Sending the same person as a woman and as a man to very same job interview and then clearly showing, with no filter, the different the different behaviours of the interviewers towards them.

With a hidden camera we filmed some job interviews, featuring an actress who was involved in the project. Initially she presented herself as a woman, then as a man, thanks to a complete makeover, new outfit and changed voice.

Both candidates declared the same educational background and the same professional experience, both of them gave the same answers to the head-hunters.

Yet, when it was the time to talk about salary expectations, it was clear that the head-hunters had a different approach.

The footage of the job interviews was then used to create a docu-film, ending with a call-to-action: “To be a woman is still a difficult job. Let’s give it the right value”.

Timeline:

ON AIR from July 28, 2015 to 31 January 2016

Placement:

Web, TV and cinema 30’’ and 60’’, print, posters OOH, web display, website www.puntosudite.it, Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pubblicitaprogresso, YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/PProgresso

-140 articles in the press just after the launch of the campaign

-30 minutes of visibility on national and local tv channels

-Earned media: 2,979,000 €

-The social value of the campaign was so high that media owners contacted us to run the campaign on their channels and offered all the media spaces for free.

-Media value: 2.403.000 €

-314 cinemas all over Italy offered media spaces for free.

Political institutions reacted immediately to the provocation created by our campaign. The V.P. of the Italian Government Senate publicly declared: “It’s a campaign which makes people and organisations think. From an idea to action then, thanks to the suggestions on the website this campaign gives relevant support to reach a real gender equality in the job field.”

The social impact was so high that even the Pope felt the the need to address this delicate issue during his Sunday speech in the Vatican.

This project was created to raise awareness of the gender pay discrimination and was directed at organizations, companies, opinion leaders in Italy.

This problem is under everyone's eyes, especially in business, regarding career opportunities and the salary gap. However it is still a difficult issue to talk about. And sometimes this issue is completely denied.

This communication campaign about the gender salary gap was so relevant that it took over the web, discussions on blogs, and caused a great buzz. It immediately reached Political Institutions such as the Italian Senate and also the Vatican addressed the issue through the voice of the Pope in person.

Target audience:

Organizations, companies of all types and sizes, opinion leaders, men and women of all ages.

Approach:

The campaign is based on the idea that the target must recognize the problem to accept it. To make this happen for an issue of this kind it is fundamental to avoid narrative superfluity.

That’s why we chose to use a documentary approach, making people face up to the problem itself in all its brutality, instead of giving them a representation of the issue.

Situation:

According to Global Gender Gap Index 2014, presented at the World Economic Forum, Italy is placed at 69th place out of 142 countries regarding gender equality.

Brief:

In Italy, the gender salary gap is a relevant reality, it can be from 7% up to 30% for graduate employees.

Objectives:

In a country where most people still think this problem doesn't exist, raise awareness among public institutions, companies, and opinion leaders, about this issue.