Worldwide TOP Partner P&G celebrates its commitment to gender equality through #LoveOverBias global athlete discussion

Anita DeFrantz, Olympic medallist and the first female Vice-President of the IOC, provided the opening remarks: “I’m excited to be here today with these amazing athletes who are continuing to push the boundaries of what it means to be a woman in sport and to join in this important discussion at a moment when the world seems so poised for change. Just like P&G, the IOC is committed to raising awareness of the importance of gender equality on and off the field of play. From governance to human resources, to funding, sport and portrayal, the IOC is focusing on achieving tangible results to strengthen gender equality across the entire Olympic Movement. Therefore I feel confident that we’ll reach our goals of further advancing equality both on and off the field of play.”

The panel discussion was moderated by Michelle Kwan, Olympic medallist and world champion, who overcame financial bias to become the most decorated US figure skater and now serves as a global advocate for her sport and women in business. Other panellists included:

• Elana Meyers Taylor – 2012 and 2014 Olympic medallist from America who was one of the first women to pilot a mixed gender, four-man bobsled and has defied gender and racial stereotypes in her sport.
• Katarzyna Bachleda-Curuś – a Polish two-time Olympic medallist in speed skating competing in her fifth Olympic Winter Games. She is also a proud mother of two daughters.
• Chloe and Justine Dufour-Lapointe – Canadian mogul skiers who both medalled at the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014.

P&G’s latest iteration of its “Thank You Mom” campaign - “Love Over Bias” – seeks to inspire the world to look beyond the things that divide us and celebrate the things that all people have in common.

Sustained and global commitment

Globally, P&G supports several programmes to empower women, inside and outside the sporting arena, focusing on three high impact areas:

• Advertising and media – P&G leverages its voice to tackle gender-bias issues through its brands. Recent campaigns include: Always #LikeA Girl, Ariel #ShareTheLoad and Pantene #StrongIsBeautiful
• Education and women in business – P&G is active in removing gender-biased barriers to education for girls and economic opportunities for women through its brand and corporate programmes and policy advocacy efforts, which include “Always Keeping Girls in School”, “P&G Children's Safe Drinking Water” and women-owned business training and mentorship, enabling access to the workforce.
• Equal opportunities in employment – P&G is committed to treating all employers and applicants fairly and never engage in any form of unlawful discrimination, achieving equal gender representation in all parts of the company, ensuring an inclusive environment where everyone – men and women – can contribute to their full potential. Today, 45 per cent of P&G managers are women and 33 per cent of its non-employee Board of Directors members are women.

P&G’s commitment to gender equality resonates well with the IOC Executive Board’s recent approval of 25 bold and challenging recommendations to advance gender equality in the sporting arena and beyond. One of the key actions is centred around avoiding portraying gender bias and stereotypes. A pilot programme is already underway at the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, where a set of principles and guidelines for balanced portrayal of both genders has been shared with IOC stakeholders.

For more information, visit: https://www.pgeveryday.com/tag/loveoverbias