• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, August 26, 2019

Today is Women’s Equality Day, and marketers and agencies are celebrating the day in various ways.

Wieden + Kennedy, for example, has teamed with HBO on a project showcasing inequalities that still exist today.

Also, the U.S. Tennis Association, which has made great strides in closing its own gender pay gap (with some prodding) is now on a crusade to boost media coverage of female athletes and women’s sports. The coverage gap is still very wide, as the organization notes in a campaign it developed with mcgarrybowen Chicago.

And then we have the President. He issued a proclamation the other day noting that his administration is “working every day to empower and promote women.”

Except, of course, when he’s telling them to go back “where they came from” if they don’t fall in lockstep with his political agenda. I think the stories he shared with former "Access Hollywood" reporter Billy Bush that emerged in a taped conversation before the election accurately detail just how Trump feels about female empowerment.

I wouldn’t waste your time reading the proclamation, although you can look it up easily enough if you have 30 seconds to kill.

Instead, check out some of the marketing campaigns. They’ll be more inspiring. Or at least provoke thoughts worth pondering, whether or not you agree with the messages.