Global Women NZ Says “It’s Time to Drop the Motherhood Penalty” in New International Women’s Day Campaign

Global Women New Zealand has released its 2021 campaign for International Women’s Day via Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand, highlighting the “Motherhood Penalty” and the startling fact that on average, mothers earn 12.5%* less than fathers of the same age and education over the course of their career.

The campaign was created by internationally awarded director Anna Mantzaris of Passion Animation Studios and Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand. It builds on the humorous workplace scenarios Mantzaris conceived for her critically acclaimed short film “Enough” and suggests that there is almost nothing a woman could do in the workplace that is more “career limiting” than having a baby.

Says Agnes Naera, CEO of Global Women: “This year’s International Women’s Day theme is #Choosetochallenge and with this campaign, we hope to challenge and raise awareness of the “Motherhood Penalty” that still has a significant impact on women in the workplace in New Zealand. Like many issues of inequity, there isn’t a single action that can be taken to solve this, as the penalty is made up of a combination of factors, often built up over many years. On one side, we need to tackle the unconscious biases that still remain around women with children and on the other, we need to address systems and processes around recruitment, pay and promotion to ensure an equitable playing field.

“We know that how an organisation supports and interacts with women around parenthood is a key moment in a woman’s career trajectory. We are losing too many talented women around this point, so we need to ensure that we are doing everything we can as businesses and society, to keep women in the pipeline so they can move on to leadership and governance roles. From our own research we have learned that it is critical for women to have “relatable role models” ahead of them, so that they too can see that a successful career and family are possible and not just for the “superwoman” that for many, just doesn’t feel achievable or sustainable anymore. We also identified that normalising parental leave for Fathers is incredibly important if we are to start to shift society’s deeply held views on traditional gender roles and responsibilities.

“Finally, it’s important to remember that addressing this issue, isn’t just for the benefit of women – this is about creating a better Aotearoa New Zealand for all. If women rise, we all rise. Me aro koe ki te hā o Hineahuone (Pay heed to the dignity of women).”

Says Justine Smyth, co-chair of Champions for Change: “As partners of Global Women, ensuring that women are afforded the same benefits as men over the course of their careers, regardless of whether they have children or not, is a key focus for the Champions for Change. As a group, we have been addressing this in different ways – from auditing our gender pay gaps, to ensuring flexible working policies, providing paid parental leave, rolling out unconscious bias training and promoting transparency and consistency around pay review processes.”

Mantzaris was one of the directors featured in the Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors showcase in Cannes in 2019.

Says Steve Cochran, CCO of Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand: “The effort and brilliance from Anna and everyone else who helped make this work was phenomenal. We hope it means the message travels far and wide around the world. We owe her, and everyone else who helped pull this campaign together more gratitude than we can express. As a husband and a father, I’ve seen up close the way being a mother can impact a woman’s career and trajectory. And yes, from my position of male privilege you might say. There’s no simple answer. But self-awareness and consciousness of employers is certainly a place to start. I’m able to say that Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand has made this a priority. We’re also proudly part of Champions for Change, and are committed to impacting change in our business and, as this work sets out to do, across New Zealand.”

Says Kate Stanners, chairwoman and global chief creative officer, Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide: “It’s hard to believe it but taking a career break to have a family is still for many women, career-limiting. Women find it harder to get back into work, and when they do, discover they have missed out on crucial years of career development, that results in fewer senior women at the top, and a widening pay gap. We hope that this campaign will draw the entire workforce’s attention to this issue and start addressing some of the systems, structures and biases that are penalising women in the workplace.

“Part of our push with New Directors showcase has been to encourage more female film making talent. Anna’s film was a real favourite of mine. Comedy is very difficult to do and there is very little around in our industry. She has great comic timing instinctively delivered in how she tells stories. Applying that to a serious campaign cause as we have here with Global Women is refreshing.”

Says Mantzaris: “I just fell in love with this project as soon as Saatchi & Saatchi got in touch with us. It is the most rewarding thing to be able to combine my creativity with a subject that is really close to my heart, so it was an honour to be asked to work on this project. It is very sad that the pay gap and the way women, or rather mothers, are being treated by the work environment is still the way it is. I don’t believe that this is something that is happening intentionally but rather a consequence of our culture and failing to see invisible obstacles and discriminations that mothers are constantly being faced with in the work area. I think International Women’s Day is a really good opportunity to shine light on inequalities that exists today and even though this should not be the only day we talk about these subjects; it gives a good opportunity to highlight some issues and create a discussion around them.”

The campaign launches today and will run across social, outdoor and digital.

Read more about the campaign and the Motherhood Penalty.