The Gender Pay Gap, A Proven Reality With Official Figures And, For The First Time, Verified On Twitter

Feb. 22, 2022

• This initiative, led by Fundación Mujeres, supported by the digital platform and devised by Shackleton, seeks to confirm the existence of and shine a light on a prejudice that is of public interest.
• The initiative is structured through the BrechaSalarial account from which, for the first time, official figures and verified information on this reality will be tweeted. 

To mark European Equal Pay Day (February 22), the Fundación Mujeres (Women’s Foundation) is spearheading the #VerifiedForGood campaign, supported by Twitter and devised by Shackleton, to shine a light on the gender pay gap. The platform has, for the first time, granted a blue checkmark to a social cause of public interest, instead of certifying a person or company.

In an increasingly connected world with greater access to information, people often do not know how to tell if information is relevant and accurate. In addition, information overload and the little time available to verify sources means that, on occasion, people receive messages that do not conform to reality. Such is the case with the gender pay gap: "1 out of 3 Spaniards states that there is no gender pay gap" (Source: Report on Gender Equality. Infojobs). However, a search of official sources provides some illuminating details: “The gender pay gap in Spain is 19.5%” (Source: National Statistics Institute of Spain (INE). “In 2020, the average salary for women was €18,047, and for men it was €22,640” (Source: Spanish Tax Agency).

To give this issue the visibility and recognition it deserves, the foundation, the social media platform and the creative agency have come together to launch #VerifiedForGood, a creative campaign that revolves around the BrechaSalarial profile, verified by Twitter, which will provide official data and information to confirm this reality. The INE and the Tax Agency were, among other sources, essential to verify the issue as being of public interest and to shift this social struggle to the main focus of user conversations: digital platforms.

The initiative has a content plan sourced with official data, it will analyze causes, solutions and reflections of experts, and users of the digital platform will be able to engage with this content. All this will be enhanced through organic posts and amplified actions, thanks to Twitter's collaboration.

Marisa Soleto, the director of Fundación Mujeres said:

"For us, #VerifiedForGood is an opportunity to reliably report on the gender pay gap and its effects on women's lives and on equality in the labor market. Being able to work hand in hand with Twitter and Shackleton not only allows us to expand our work, but also to showcase a socially responsible way of working and collaborating to address the challenges of the social transformation - in this case, equality between women and men - currently facing us. Equality is the mission of society as a whole and by working together, we will achieve more."

 

Emilio Pila, director of Twitter Next in Spain notes:

"Ideas like #VerifiedForGood consolidate our commitment to #PoweredByTweets and to creativity as a necessary driver to improve the world. Twitter is a unique conversation space where everyone has a voice and people can raise topics of interest for public conversation. Playing with the symbology of verification to give relevance to a social problem of public interest like the gender pay gap is a very powerful creative formula that in this case allows us to focus on a social scourge that we must combat as a society."

 

Tania Riera, creative director of Shackleton said:

"The powerful thing about this idea is that we are using something that everyone accepts. Twitter verification is one of the few things in this world that no one denies. Putting it at the service of a worthy cause in an honest and simple way is effective, powerful and undoubtedly innovative."

 

The origin of #VerifiedForGood

This campaign emerged from the 5th edition of #PoweredByTweets, a contest promoted by Twitter Spain and aimed at creative agencies, which were challenged to present ideas to improve the world. #VerifiedForGood, presented by Shackleton, was declared a winner following the deliberation of a jury made up of important professionals from the world of marketing and advertising.