P&G-owned brand OLAY is putting the focus on the representation of women in STEM fields - Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics. With an aim to bridge the STEM gap in India, the brand is launching a purpose-driven campaign to encourage women to pursue their passion and pursue careers in STEM fields.

Globally, Olay first committed to the cause of women in STEM in 2019, when it launched its #MakeSpaceforWomen campaign at the Super Bowl that year. The brand also donated $500,000 to Girls Who Code to support future female scientists, engineers, programmers, and space explorers. Then, in the year 2020, Olay pledged $1 million to support women in STEM with various initiatives including a $520,000 donation to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), donating ‘science-lessons-in-a-box,’ created by Olay scientists, to encourage learning in a virtual environment and more.

Also read: Storyboard18: Olay kicks off its #STEMTheGap campaign in India

So what is the thought and insight behind extending this global campaign to the Indian market? What activations and actions will we see at the ground level? Storyboard18 spoke with Priyali Kamath, P&G’s senior vice president, skin & personal care, for Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, to find out more about how the brand plans to stem the gap.

Edited excerpts.

OLAY is shining the spotlight on the STEM gap in the country. It has earlier addressed the issue of representation of women in STEM fields in global campaigns. How are you extending the campaign to the Indian market now?

STEM as a cause is close to OLAY’s heart for several years now and we have actually talked about it in the other markets. Starting this month, we are creating an activation for India and calling it #STEMtheGap.

As we look at the world and particularly at the jobs that are being created, dial over 10 years from now and estimates tell us that 50 to 80 percent of all jobs in the next decade will have some element of STEM, particularly technology. It is going to be a very important part of the workforce and the skills needed to participate in the workforce as a way of future. If you look at the current reality of how many women are there in STEM jobs, it is a far cry from the opportunity itself. Globally, 70 percent of the STEM jobs are held by men and 30 percent by women. In India, that number is even lower. It is at 86 percent men and only 14 percent women. So, there is a huge discrepancy on where the wind is blowing in terms of opportunities being created and the ability of women to participate and be present in the STEM fields.

Could you tell us more about what efforts will be taken on the ground to actually stem the gap?

We have declared at OLAY that our mission is to double the number of women in STEM in the next 10 years. That is what we would like to see happen in India and while we bear no illusion that a single brand can do it single-handedly, we still want to be an instigator for that change to happen. That is our goal. And we believe the best way for us to make this massive change happen is really to trigger the conversation.

Very few people are actually aware today that there is such a huge gap in STEM fields when it comes to the participation of women in STEM jobs. Making people aware and seeding the change by provoking the movement is what we really want to do. As a part of the campaign we just don’t want to tell that the gap exists but peel the onion a bit on why it exists. And that is what the film that has been launched is all about. As our very talented director, Shirsha Guha Thakurta made us look at what is the gap in STEM.

What basically comes out is that it has a lot to do with bias. Sometimes, unconscious bias and sometimes even conscious. Often, even the well-meaning people pigeonhole women into certain types of jobs from a very young age. The intent of this campaign is to shine the spotlight on the reasons for this discrepancy that starts with our behavior, our biases when women are very young. That is the first part of the campaign-triggering the conversation!

The second part is walking the talk and doing something about it. We partnered with LEAD school which is India’s largest school Edtech company, they bring a very high standard of education to girls across India. We said we will offer scholarships to girls in 6 states, to begin with, where we will support their education which has a very big component of STEM in it. And we will also enable them to continue education even during tough times, like the Covid times right now.

Over the past few years, we have seen many skincare brands upping their feminist narrative and philanthropic efforts. What has led to this positive trend?

It is not just skincare brands I think more and more brands now are talking about purpose. They are starting to express shared values with their consumers. As we look at our own audience, it is very clear that younger consumers, especially millennials and Gen Z care about brands and they care about the values that are important to them. So it is no longer OK to offer a great product that delivers a functional benefit at an affordable price - that is taken for granted - you have to do that. But, even beyond that, you have to have a point of view, you have to take a stand. And only when you do, consumers start investing in you in a relationship that goes beyond the transaction.

Is there a solid business case for positive gender portrayal in advertising and communication?

Regardless of whether it is, we are going to do it. Because, as a brand, I don’t think many young people who work in my team will even be willing to walk in the office and feel good about what they do if we felt that the way we portrayed women was anything less than respectful and real. Regardless of whether it makes any business sense or not, as a brand, it is of core value to us and we are going to do it. But having said that, do I think whether it actually works for business? Absolutely. You will always find people on all sides of a spectrum of a point of view - more conservative views on gender role portrayal or more liberal views. But in the end, I think where the young people are going, and the young are the ones who will be voting for the future of the brand, is certainly down the path of greater equality between the genders.

Over the years, advertising and marketing have taken positive steps towards gender portrayal. But still many times there are certain biases and stereotypes that tend to creep into the communication. Is there a screening process at P&G or protocol that you follow when it comes to gender portrayal in your ads?

We have very rigorous training programs for all of our marketing from the day that they join. Amongst other things it also sensitizes you towards what are the right ways in which we portray people and what’s the value system that we live by in the production of our films both on-screen and off-screen. Even behind the camera, it’s a big initiative that P&G has taken recently that we want gender equality behind the camera for 50 percent at least of female directors in all our advertising. And we school people very early on. More recently another initiative that we have tried to do is ‘creative council’ in some markets which basically consist of people who are experts in the field to advise marketers on whether their advertising passes muster on different lengths of cultural sensitivity before it is aired.

First Published:Jan 13, 2022 10:09 AM IST