The 2014 World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Report saw Australia ranked 63rd out of 141 countries in ‘wage equality for similar work’ and overall gender gap status slipping from 15th in 2006 to 24th. In addition to Australia’s increasing pay-gap of 18.8%, research by Curtin University (‘The Gender Gap in Financial Security’ 2014) showed the net asset wealth gap amongst 35 year olds had widened from 16% in 2002 to 89%. With women living longer than men, the financial disadvantages over a woman’s life will have serious economic and social issues if not addressed. Indeed, the Superannuation Trust of Australia calculates 90% of Australian women will retire with inadequate savings and almost half the retirement funds of men. It was clear that significant changes need to be made and not just by ANZ..

And so ANZ Bank set out to lobby for systemic change.

Launching July 2015, the 6 week online and PR campaign consisted of three components: provoking the issue; demonstrating ANZ’s part in the solution; and calling on ‘systems’ for change.

To provoke the issue, we tapped into the simple insight that in many developmental aspects (such as speaking and reading) girls start ahead - yet in life, women fall far behind. This uncomfortable truth was brought to life in an online film directed by Oscar-winning Jane Campion and through a commissioned white paper documenting the statistical facts.

To demonstrate ANZ as part of the solution, Australia’s first ever female Prime Minister launched the campaign and announced the steps ANZ was taking, including a $500 per annum superannuation payment for female employees - a move which required much lobbying and securing of legislative dispensation. These steps being further communicated in 15sec online ads.

All communications culminated in the call for systemic change.

Featuring in 120 media stories, the launch on July 29 generated more than $10m in news coverage and received over 4 million online views.

Sparking a national conversation online, more than 8000 women, media and influencers added their voices to ANZ’s call for systemic change and a more #equalfuture.

For ANZ’s female staff, the $500 superannuation payment (created specifically to support the campaign) represents up to $100,000 in retirement funds for the average-wage 30 year old female employee, making a quantifiable difference to their financial futures.

Within days, Australia’s three major political parties successfully called for the set-up of a Senate Inquiry into the ‘Economic Security of Women in Retirement ‘- and ANZ was invited to make the opening submission. With inquiry recommendations due April 29, ANZ’s provocation has the real potential to drive systemic change and truly build a more equal financial future for all Australian women.

If ANZ was to help women achieve financial success and lobby for systemic change, it needed to engage three key audiences.

1. Professional women in their 30’s to engage with ANZ’s message and join in ANZ’s call for a more #equalfuture.

2. The Media to put the issue on the agenda and create headlines for ANZ’s own employee and customer initiatives which were an integral component of the campaign. Afterall, if ANZ was going to shine a light on the problem, it also needed to be part of the solution.

3. And by fuelling the collective voices of the the first two audiences, the third and key audience was “other organisations” (particularly Government) to redesign “systems” to better support the success of women, starting with the system of Superannuation (retirement savings) - a system in which ANZ as a financial services provider could legitimately play a role.

As with most big corporations, ANZ Bank has made significant in-roads in the area of gender balance. But by their own admission, they still have a long way to go. “Diversity, inclusion and respect” is not just an empty set of words that sit within ANZ’s employee relations department or on their corporate website. They are values held firmly from the very top of the organisation - with ANZ’s CEO being one of a handful of Australian Corporate ‘Male Champions of Change’ and ANZ recognised as an employer of choice by the Wage Gender Equality Agency.

Boston Consulting Group’s 2009 ‘Global Inquiry into Women and Consumerism’ found women were more dissatisfied with the financial services industry than any other that affects their daily lives. In line with this, female customers ranked ANZ 4th in customer satisfaction amongst the big four banks, despite an overall ranking across genders of 3rd.

Having worked in senior roles around the world, the CMO for ANZ had witnessed first hand the poor way in which the financial industry related to women and was personally driven to make a difference. To quote ANZ’s brief directly their mission was “to help women achieve financial success”.