Publish Date: Mar 04, 2025

#ForAllWomenAndGirls is a rallying call for action on the 30thanniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Harmful stereotypes are one of the root causes of discrimination, abuse and violence in manifold areas, can lead to violations of a wide array of human rights and limit people’s full potential. When brands and advertisers challenge stereotypes, they challenge inequality. 

Red & Yellow is a Creative School of Business based in Cape Town, South Africa offering courses to both students and working professionals across a range of ages, experiences and backgrounds. We spoke to Verusha Maharaj, the School’s Managing Director about equipping the next generation of leaders with tools they need to drive social change for ALL women and girls.

How can the advertising industry help to advance rights, equality and empowerment?
 

“Because of its reach, the advertising industry can be instrumental in shaping cultural narratives” Maharaj says. “Cohesive and intentional campaigns can champion wider social change with an impactful call to action when those expectations undermine the autonomy and dignity of women. They also have the capacity to actively and meaningfully amplify underrepresented people in their campaigns”

As a higher education institution Red & Yellow are understandably very proud of the proportion of women that graduate from their programmes, however Maharaj shares persisting challenges: “what remains an ongoing challenge is ensuring that we have a diverse group of women from different ethnicities and races in our cohorts.”

She says this reflects a wider issue in the industry which also lacks diversity for women in leadership and decision-making positions.

Challenging norms from classroom, to brief, to billboard

Red & Yellow lists ‘Constructively Challenging’ among its values, continuing: ‘We question everything, not accepting anything as a given. We speak and act with respect and intelligence when challenging the status quo.’

In 2024 Red &Yellow ran a competition for their students that turned this value into action. Their task was to create an integrated campaign to get 18-30 year olds, who can feel like powerless bystanders, to become proactive allies for marginalized communities. How? By exposing, challenging and disrupting stereotypes in higher education.

The winning team, ‘Voices of Colour’, focused on microaggressions against women of colour. Their campaign was rolled out across the Red & Yellow campus with posters, activations and stickers for incoming students to actively shape a culture that made campus safe and accessible for ALL women.

This brief was one example of the way that Red &Yellow works to eliminate stereotypes: through briefs and Masterclasses. “Our live client briefs expose our students to the value and impact of diversity and reflecting authentic representations” Maharaj says. “We also have close ties to industry partners who champion this cause through Masterclasses, including Suhana Gordhan (the founder of Open Chair) and Pabi Mbedzi (founder of I Hear You).”

A future free from stereotypes for ALL women and girls would mean no longer being confined by narrow standards of beauty, behavior, or success.

- Verusha Maharaj, Managing Director, Red and Yellow

 

Preparing the next generation for a future free from stereotypes

For Maharaj, a future free from stereotypes means having the freedom to define who you are without being bound by rigid, societal expectations. “For women and girls, it would mean no longer being confined by narrow standards of beauty, behavior, or success.”

“It would allow them to pursue careers, hobbies, and lifestyles that are aligned with their true interests. A future without stereotypes would also benefit men and boys, as they too would be free from the pressures of conforming to traditional roles—whether it’s about showing vulnerability, seeking help, or exploring non-traditional career paths.”

Red & Yellow Creative School of Business is committed to making this vision a reality through social change and diversity. Maharaj shares that they “have been inspired by the collaborative and collective action championed by the Unstereotype Alliance.”

“We aim to achieve this goal both in our immediate context and in the wider industries into which our students graduate. We recognise that these spaces must be shaped toward a culture of equality, and we are using our relationship with the Unstereotype Alliance to prepare our students for this mission” Maharaj shares.

The impact of Red & Yellow’s commitment will be felt for generations to come: their students have gone on to start and manage large agencies around the world. Seizing the opportunity that education provides to build awareness, drive meaningful change, and influence the next generation of leaders will foster inclusive environments across the creative industry.