More Grls

The advertising industry has always contributed to a sexist culture, creating stereotypes like the “perfect mother” and the “sexy beer girl”. It's not surprising that 65% of women don’t identify with their portrayal in traditional advertising, even though they account for 85% of all consumer purchases. Ironic, but there is an explanation: women make up for only 20% of creatives in advertising agencies in Brazil. Troubled by this scenario, Laura Florence and Camila Moletta, creative leaders at Dentsu Aegis Network, created MORE GRLS. The first roadmap to female creative talent in advertising, design and content. Mapping talents is the first step towards changing this reality. We need to know and value the creatives that, despite the hostile environment, are still working in the field. It’s important to emphasize that it is not only a "portfolio showcase", it’s also a hub for journalists and festival organizers to find the best women for their editorials and jury panels - women also face low visibility and participation in awards. The platform (www.moregrls.com.br) categorizes talents according to creative field, skills, experience and city. It also tells you who is available for freelancing or willing to move for an opportunity. The launch campaign film was directed by Juliana Curi from Damasco Filmes and included an entire set made up of only women. Besides talking about the platform, it shows how this kind of gender inequality affects the whole society, not just the advertising industry. MORE GRLS also set up goals for different stakeholders: for agencies, the goal is to have 50% of women in creative departments by 2020; for journalists in specialized media, the mission is to interview at least one creative woman per issue; for recruiters, we recommend recruiting the same number of men and women for job opportunities; and finally, our special request to clients, the ones that will truly accelerate change: watch your agency closely and make sure that the 50/50 by 2020 goal was achieved. Next steps include mapping new creative fields, take the platform to other countries and use its data to inform the industry. As with every initiative that aims to generate impact, we know there’s a lot to be done. And MORE GRLS is the first step.