#MyRealCareerLine

Challenge

In Hong Kong, like most of the world, objectification of women and gender inequality in the workplace are major issues. The Women's Foundation is a local NGO whose remit includes fighting gender stereotypes and promoting equal opportunity at work.

Inspiration

The Women’s Foundation commissioned research that showed 40% of women have been the target of inappropriate comments at work about their body. Our brief was to provoke a debate about discrimination and objectification at work.

Idea

We built our campaign around a popular Cantonese phrase that uniquely encapsulates this issue. In Hong Kong, the most widely used term for a cleavage is ‘Si Yip Si’, meaning Career Line – a phrase which associates a woman's success with her appearance rather than her talent. Our idea was to challenge the use of casual sexism and celebrate the real drivers behind a woman's success by redefining what a Career Line really meant with the #MyRealCareerLine campaign.

The campaign for The Women’s Foundation tackled the problem in two phases. First, to spark a debate around sexism and inequality in the workplace, we set up Career Line Cosmetic Surgery – and our targeted Facebook ads provoked the outraged reaction we’d hoped for. Then, at a press conference, we revealed the #MyRealCareerLine message. Our online film featured some of Hong Kong’s most famous female icons sharing the qualities that drove their success, before ripping a ‘Career Line’ poster in two. This drove people to our website, where they could create their own #MyRealCareerLine message.

Growth

The campaign made the front pages of national media and sparked a huge conversation online. The public, politicians, celebrities, CEOs, media owners, students and Hong Kong’s biggest employers all showed their support and shared their own #MyRealCareerLine messages.