Essity partners with United Nations Foundation to address gender equality

Hygiene and health company Essity has expanded its partnership with the United Nations Foundation by joining the organization's EqualEverywhere campaign to accelerate progress toward gender equality.

Essity has worked with the United Nations Foundation since 2016 and has helped achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with Goal 5: Gender Equality being one of Essity's prioritised SDGs. Essity, a leading hygiene and health company breaking down barriers to well-being, has decided to participate in the UN Foundation's annual campaign #EqualEverywhere to further progress toward gender equality.

“As a hygiene and health company developing and providing products for all stages in life and breaking stigmas around sensitive, often gender-related topics, Essity is fully committed to do what we can to contribute to gender equality. By extending our partnership with the UN Foundation, we will continue to pursue global discussions in collaboration with the public sector and other companies to accelerate progress towards achieving this vital goal”, said Joséphine Edwall Björklund, Senior Vice President, Communications at Essity.

For many years, Essity has been addressing gaps in menstrual health and hygiene while promoting women's and girls' empowerment. Essity has been actively working to increase dialogue about menstruation and hygiene issues among young people in Mexico since 2016, reaching over 7.5 million people to date. Menstruation, followed by incontinence and menopause, is the most stigmatized topic in countries such as Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil, according to research.

Furthermore, Essity's intimate hygiene brands, such as Bodyform/Libresse/Nosotras/Saba and Tena, are heavily involved in breaking taboos with campaigns like "Blood Normal," the first TV advertisement for period products to replace blue liquid with a more representative red, "Viva La Vulva," which helped normalize the conversation about the female body, and "The Last Lonely Menopause," which encourages conversations about menopause.

"The UN Foundation's #EqualEverywhere campaign aims to reach, inspire, and mobilize diverse champions to take up the cause for equality for everyone, everywhere," said Michelle Milford Morse, the UN Foundation's Vice President for Girls and Women Strategy. 

"We are thrilled to partner with Essity and to benefit from Essity's enduring commitment to gender equality."

To know more about Essity’s partnership with the UN Foundation, click here.