NEW YORK, March 8, 2017 /CNW/ -- The Tory Burch
Foundation today announced the launch of a global campaign,
#EmbraceAmbition, to encourage women to embrace ambition. The
initiative kicks off today to coincide with International Women's
Day. Inspired by Tory's personal experience as a woman and
entrepreneur, the campaign aims to address the double standard that
exists around ambition, which is often seen as a great attribute in
men and as a negative one in women.
Experience the interactive Multimedia News Release here:
https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8056451-tory-burch-foundation-embraceambition/
A cornerstone of the campaign is a video PSA celebrating
ambition, created with Laird+Partners. The PSA features celebrities
and leaders from diverse industries including entertainment
(Gwyneth Paltrow, Julianne Moore, Kerry
Washington, Chris Pine,
Reese Witherspoon), fashion
(Anna Wintour), sports (Billie Jean King, Gabby Douglas, Laila Ali), business (Eric Schmidt, Sheryl
Sandberg), philanthropy (Melinda
Gates) and more.
Forty years since the modern women's rights movement began, the
numbers associated with women's parity in the workplace are still
appallingly low. Only four percent of Fortune 500 CEOs are women
and women hold less than 20 percent of board seats. In
government, women comprise about 19 percent of Congress and account
for less than 10 percent of national leaders globally.
"While there are systematic impediments to women's success in
business, cultural mores are also to blame," explained Tory Burch, founder of the Tory Burch
Foundation. "In one of my first interviews, a reporter mentioned
the word "ambitious," and I commented that the word annoyed me. A
friend of mine said, "You should never shy away from that word."
She was right. I realized that I had bought into the stigma that
women shouldn't be ambitious – that it was unattractive. That
creates a harmful double standard that we must overcome in order to
achieve equality."
As part of the campaign, visitors to EmbraceAmbition.org
can take a digital pledge to #EmbraceAmbition, challenge friends to
take the pledge and share their ambition on social media. There
will also be content, tools and interviews with successful women
about ambition.
"Most women are ambitious, but many are afraid to show it," said
Foundation President Laurie Fabiano.
"Our goal is for women to take a moment to think about whether
they've been hiding their ambition and to question that."
In addition, #EmbraceAmbition bracelets and t-shirts will be
available in Tory Burch and
Tory Sport boutiques globally and
online. One hundred percent of the net proceeds of these products
in the U.S. will benefit the Foundation.
Ways to #EmbraceAmbition:
- Take the digital pledge and challenge friends to do the same
using the hashtag #EmbraceAmbition
- Watch and share the video PSA
About the Tory Burch Foundation
The Tory Burch Foundation empowers women entrepreneurs by
providing access to capital, education and digital resources: the
Fellows Program provides ten Fellows annually with support to grow
their businesses; the Tory Burch Capital Program, powered by Bank
of America, has distributed $25 million
dollars in loans to 1,000 women entrepreneurs; more than 140
women have completed an in-depth business education course through
the Tory Burch Foundation cohort of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small
Businesses Education Program; and the Foundation's website,
www.ToryBurchFoundation.org, is a go-to destination for women
entrepreneurs.
Follow the Tory Burch Foundation
on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter
using hashtag #EmbraceAmbition.
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tory-burch-foundation-launches-campaign-encouraging-women-to-embraceambition-300419963.html
SOURCE Tory Burch Foundation