s female professionals worldwide, with the hopes that it will then empower them in their careers and drive change across the industry.

• Publish Date: Jul 16, 2018

How far have adverts and the marketing industry come in addressing equality, diversity and inclusion over the the past year? Not far enough according to Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.

• Publish Date: Jul 06, 2018

It's been a year since brands, marketers, tech companies and UN Women got together to launch Unstereotype Alliance at Cannes Lions. How much has been achieved and how much still needs to change?

• Publish Date: Jul 02, 2018

Shattering gender stereotypes and teaching girls that they can be heroes too. The commentary on how we stereotype between a male and female child is a global debate. From #MeToo to equal pay, to underrepresentation in STEM fields and opportunities for women in tech, they are the thorns by your side that you have learned to live with.

• Publish Date: Jun 29, 2018

The Unstereotype Alliance and U.N. Women — with a goal of "[ending] the stereotypes that hold people back" — has released an ad that, though it only runs for a little over two minutes, perfectly shows that typecasting is still an issue.

• Publish Date: Jun 27, 2018

The best advertisements of the top directors and production companies worldwide.

• Publish Date: Jun 26, 2018

MullenLowe London film shows advertising's baked-in biases

• Publish Date: Jun 26, 2018

Everyone was talking about women, equality, gender, diversity and inclusion at Cannes, from brands, agencies and creatives to journalists, sociologists, actors, musicians and sports stars, but will the festival conversation really change anything?

• Publish Date: Jun 26, 2018

The tagline of the film, now running on social media following its premiere in Cannes, is "the problem is not seeing the problem." It was directed by Joanna Bailey of Snapper Films and created by MullenLowe London on behalf of its client Unilever for UN Women's industry-led Unstereotype Alliance movement

• Publish Date: Jun 21, 2018

The UN-driven group pushes for equal representation for women and other marginalized groups in advertising

• Publish Date: Jun 21, 2018

UNICEF joined the Unstereotype Alliance to challenge harmful gender stereotypes in marketing and to promote progressive portrayals of women, men, girls and boys, as part of UNICEF’s commitment to achieving gender equality, becoming a more gender balanced organization and bringing up girls and boys as equals. UNICEF, UN Women and Cannes Lion also announce the winner of the 2018 Young Lions Health Award

• Publish Date: Jun 11, 2018

The topic of unsterotyping advertising and using lazy gender troped keeps popping up where creativity is celebrated, but it's sadly not mainstream just yet. Perhaps the fact that the Unsterotype Alliance has finally joined Twitter will sway the movement over social media.

• Publish Date: Feb 23, 2018

It is difficult for girls to believe in themselves as scientists, explorers, innovators, engineers and invenotrs when the images they see on social media, in textbooks and in advertising reflect narrow and limiting gender roles. This is why UN Women is leading the "Unstereotype Alliance" initaitive, which encourages advertisers, tech companies and influencers to banish old-fashioned, stereotypical portrayals of gender in advertising that could diminish or limit the role of women in society.

• Publish Date: Jun 23, 2017

In a world of doubters, someone still believes in the power of advertising: The United Nations. The UN Women organization came to Cannes this week to convene a sort of Security Council of the ad industry, including many of its biggest-spending marketers, three of the biggest agency holding companies, digital duopolists Facebook and Google, Alibaba, and more. The idea is that advertising can do what more than two decades of UN proclamations, local laws and good intentions haven't -- spur real progress on gender issues.

• Publish Date: Jun 20, 2017

Several major companies announce a new push to remove gender stereotypes from commercials.

• Publish Date: Jun 20, 2017

Some of the world’s biggest advertisers have joined forces with the United Nations to banish gender stereotypes from ads across the globe. The group, which includes Facebook, Google, Mars, Microsoft and advertising giant WPP, launched the Unstereotype Alliance on Wednesday to combat “the widespread prevalence of stereotypes that are often perpetuated through advertising”.