Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) continues to #ChooseEqual with new actions to accelerate progress toward gender equality at home, at work and in society. As part of this expansion of its work, P&G is committing to spend $10 billion with women-owned and women-led businesses by 2025. Over the decades P&G has worked to help advance women’s economic empowerment throughout its global value chain, and this is the next step in that journey. The company’s ambition over time is to grow investment with these women-owned and led businesses to 10 percent of P&G’s purchasing dollars--10 times the estimated industry average.

To drive meaningful action at scale, P&G is partnering with several organizations to accelerate progress and drive change, including UN Women, WEConnect International, Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), and the Women’s Forum for the Economy & Society. Together with its global, regional, and local partners, P&G is supporting capability building of women entrepreneurs; further developing the tools, definitions and infrastructure needed; and driving collaboration across companies and industries to join in and advance these efforts.

“At P&G, our focus on gender equality is foundational and integrated into our business,” said Carolyn Tastad, group president--North America and executive sponsor--Gender Equality. “We cannot allow the challenges of the past year to be a setback for gender equality. Instead, we need to step forward to invest and to actively choose equal. These commitments will create meaningful impact to advance gender equality around the world.”

Shifting the Narrative to #SharetheCare with Promundo
For years, P&G has worked to help change deeply held gender biases that often reinforce many of the greatest barriers to women’s progress--and that includes changing mindsets around the role of men and boys at home. As part of this effort, P&G and its brands are tackling the “chore gap,” the disproportionate amount of unpaid care and domestic work done by women in most homes.

P&G has also entered into a three-year partnership with Promundo, a global leader in advancing gender equality and preventing violence by engaging men and boys in partnership with women, girls and individuals of all gender identities. P&G and its brands will leverage their expertise and significant voice in advertising and media to shift the narrative around men’s caregiving and domestic work.

In partnership with Promundo and in collaboration with others, P&G will also advocate for and support working families through equality-based policies and programs that enable all genders to play an equal role at home while still enjoying a full and rewarding career. Last year, P&G established a global minimum standard for paid parental leave so that all parents can equally share the delight of bringing a new child into their home in the 70+ countries where P&G operates. 

Promoting Girls Access to Sports with Always and Secret
Additionally, ahead of this year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo, P&G and its brands will highlight the stories, experiences and inspirational accomplishments of a diverse and intersectional collection of women athletes through new company and brand campaigns including P&G’s “Your Goodness is your Greatness” film and “Good is Gold” series, the Always “#KeepHerPlaying” and “Fuel Her Future” campaigns along with the upcoming Secret deodorant “Just #WatchMe” initiative.

P&G, Always/Whisper, and Secret are committed to the accurate portrayal of women and girls in sports and will support organizations such as Sported UK, Women in Sports Foundation, YMCA, and others that provide access to sports programs for girls around the world. P&G and its brands will continue to champion the accurate portrayal of female athletes--while raising their voices and highlighting the causes they champion--on and off the field.

Accelerating gender equality at the UN Generation Equality Forum
This week, P&G joins public and private sector leaders at the Generation Equality Forum, a global gathering for gender equality convened by UN Women and co-hosted by the French and Mexican governments. Taking place in Paris, France but held virtually, the multi-day forum will set in a motion a series of concrete, ambitious and transformative actions for immediate and irreversible progress towards gender equality. Change makers of all ages and genders from all over the world will come together to tackle the unfinished business of empowering women and join efforts to contribute to this historic moment.