Procter & Gamble announced new commitments aimed toward advancing Equality & Inclusion across Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa, at its fourth annual #WeSeeEqual summit for the region. The event saw participation from distinguished advocates and personalities from the private and public sectors who came together to discuss the challenges that society faces on equality and inclusion, and how different stakeholders can accelerate progress in the new normal. 

Built on the theme, ‘#Unlearn and #Unleash’, the summit saw P&G commit to several actions needed to advance progress towards creating an equal and inclusive world. P&G President for Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa, Magesvaran Suranjan, announced the following commitments:

  • P&G will spend a cumulative total of $300 million US dollars by deliberately working with women-owned and women-led businesses across the Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa region, from the year 2021 to 2025. 
  • P&G will achieve equal representation of female directors behind the camera for the company’s brand advertisements in Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa, by 2024. 
  • P&G will improve the accessibility of its brand advertising, including social media content and websites, by making it accessible to people with sight and hearing impairments by 2024.
  • P&G will introduce the ‘P&G ReLaunch program’ – to welcome back talented professionals who took a break from the workforce and are looking to restart their careers in STEM roles, with targeted support and development. 

The company also shared strong progress on commitments across the Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa region made last year as part of the annual #WeSeeEqual summit. In 2021, P&G announced its ‘Share the Care’ parental leave policy, which has introduced greater leave benefits and flexibility for all new parents within the company. P&G has also achieved its commitment to achieving a 50-50 gender balance across its management workforce by 2022 in the AMA region, completing this ahead of schedule. On its commitment to educate more than 30 million girls on puberty and hygiene by 2024, through its brands Always and Whisper’s “Keeping Girls in School” program, the company has already reached more than 15 million girls, achieving the halfway mark in one year.

In addition to global and regional P&G leaders, the Summit also saw the participation of influential personalities and global leaders, including:

  • Simone Biles, the world’s most decorated gymnast
  • Valerie Jarrett, Chief Executive Officer, The Barack Obama Foundation
  • Her Excellency Dr. Nawal Al Hosany, UAE’s permanent representative to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
  • Anita Bhatia, Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director, UN Women
  • Alma Har’el, award-winning director, founder of Free the Bid and FREE THE WORK
  • Dr. Hsien Hsien Lei, Chief Executive Officer, The American Chamber of Commerce, Singapore
  • Scott Beaumont, President, Google – Asia Pacific
  • Lillian Barnard, Chief Executive Officer, Microsoft – South Africa

The #WeSeeEqual program demonstrates P&G’s continued commitment to creating a more equal and inclusive world and is also a winner of the U.S. Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence for Women’s Empowerment in 2019. In the Philippines, P&G was also recognized by the prestigious UN WEPs Awards as the Gender Inclusive Workplace Champion in 2021. As one of the world’s largest advertisers, P&G and its brands will also continue to leverage their influential voice in media and advertising to drive further awareness, tackle gender bias, spark conversations, and motivate change.