Are Emojis Limiting Girls? New Always® #LikeAGirl Video Takes a Closer Look at How Girls’ Favorite Language Limits Them to Stereotypes; Encourages Girls to Rally for Change

Latest Always Survey Reveals 67% of Girls Say That the Available
Female Emojis Imply That Girls Are Limited in What They Can Do*

CINCINNATI–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Playing princess, getting their nails done, dancing in bunny ears – is
this a true representation of all the things that girls do? That’s the
question you might ask if you take a critical look at how girls are
portrayed in emojis, one of the fastest growing language in the world
and one teen girls use all the time. Visual communication has always
been a meaningful way to send a message, and if a picture is worth a
thousand words, Always, the leader in global feminine care, is asking
what these emojis are really saying to the girls who interact with them.
In the lead up to International Women’s Day, at a moment where female
achievements are celebrated worldwide, Always wants to empower girls to
show that they can do anything and everything.

As part of the ongoing Always #LikeAGirl mission to stop the drop in
confidence girls experience at puberty, Always partnered with
award-winning documentary filmmaker Lucy Walker of Pulse Films to find
out if girls feel accurately represented by the emoji options available
to them. Lucy’s unique background, which includes a passion for
sociolinguistics in addition to her long list of film credits, helped
shape the new video and uncover surprising findings when talking to
girls. The latest #LikeAGirl video, launching today, highlights how girl
emojis reinforce the societal limitations girls face every day. Real
girls of varying ages and backgrounds were asked about their experiences
using emojis and if they felt accurately represented by the options
available to show who they are and what they really do. Find out their
answers by watching the Always #LikeAGirl – Girl Emojis video here.

“Society has a tendency to send subtle messages that can limit girls to
stereotypes. As someone who has studied sociolinguistics, I know the
kind of impact even seemingly innocuous language choices can have on
girls. It was so interesting to hear these girls talk about emojis and
realize how the options available to them are subtly reinforcing the
societal stereotypes and limitations they face every day,” said Walker.
“I’ve been a fan of the #LikeAGirl campaign from the beginning and I’m
excited to join Always in empowering girls to be confident and stay
confident by helping rally for change in societal limitations, like
those illustrated in emojis.”

Data from the most recent Always Confidence & Puberty Survey*,
shows that more than half of girls surveyed (54 percent) feel that
female emojis are stereotypical, and 75 percent of girls would like to
see female emojis portrayed more progressively, including professional
female emoji options. As the first truly global language, emojis are
relied upon in daily social communication – especially among girls, who
send over a billion emojis every day¹. Even Oxford
Dictionaries’ declared ‘emojis’ the official word of 2015².
Always wants to empower girls to ask for emojis that are as unstoppable
as the girls they represent, to help every girl feel Unstoppable
#LikeAGirl.

“Ever since we started our journey to stop the drop in confidence girls
experience at puberty, we have been deepening our understanding of this
critical stage. We know that girls, especially during puberty, try to
fit in and are therefore easily influenced by society. In fact, we found
that seven out of ten girls even felt that society limits them, by
projecting what they should or should not do, or be**. The girls in
emojis only wear pink, are princesses or dancing bunnies, do their nails
and their hair, and that’s about it. No other activities, no sports, no
jobs… the realization is shocking,” said Michele Baeten, Associate Brand
Director and lead Always #LikeAGirl leader at Procter & Gamble. “Of
course, societal limitations are broader than just emojis, but when we
realized that stereotypical, limiting messages are hiding in places as
innocent as emojis, it motivated us to demand change. Girls are
downright amazing, and we won’t stop fighting all the limitations and
knocks in confidence they experience at puberty until every girl feels
unstoppable.”

Always wants girls to share what girl emojis they want to show how they
are Unstoppable #LikeAGirl. Take a picture, shoot a video or tweet using
#LikeAGirl to inspire young girls everywhere that anything and
everything is possible!

