McCann Worldgroup Japan, Joined the Japan chapter of the Unstereotype Alliance – A global initiative led by UN Women (UN Women)

August 4, 2023 – Tokyo

McCann Worldgroup Holdings Japan, Inc. (Head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, CEO: Ji Watson) has joined the Japan chapter of the Unstereotype Alliance, an initiative of the United Nations Entity for Women (UN Women).

The Unstereotype Alliance is a global initiative to eliminate stereotypes in media and advertising led by UN Women, launched at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in 2017. It aims to eliminate harmful stereotypes from society by making corporate advertising a force for positive change, and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls (SDG Goal 5). In Japan, the “Japan Chapter” was established in May 2020 and currently has 17 companies and organizations participating.

Our holding company, the Interpublic Group (IPG) established the IPG Women’s Leadership Network (WLN), a volunteer organization dedicated to promoting gender equality and creating career opportunities for women at IPG in the United States in 2007. WLN’s mission is to help foster a more inclusive work environment and support the advancement of IPG’s female employees by understanding the gender equality challenges they face and using what we learn to work tirelessly on behalf of all IPG colleagues.

In Japan, IPG WLN Japan was launched in 2018 and has been implementing various activities across IPG agencies with offices in Japan. These activities range from seminars and workshops to increase awareness and understanding of the need for gender equality, mentoring programs and confidence building programs to support women, wellbeing, and more.

By joining the Unstereotype Alliance, we hope to contribute to the global effort to eliminate stereotypes in advertising as part of a global gender equality initiative sponsored by a United Nations agency. Alliance will provide us with a wide range of knowledge and expertise that we will leverage not only internally but also in our various efforts with our clients.

Ji Watson, CEO of MW Japan and one of the founders of WLN Japan commented: “I am very excited that we have become a member of the Unstereotype Alliance along with our global company. At McCann Worldgroup, we believe that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is foundational to achieving our mission of helping brands earn a meaningful role in people’s lives. That combined with our experience and learning in Japan with WLN, I am confident that our team will make a difference to Unstereotype Alliance in Japan.”

Kieko Mori, chairperson of the IPG WLN in Japan, commented: “We are honored to be a member of the Unstereotype Alliance. We hope that our collaboration with the Japan chapter of the Unstereotype Alliance will help to eliminate stereotypes in advertising and communication in Japan and contribute to the promotion of DEI in the advertising industry as well as in Japan.”

McCann Worldgroup, part of the Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG), is a leading global creative solutions company. The company is united across 100+ countries by a mission to help brands earn a meaningful role in people’s lives. McCann Worldgroup was named the world’s most creatively effective marketing services company by The Effie Awards for 2022 for the fourth consecutive year. The core McCann Worldgroup network is comprised of McCann, MRM, CRAFT, FutureBrand, and RafterOne, and partners with Momentum Worldwide, Weber Shandwick and UM to deliver solutions across the entire marketing spectrum.

In Japan, McCann Worldgroup is the leading foreign group having worked with global and Japanese clients since its establishment at the end of 1960.