The Queen Collective: Oscar nominee and winner of a Golden Globe, Emmy and SAG Award, Queen Latifah, along with her Production Company Flavor Unit and the Queen Collective aim to accelerate gender and racial equality behind the camera. By creating distribution for films produced by diverse female directors, Queen Latifah builds on her track record of challenging boundaries in music, movies and other artistic endeavors. The initiative will initially greenlight two films produced by female directors through a major distribution partner. In 2016, women comprised only four percent of directors working on the top 250 grossing films. This creates challenges not only in film, but also in production of other mediums such as advertising. The Queen Collective will fuel the pipeline of women directors in a partnership with P&G, HP, Inc., Smirnoff, Wieden+Kennedy, Marina Maher Communications / Ketchum +, United Talent Agency Marketing and Tribeca Studios.
Women and girls are inaccurately or negatively portrayed in 29 percent of ads and media programs*, and women continue to be underrepresented behind the camera: only 32 percent of Chief Marketing Officers, 33 percent of Chief Creative Officers and a mere 10 percent of Commercial Directors are women. These issues persist despite evidence that gender-equal ads perform 10 percent higher in trust and 26 percent higher in sales growth*.
To address these issues, P&G has called for an aspiration to achieve 100% accurate and positive portrayals of women in advertising and media, supported by equal representation of women and men in the creative supply chain. P&G is leading a comprehensive set of actions to do its part to build, fuel and connect a pipeline of diverse female talent to advertising, media and content opportunities as a systemic solution. Recognizing the importance of full industry participation, the Company is working with the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) #SeeHer movement and other industry initiatives, including the UN Women Unstereotype Alliance, to invite other advertisers, agencies and content developers to drive change across the commercial ecosystem.
“We are committed to do our part with meaningful actions to advance gender equality in advertising, media and the creative pipeline in the next five years,” says Marc Pritchard, Chief Brand Officer, Procter & Gamble.
“I have been in the entertainment industry for decades, and I know that portraying women—and especially women of color—in a truthful way requires a diverse team both in front of and behind the camera. When we have women from diverse backgrounds behind the camera, we tell stories with sharper insights and more honesty that resonate more deeply with people,” said Queen Latifah.
