Standard Chartered is ‘Here For Good’. A bank’s promise to improve communities. Gender pay equality is one of their priorities and they walk the talk: In 2017, they instituted the Fair Pay Charter, pledging to pay men and women equally. In the UAE, the bank has four women in senior management, including their first female CEO, who is Emirati. With positive momentum within, they wanted to raise awareness for gender pay equality on International Women’s Day and inspire other companies to follow suit. One alarming fact surfaced: A global study led by the University of Oxford - Saïd Business School highlighted that works by women artists sell for 47.6% less than those by men. The press reported it. Then the world moved on.
The bank felt that this was not good enough. The budget for an activation was USD 50K, including media.
Describe the creative idea (40% of vote)
Our target audience was Government leaders, CEOs, women influencers, artists, general public. We needed to change biased mindsets by using the power of art to draw attention to the greater need. People don’t remember statistics. We had to give them a picture. On 8 March 2019 - International Women’s Day, companies showcased their women staff. SCB announced the Art Gap Exhibition.
If women are going to be paid 47.6% less, they will paint 47.6% less.
Standard Chartered brought together a collective of 19 Emirati and expat women artists from 11 nationalities to add their voices to the global gender parity conversation. 19 incomplete paintings created a powerful visual statement. Art Gap used a universal language to highlight gender pay inequality, creatively leveraging scientific research to bring about change. Actions, not words.
Describe the execution (40% of vote)
Inspired by the research, our design system used 47.6% less of each format. Our responsive logo adapted to collateral, videos and publications, right down to circular profile pics. We used a lighter hue of Coral (Pantone Color of the Year 2019) because it was fresh, feminine and in the news.
The dynamic logo was inspiration for the canvas masks to guide artists, giving them the freedom to show the gap. In the exhibition, we used the design system to create unique badges, t-shirts and tote bags. A pledge book invited visitors to fill in the gap with their signatures and join our cause for gender pay equality.
The brochure used tipped-in pages to reveal the paintings. The Instagram page and website used the reduction technique effectively.
After the exhibition, The Book of Art Gap was sent to 250 Priority Banking customers - CEOs and CFOs at leading companies.
List the results (20% of vote)
+10,000 visitors attended, including dignitaries like Director-General of the Dubai Department of Information, Deputy CEO of the Securities & Commodities Authority, senior representatives from UN Women, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office and UK Trade Commission.
+7,500 pledges for equal pay.
USD 20,000 for 19 artworks, although sales wasn’t an objective.
USD 1.4million in earned media, including BBC Arabic, Thomson Reuters, VICE Arabia, Design TAXI, Toronto Sun Times, Thrive Global, Branding News, Zee TV, Al Hurra TV, China Arab TV, Gulf News.
+20 million social media impressions.
On invitation, the exhibition moved to the prestigious Dubai International Financial Centre (24 April - 8 May).
Art Gap is now a movement, with exhibitions planned at Oxford University and key markets to bring each country’s pay gap to the heart of the conversation: South Korea 34.6%; India 29%; Pakistan 48.4%; Kenya 65%, Indonesia 40.6%.