X3M Ideas, leading African advertising agency, proudly announces that it joins the core membership of the UN Women’s Nigerian Chapter of Unstereotype Alliance – a global coalition committed to ending harmful stereotypes in media and advertising.

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women internationally, UN Women, is launching the Unstereotype Alliance in partnership with X3M Ideas as a thought and action platform that serves to unite the influence of the advertising, media, and marketing community as a force for transformative change.

X3M Ideas joins other leaders in their respective industries including First Bank of Nigeria, SO&U LTD, Unilever Nigeria, and Guinness Nigeria who initially championed the build-up process that led to the launch of the Nigerian Chapter.

The Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) and Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR) also join the chapter as allies, bringing their wealth of influence and reach to the Chapter.

Steve Babaeko, Founder and CEO of X3M Ideas, commented on the announcement, saying: “Nigeria is the arrowhead of the exciting African creative industry. We carry a lot of power in the areas of music, film, advertising, and popular culture as a whole.

“With that power comes the responsibility to lead from the front and open the conversation around closing gender gaps and also change the narrative of how women are portrayed in advertising.”

“Also, as the President of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria, success for me is when every creative takes a pause to ponder if the scenario painted in a story board furthers the cause of not stereotyping women or adds fuel to an already raging fire,” he added.

The Nigerian Chapter recognises tackling stereotypes as a social imperative with a strong business case. In 2020, an estimated 430 million USD was spent by Nigeria’s advertising industry. The core membership seeks to further tap into Nigeria’s wide and diverse market to ensure positive and transformative representation.

Leveraging the reach of the United Nations’ 193 Member States, the Unstereotype Alliance provides a global connectedness for members with a shared commitment to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 5 for gender equality. Nigeria is the 11th National Chapter and the 3rd in Africa, in addition to Australia, Brazil, Japan, India, Kenya, Mexico, South Africa, Turkey, UAE, and UK.

Speaking on the need for the Nigerian Chapter, UN Women Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Comfort Lamptey, said, “Nigeria has an important role to play in shifting negative stereotypes across the board – from women’s equal and meaningful participation in leadership to the role of boys and men in ending gender inequality.

“The Nigerian Chapter brings to the global coalition, a range of leading brands who recognise the importance of shifting attitudes around gender, disability, and ethnicity to not only drive the industry market but to achieve sustainable development.

“This Chapter is not only significant for Nigeria but for the whole continent given Nigeria’s position and influence in Africa.”

With statistics provided by UN Women showing that almost a third of Nigerian women report having experienced physical violence, that representation of women in governance is amongst the lowest in sub-Saharan Africa, and that 40% of Nigerians believe that men should be paid more than women for the same job, the Nigerian Chapter’s priority is to use advertising to depict positive and equal portrayals of women and girls in all forms of media.

The industry must reject these harmful stereotypes, especially gender stereotypes, to pave the way for gender equality across Nigeria and, in turn, the world.