2019 Winners & Shortlists

Background

Unilever as a company actively supports and promotes a gender equal workforce. And it believes that women have as much right to a job as men, with equal compensation and benefits. But unfortunately, that is not the larger reality in Egypt. Women make up just 20% of the workforce. A statistic that has remained stagnant for years with no sign of improving. The objective of the brief was to raise awareness of how women deserve an equal shot at employment and should not be denied just because of their gender. We wanted to raise awareness of this problem in a simple yet provocative piece of communication.

Describe the cultural/social/political climate in your region and the significance of your campaign within this context

In spite of having the same qualifications and background, women in Egypt are half as likely to get a job and enter the workforce. This problem has gone unnoticed for years. And it's the reason why women make up just 20% of the workforce. A statistic that has remained stagnant for years. Unilever supports a gender equal workforce and it wanted to champion this cause and bring it to the fore. It wanted to show that women have as much right to be a part of the workforce as their male counterparts.

Describe the creative idea

By using the left and right earphones/speakers we able to show how a woman and man with exactly the same background and qualifications applying for a job would face very different outcomes. The man lands the job while his female counterpart is denied. This simple creative device was a powerful way to showcase the problem of gender discrimination in the workforce.

Describe the strategy

Our target audience for this radio spot was the average Egyptian citizen because the problem of gender discrimination in the workforce affects them. It was aired once on Egypt's most popular radio station. More importantly, the radio spot was shared across Unilever's social media channels so that employees were made of aware of the company's position on a gender-equal workforce. Our approach was to convey the problem of gender discrimination in a simple yet effective way so that people understood the barriers women seeking employment were facing.

Describe the execution

The radio spot was aired once on Egypt's most popular radio station during peak traffic hours for maximum reach and exposure. More importantly, the radio spot was shared across Unilever's social media channels so that employees were made of aware of the company's position on a gender-equal workforce.

Describe the results/impact

During the months of May and June of 2018, Unilever witnessed a spike in female job applicants for official jobs posted. Female candidates represented 81% and 72% of job applicants compared to their male counterparts. This was a sizeable increase in relation to figures from previous months that were skewed more men than women.