An animated video aimed at getting EBRD clients thinking about the benefits of gender diversity in their workplaces premiered at the EBRD’s Annual Meeting and Business Forum in Warsaw.
The idea for the video grew out of the work the EBRD has been doing both before and since the approval of the Strategic Gender Initiative (SGI). The SGI focuses on promoting equal access to finance, services and employment.
“The EBRD's equal opportunity advisory services are unique. Very few IFIs do this and as a result they look to the EBRD as an example of how to do things," said Michaela Bergman, Chief Social Counsellor for Social Issues, who ran the project together with Elena Ferreras Carreras, Senior Gender Advisor, and Elena Ruiz Abril, Principal Gender Advisor. "With this in mind, we wanted a new and easy way to clearly communicate the benefits of gender equality to our clients.”
The video follows the story of a blue, animated woman as she presents the benefits of enhanced gender equality in a male-dominated office.
Presenting the message as an animated story meant the Team were able to reach a far more diverse set of clients and to get them thinking about equality issues in their workplaces, as well as practical and sustainable measures they can implement. For many clients in traditional societies, gender quality just means having separate toilets for men and women, yet the issues go much deeper than that.
“It’s not just about having infrastructure in the workplace to support women employees, it can be recruitment policies to ensure women are not forgotten in the hiring process, but also opening up channels so women are not excluded from networking opportunities too,” Ms Bergman explained.
“There is a lot of evidence to show that gender equality and more diversity benefits the employees, the company and the society as a whole,” said Ms Ferreras Carreras. “It is not to the detriment of men, far from it. It benefits everyone and everyone can be involved. It is about changing roles and giving opportunities.”