Gucci to unveil campaign for women's empowerment

Co-founder Beyoncé Knowles-Carter said "I have always felt strongly about equal opportunity for women. Girls have to be taught from early on that they are strong and capable of being anything they want to be.  It’s up to us to change the statistics for women around the world.  I’m honored to be in the company of women who live fearlessly and set an example for the next generation of young ladies."

Gucci recognizes the capacity that it has as a globally influential brand to effect real change, and is bringing together a range of leading organizations and individuals to strengthen the impact of CHIME FOR CHANGE. Strategic partners include the PPR Corporate Foundation for Women’s Dignity and Rights, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Facebook, Hearst Magazines, and Catapult. Additionally, The Huffington Post has joined as a digital media partner.

"I am convinced that across the planet, women are at the heart of the equilibrium of our communities. There is a need to transform words into action and find new ways to enable and empower girls and women,” said PPR Chairman François-Henri Pinault. “I am excited and proud that PPR, through Gucci and our Foundation, is able to support CHIME FOR CHANGE. At PPR, women form the majority of our employees as well as the majority of our customers. I hope that this initiative, shared with other individuals and organizations, will contribute to making a change for the better for women and their communities around the world."

CHIME FOR CHANGE leadership is joined by an Advisory Board of issues experts, advocates and global leaders, including Hafsat Abiola, Muna AbuSulayman, Jimmie Briggs, Gordon and Sarah Brown, Lydia Cacho, David Carey, Joanne Crewes, Waris Dirie, Yasmeen Hassan, Arianna Huffington, Musimbi Kanyoro, John Legend, Pat Mitchell, Alyse Nelson, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, François-Henri Pinault, Jada PinkettSmith, Julia Roberts, Jill Sheffield, Caryl Stern, Meryl Streep, and the Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his daughter Mpho Tutu, among others.

The movement aims to provoke, collect and share powerful stories of girls and women globally.  Managing Editor Mariane Pearl leads a journalism platform of original content, further supported by the International Herald Tribune and the Thomson Reuters Foundation.  Salma Hayek Pinault will be executive producer of a film unit dedicated to creating ten short films about inspiring girls and women from around the world, and will curate and highlight user-generated short videos submitted to the CHIME FOR CHANGE community.  

CHIME FOR CHANGE will continue to update its community with exciting news, including a major announcement in mid-March about a global CHIME FOR CHANGE event that will put girls’ and women’s issues on the world’s stage.  

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