--Meg Sommerfeld
The multimedia campaign will be the Ad Council’s first devoted to gender issues, and was one of only two new major campaigns selected this year.
“We felt there had been a lot already written and discussed on the subject of gender bias,” said Jadwiga Sebrechts, he coalition’s executive director, “and we thought it was time to move beyond that and talk about some of the ways opportunities could be expanded” for girls and women.
The campaign will focus on what Ms. Sebrechts described as the critical decisionmaking years for girls and young women: ages 10 to 20. It will offer resources and guidance to parents, teachers, and others who work with girls.
At any one time, the council oversees about 30 campaigns, which have promoted the missions of nonprofit groups like the United Negro College Fund, the American Red Cross, and the U.S. Forest Service.
Donated airtime and print space for each campaign are worth approximately $18 million a year.
The Women’s College Coalition was founded in 1972 and has 67 member institutions.
Mary Kay is giving away more than pink Cadillacs these days.
This year, Mary Kay Cosmetics Inc. launched a pilot scholarship program with special awards targeting Hispanic and African-American women.
In the program’s inaugural year, the cosmetics giant awarded $30,000 in scholarships to nine high school seniors.
Three of the young women also received expenses-paid trips to Dallas to tour the company headquarters and meet its founder, Mary Kay Ash.
“It was kind of a natural thing for us to do a scholarship program for women,” Karen Dodge, a company spokeswoman, said. “It was just another way for us to fulfill Mary Kay’s personal dream of helping women achieve success.”
The 31-year old Fortune 500 company--known for awarding luxury cars to top-performing employees--topped $1 billion in retail sales in 1993. It has been named by Hispanic magazine as one of the top 100 companies providing opportunities for Hispanics.
“We are already working on plans for expanding the program,” Ms. Dodge added. “Next year, we really plan to roll it out nationally.”
