Once I first got here up with the concept for the #HerMoneyHerPower marketing campaign, I knew it was an vital dialog to have. In the present day, too many ladies and women are nonetheless being taught that hypergamy is a technique, and marriage is a monetary plan. This, even supposing historical past has proven repeatedly that one unpredictable life circumstance– just like the dying of or divorce from a partner– is all that stands between too many ladies and poverty. This, regardless of the examples throughout us of girls caught in cycles of abuse due to their monetary dependence.
For ladies, cash is each a protect and a weapon. It may be the distinction between oppression and freedom. And what each information and lived experiences proceed to point out is that when a girl has cash– the advantages prolong to her household, her neighborhood and certainly, her nation. Ladies won’t obtain gender equality with out monetary freedom, and Nigeria won’t change into affluent till its girls have financial energy. It truly is that easy.
What I didn’t know although once I first started to work on #HerMoneyHerPower– a partnership between my organisation, The She Tank and Bella Naija– was that it will spark a nationwide dialog in Nigeria.
Through the years, I’ve had the privilege of working many campaigns throughout totally different continents– most just lately, on the Invoice and Melinda Gates Basis the place I served because the Deputy Director of World Content material and Campaigns and the Head of Goalkeepers, the muse’s largest marketing campaign, devoted to accelerating progress on the Sustainable Growth Targets.
Of all of the campaigns I’ve labored on, this one has been distinctive. Our message? It’s time for girls to haven’t simply financial empowerment, however energy. A girl might have cash– however does she have a say in how that cash is earned, saved or spent? A girl might have a job– however is she set as much as fail as a result of disproportionate burden of house responsibilities she carries at dwelling or the gendered discrimination she faces within the office? A girl might begin a enterprise, however can she get enterprise loans in the identical method her male friends do?
These are examples of the variations between empowerment and energy. When a girl has financial energy, she not solely has entry to cash and to the techniques that create prosperity (like colleges, jobs and capital)– however she has a voice and the power to make selections inside these techniques.
What the #HerMoneyHerPower metrics present is that our message was heard. As I write this, the marketing campaign has generated over 1 billion impressions, reaching over 333 million distinctive customers on social media. The marketing campaign has additionally generated over 250 media mentions and options throughout conventional and digital media– with an estimated $3.32 million in earned media protection. The day our process on Huge Brother Nigeria aired, #HerMoneyHerPower was the #1 trending subject on X.
Our Advert, starring Funke Akindele, has performed over 1,000 occasions on totally different TV stations. Our billboards, with our provocative messages, have been positioned in eight cities and 5 languages throughout the nation. And our 60+ marketing campaign champions– influencers and thought leaders with a collective attain of over 125 million followers– have unfold our message from their views on each possible platform: tv reveals, radio stations, newspapers, podcasts, magazines, Instagram, X, Youtube, Snapchat, LinkedIn and extra. A lot of their posts have gone viral.
What made this marketing campaign actually particular although, was listening to again. Uche Pedro (Founder and CEO of Bella Naija) and I’ve listened carefully to audiences all through this marketing campaign. We heard from 1000’s of Nigerians who shared their very own tales and concepts utilizing our hashtag. Ladies shared their tales of economic abuse and monetary energy on their feeds and in our DMs.One girl started a 30-day #HerMoneyHerPower problem on TikTok. A bunch of ladies in Enugu produced their very own #HerMoneyHerPower TV phase, impartial of the marketing campaign. We heard from an NGO who took the #HerMoneyHerPower message to a secondary faculty, and we even heard of the marketing campaign arising in locations of worship.
What’s subsequent? The conversations must proceed– and that begins with you. In partnership with NOI Polls, we surveyed over 3,000 Nigerians and hosted focus group discussions in choose states throughout the nation. What was clear from this work is that we nonetheless have an extended approach to go in the case of mindsets and norms round girls and cash in Nigeria.
For instance, norms round caregiving work within the dwelling (like cooking, cleansing, caring for kids and elders), haven’t developed a lot– even supposing girls more and more work exterior the house and are even breadwinners in lots of houses.
Each women and men nonetheless have many adverse perceptions–and fears– round girls having their cash. As our economies and the world proceed to alter, we have to have conversations about how we will each preserve household values and evolve our gender norms– as people, and as a nation.Omakwu is a Ladies’s Equality Evangelist, Lawyer and Author. She is the Founder and CEO of The She Tank.
