THE MARKETING SOCIETY EXTENDS ITS GENDER EQUALITY CAMPAIGN, ‘THINK EQUAL’, WITH WEBER SHANDWICK

The pioneering initiative aims to bridge the gender gap and accelerate female leadership in the workplace through synergies with industry partners

Dubai, UAE, 2nd March 2023: The Marketing Society, a leading global community of the world’s smartest marketers, has announced the continuation of its gender equality campaign through a regional partnership with global communications and public relations agency, Weber Shandwick MENAT who join TikTok as Founding Partners.

Launched last year across the UAE and wider MENA region, ‘Think Equal’ sets to break barriers by accelerating diversity, gender equality and inclusion at mid and high levels of management in the Marketing & Communications industry. The thoughtful 2023 programme aims to encourage both women and men to be active participants in driving change, whilst generating more awareness, visibility, and leadership opportunities for women in the industry. A mix of free events are planned over the next year, including online masterclasses, training sessions, mentoring, policy change discussions, book clubs, content and more.

Ziad Hasbani, CEO of Weber Shandwick MENAT, commented on the partnership with Think Equal: “We are thrilled to join forces with The Marketing Society and TikTok on this ground-breaking, and hugely important, initiative. Think Equal will inspire women who are building their careers and make men equal partners in shaping a working environment that benefits from the valuable contributions of both women and men. Today, it is time to act. Gender equality is part of our DNA and a key pillar of our agency culture. We are committed to make an impact and accelerate change, whilst working closely with brands, agencies and media owners in the region to do their part.”

Annie Arsane, Regional Head of Business Marketing, Middle East, Turkey, Africa, and Pakistan – TikTok and Founding Partner of Think Equal, added: “After the immense success of Think Equal’s launch in 2022, we are excited to continue supporting The Marketing Society in their mission to keep the conversation around gender equality open, current and relevant. A key focus of this initiative is to better equip women to take on senior industry roles, and we helped to achieve that through the 100+ participants we engaged in the Think Equal programme last year. With Weber Shandwick, we are excited to embark on another year of providing solutions to the problems that women face in the workplace, not just talking about them.”

In 2021, Weber Shandwick announced a goal to be the communications industry’s most inclusive agency. It is committed to shape a culture of equity and inclusion in its workforce, from hiring to career development opportunities. It continues to build a foundation of belonging, where team members can bring their authentic selves to work and bring diverse thinking and new ideas. In the MENAT region, this was further enforced with the rollout of its People-First Culture framework and engagement initiative.

The diversity of the community on TikTok is what makes the platform such a wonderful place. Diversity is essential to maintaining a thriving global community, and it brings the many corners of TikTok closer together. With this purpose in mind, TikTok partnered with The Marketing Society in 2022 to launch Think Equal, providing the space for its employees to share their passion externally and make an impact on the overall industry.

The Marketing Society encourages all businesses to get involved and come together to take action and drive positive change for a future generation of marketers, working alongside the founding partner TikTok, and now Weber Shandwick, to help make this possible.

For more information on the programme and how to get involved, please visit the The Marketing Society’s website.