Key ‘Always Puberty & Confidence Wave IV’
Study Findings

• 54 percent of 16-24 year old girls believe that female emojis are
  stereotypical
• Half of girls 16-24 years old find emojis to be a limited
  representation of females’ interests
• 76 percent of girls believe they should not only be portrayed doing
  feminine activities such as getting their hair cut or manicures
• 67 percent of girls say that the available female emojis imply that
  girls are limited in what they can do
• 75 percent of girls would like to see female emojis portrayed more
  progressively, including options showing female athletes or law
  enforcement officers
• Nearly half of girls (47%) feel there are not enough female emojis
• More than seven in ten (71%) of girls ages 16-24 use emojis multiple
  times a day and 82 percent use them on a daily basis

About Always #LikeAGirl

The Always #LikeAGirl movement is being fueled by the millions of girls
around the world who are changing #LikeAGirl to mean amazing things. The
Always #LikeAGirl campaign launched in June 2014 was inspired by the
insight that the start of puberty and the first period mark the lowest
moment in confidence for girls and how harmful words can add to that
drop in confidence. It demonstrated the profound effect the phrase “like
a girl” can have on girls’ self-confidence and it inspired a movement,
which has started to change public perception: after seeing the
#LikeAGirl video, most people (76 percent of women ages 16 to 24 and 59
percent of men) said the video changed their perception of the phrase
“like a girl,”*** according to the Always Puberty & Confidence Wave
II Study. But it could not stop there. In 2015, a new Always study
revealed that 72 percent of girls feel society limits them by telling
them what they should and should not do or be. And more than half of
girls felt that societal limitations would be the same or worse ten
years from now, showing a lack of hope for change. Always could not
accept that and launched the Unstoppable #LikeAGirl campaign to empower
all girls to show the world that they could do or be anything and
everything. For more information about the #LikeAGirl movement, visit www.always.com.

Survey Methodology

*The Always Confidence & Puberty Wave IV Study was conducted
by MSLGROUP Research utilizing Research Now Panels that surveyed a total
of 1,514 Americans. There was a nationally representative sample group
of 1,006 females aged 16 to 24 year old and 508 males aged 16 to 24. The
survey was implemented between the dates of December 30, 2015 through
January 7, 2016.

**The Always Confidence & Puberty Wave III Study was
conducted by MSLGROUP Research utilizing Research Now Panels that
surveyed a total of 1,800 Americans (1,300 American females aged 16 to
24 years old and 500 American males aged 16 to 24). There was a
nationally representative sample group of 1,000 females and 500 males as
well as an additional boost of 150 African American and 150 Hispanic
American females. The survey was implemented between the dates of April
30, 2015 through May 8, 2015.

***The Always Confidence & Puberty Wave II Study was
conducted by MSLGROUP using the Research Now Panel that surveyed a total
of 1,800 Americans (1,300 American females aged 16 to 49 years old and
500 American males aged 16 to 49). There was a nationally representative
sample group of 1,000 females and 500 males as well as an additional
boost of 150 African American and 150 Hispanic American females. The
survey was implemented between the dates of December 5, 2014 through
December 12, 2014.

About Always

Always®, the world’s leader in feminine protection, offers a wide range
of feminine pads, wipes and liners designed to fit different body types,
period flows and preferences. The Always line of feminine products
includes Always Infinity™, Always Ultra Thins, Always Maxis, Always
Liners and Always Feminine Wipes. Please visit www.always.com
for more information.

About Procter & Gamble

P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest
portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®,
Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®,
Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®,
Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, and Whisper®. The P&G
community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide.
Please visit http://www.pg.com
for the latest news and information about P&G and its brands.

¹ Dua, T. (2015, May 6). Emojis by the numbers: A Digiday
data dump. http://digiday.com/brands/digiday-guide-things-emoji/

² Oxford Dictionaries (2015, November 16). Oxford
Dictionaries Word of the Year 2015 is… OxfordWords Blog. http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2015/11/word-of-the-year-2015-emoji/

Contacts

Procter & Gamble
Jolie Egan, 1-646-500-7618
jolie.egan@mslgroup.com