Williams and Secret are launching a study into gender bias in sports from high school to pro levelsGETTY IMAGES
P&G's Secret deodorant brand has "signed a deal with Serena Williams around the brand's gender-equality work, putting an additional" $1M behind the effort, according to Jack Neff of AD AGE. Williams will "appear in ads for Secret's 'All Strength No Sweat' campaign breaking next month." The brand "handles creative in-house." On the gender-equality front, Williams and Secret are "starting by launching a study to look at how gender bias surfaces in sports from high school to professional levels." Secret has "made gender equality in sports a centerpiece of its marketing the past year," including a $529,000 donation to the USWNT Players Association to "help close the gender pay gap in soccer." It also was the focus of the brand's Super Bowl pregame ad starring the USWNT's Carli Lloyd and Crystal Dunn (ADAGE.com, 2/11). GLAMOUR's Macaela MacKenzie noted by surveying high school athletes, college players and professional athletes, the study will "pinpoint three to four areas where Secret and Williams can deploy cash to make a real difference." This year, Secret hopes to "make that impact even bigger for the women and girls facing down the gender gap every day." For Williams, that "means bringing as many players into the conversation as possible -- including men." She said, "What people don't realize is that we need men to use their voice as much as women. You are not going to get equal anything if men aren't helping and vice versa" (GLAMOUR.com, 2/11).
