Igniting the conversation around gender parity across Photobox Group and Moonpig Group

 July 23, 2019

Photobox Group, Europe's leading personalisation business encompassing the Photobox, PosterXXL and Hofmann brands, as well as Moonpig Group, Europe's largest online personalised cards retailer in Europe encompassing the Moonpig and Greetz brands, wanted to create an International Women's Day campaign that was a dialogue rather than a one-sided list of tips for gender parity. 

This meant organizing an event that was a collaborative process with visible support from the CEO, Managing Directors, CTOs and more, and a safe space that gave employees the confidence to discuss gender parity and reflect on ways to create real #BalanceForBetter.

For IWD, Photobox Group and Moonpig's internal women's network, Inspiring Women, worked across five brands and multiple locations, with the aim of championing the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women whilst igniting a call to action to accelerate gender parity.  Employees on the commitee were Emily Whittaker, Hannah Wilson, Jaskharan Sandhu, Gemma Dowler, Sugandha Srivastava, Yvonne Lecocq and Stephanie Hernandez.

Motivating employees to fight for gender parity 

It was important to Photobox Group and Moonpig that its celebration provided a space for employees to openly discuss women at work, ways to better themselves and offer time for reflection. In celebrating as a business, Photobox Group and Moonpig's goal was to motivate its employees to come up with impactful ways to further support the advancement of women both at work and in their lives. It was also imperative to Photobox Group and Moonpig that it applauded the steps of progress made toward gender equality while acknowledging the work still left to be done.

Taking action and enacting change together

Inspiring and making an impact on a team as large and diverse as Photobox Group and Moonpig required a lot of coordination. Devising a day full of activities that pushed beyond the surface was just the tip of the iceberg. Photobox Group and Moonpig kicked off its celebration a week prior to IWD to generate greater participation from the team. 

Making a Group-wide pledge for a #BalanceForBetter

Photobox Group and Moonpig's main initiative to create gender parity was a Group-wide pledge. Creating communication tools internally, the business shared assets in five languages to reach every employee across all of its locations. Providing teams with ample time to reflect on creating #BalanceForBetter, the end of the week culminated in a series of pledges shared with the entire company via its Slack channel. Photobox Group and Moonpig had nearly 100 commitments and pledges shared over Slack from women and men within the organisation. In fact, Photobox Group and Moonpig had a 50/50 split with regards to participation between men and women.

Employees in London, Paris, Germany, Spain and Amsterdam promised to become mentors, advocates for women at work, to stand up for others, to empower women in technology and more. By prompting its employees to think about ways they could improve gender equality, the pledges proved to be thoughtful and actionable for every member.

Sharing posters, Slack messages and other communication with sign-off and engagement from the senior team allowed everyone from engineers in Manchester to the production site employees in Sartrouville to feel engaged and more at ease with participating in the Group-wide pledge to create #BalanceForBetter.

Photobox Group and Moonpig used the Balance for Better hashtag in the Slack channel to promote the pledges, as well as using the design in the pledge cards and the organisation's internal women’s group to share messages around this year's theme.

Encouraging open discussions about gender equality

Other initiatives that inspired the team were Photobox Group and Moonpig's fundraiser for Rosa, a charitable fund set up to support initiatives that benefit women and girls in the UK, and the organisation's round tables. Set up across locations, the tables allowed its teams to openly discuss gender equality with colleagues from every facet of the organisation.

Photobox Group and Moonpig felt it was crucial to have a dialogue where employees didn’t just hear anecdotes and generalisations. Employees and executives had the chance to question, share experiences, impart wisdom and learn more about the challenges and achievements surrounding women at work. Ultimately, Photobox Group and Moonpig held a number of discussions across the Group and raised £150 for Rosa, helping to create #BalanceForBetter.

Capturing inspiring and heroic women on film

Photobox Group and Moonpig also used the medium of film to help spread the campaign message across the organization.

With the help of employees, Photobox Group and Moonpig created a short video made up of touching stories about inspirational women. Beginning with a call to action, the organisation asked everyone in the Group “Which female figure has inspired you and why?”

Employees sent short, heartfelt videos chronicling stories of heroic single mothers, incredible sisters, inspiring politicians and women in business and more. Debuting the video on the day, Photobox Group and Moonpig made IWD  more personal for every member of the team.

Photobox Group and Moonpig's CEO also shared a personal video and other executive team member shared pledges with the entire team on Slack as well as gave speeches about phenomenal women in their lives.

Photobox Group and Moonpig's IWD campaign was a complete success because it was more than just a day of activities or a company-wide memo: it was a truly immersive experience that allowed every team member across the Group to get involved in a very important cause.