In a digital sphere overwhelmed with performative activism via marketing on occasions honoring a certain racial, gender, or other group, the efforts of the marketing teams of Indeed and Molson are refreshing examples of campaigns designed to solve problems that women face during this women’s history month.

The team at Indeed directly addressed this issue with their campaign #ActuallyPromoteWomen. The issue at hand, according to Indeed, is that for every 100 men promoted from entry-level to manager, only 87 women are promoted.

Indeed’s campaign targets superficial slogans like “girl boss” that companies use on social media, challenging them to actually make women bosses by promoting them. The ads explain how companies with women leaders see higher returns, productivity, and innovation. This demonstrates marketing as an active step towards achieving equality for women in the workplace. 

Hockey jerseys typically have the player’s name at the top and the jersey brand at the bottom. For females, this is a problem because their hair often covers their name. 

The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) and Molson teamed up for the “See My Name” campaign. As part of a multi-year partnership, Molson will create jerseys with their branding at the top and the athlete’s name at the bottom. The mentality behind this project is that Molson will cover up its name so that hers will be seen. 

I hope that as time goes on we see more ad campaigns that spark meaningful conversations and serve as catalysts for gender equality. It is also important that these issues are not limited to being discussed in the public sphere during women’s history month. Women face these issues every day, all year round. Women deserve solutions that work as hard as they do.