To coincide with International Women's Day and Women's History Month, Tory Burch (and her namesake foundation) has teamed up with all of your favorite celebrities on a new social campaign, aptly named #EmbraceAmbition, which aims to counter the double standard that exists around ambition, and how it's typically considered to be a positive trait in men, but a negative one in women.
Set to the tune of Sia's inspiring "Unstoppable," the PSA-style video brings attention to the discrepancies between men and women in the work place: Only four percent of CEOs in Fortune 500 companies are women, and women hold less than 20% of board seats; in government, women make up roughly 19% of Congress and account for less than 10 percent of top national leaders — globally. Which is why, among the celebrities (which includes Anna Wintour, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kerry Washington, Kate Bosworth, Chris Pine, and Jon Hamm), are also female athletes and CEOs, such as Laila Ali, Billie Jean King, Sheryl Sandberg, and Melinda Gates, among others.
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“In one of my first interviews, a reporter mentioned the word 'ambitious,' and I commented that the word annoyed me," Burch said in an official press release. "A friend of mine said, 'You should never shy away from that word.' She was right. I realized that I had bought into the stigma that women shouldn’t be ambitious – that it was unattractive. That creates a harmful double standard that we must overcome in order to achieve equality."
Visitors to EmbraceAmbition.org are invited to use the hashtag (or "take the pledge") on their own social media channels. In addition, T-shirts and bracelets emblazoned with the call to action are available in Tory Burch and Tory Sport boutiques worldwide, as well as online, with 100% of the proceeds from sales going to the Tory Burch Foundation, which has been working to empower women entrepreneurs in the U.S. since 2009.
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