Meghan And Harry Announce Partnership With Procter & Gamble, The Company She Challenged 28 Years Ago

May 13, 2021 by apost team

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry released a statement on their foundation's website on Tuesday, May 11, 2021, telling fans that they have formed a "multi-year global partnership today with Procter & Gamble." Interestingly, this is the same company that Meghan spoke out against when she was young. Back in 1993, a clip of 11-year-old Meghan showed her dedication to social causes when she spoke out against a sexist ad for Ivory dish soap. Ivory is a personal care and flagship brand created by Procter & Gamble (P&G).

The footage was a nostalgic representation of Meghan's consistency when it comes to equality and women's rights. In the 28 years that have passed since Meghan's fervent campaign to change the commercial to make it more inclusive, there is certainly a lot that has changed in how companies and societies view sexism and tackle it today. Many companies have altered their past values and have made creating equal and equitable opportunities for people an important part of their agenda.

Harry and Meghan delve into the reasons for the partnership on their foundation's website and put a keen emphasis on tackling gender equality and equity for communities with the partnership. 

On Mother's Day 2021, Meghan and Harry also donated a year's worth of diapers and cleaning supplies to a Los Angeles-based charity organization that provides housing for pregnant women and their children through their foundation, which was already in a partnership with Proctor & Gamble. Harry and Meghan recognized Harvest Home for Mother's Day, a Los Angeles–based organization that uplifts expectant mothers who are experiencing homelessness. 

Back in 1993 when Meghan was just 11, she was on a Nickelodeon program that aired at the time. The clip addressed sexist advertising after the students interviewed were given a social studies assignment to watch TV commercials and note any subliminal messaging. In the clip, young Meghan talked about how she noticed a dishwashing detergent ad was implying that women alone bear the responsibility of keeping a household clean.

She was unhappy that an Ivory dish soap commercial referred to “women all over America … fighting greasy pots and pans,” The New York Post reported. Instead, she rallied to change the wording to “people all over America,” which the company did.

A separate interview with People Magazine gave insight into her already-forming social consciousness at the time. She described watching a commercial for dish soap at the age of 11 and notes just how upset the commercial made her for targeting an exclusively female audience.

“I don’t think it’s right for kids to grow up thinking these things, that just mom does everything,” Meghan told the magazine.

At the UN Women’s “20th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference of Women in Beijing” event in 2015, Meghan recalled the Nickelodean clip again, as she said:

"When I was just 11 years old, I unknowingly and somehow accidentally became a female advocate...Two boys from my class said, ‘Yeah, that’s where women belong, in the kitchen,’” she said. “I remember feeling shocked and angry and also just feeling so hurt — it just wasn’t right and something needed to be done.”

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Meghan has always been open about her fight for gender equity and against sexism, a value that she has nurtured all her life. 

On May 11, 2021, Meghan and Harry posted on the Archewell website about their partnership with P&G, which read,

"Through Archewell Foundation, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are on a mission to build a more equitable and just future for women and girls. In this partnership, Archewell Foundation and P&G will put a priority focus on gender equity."

The post continued, "Building on Archewell Foundation’s work with organizations such as Girls Inc. and National Women’s Law Center, the partnership will elevate the voices of adolescent girls to ensure their point of view and lived experience is heard at the tables where decisions are made."

They also elaborated on P&G's role in this partnership, saying, "Expanding on P&G’s collaboration with Promundo, together we will underscore the importance of engaging men and boys in the drive for gender equity throughout society and encourage shared caregiving at home so everyone in the family can thrive."

Harry and Meghan have delved into the different ways that this partnership will help people and communities find better lives in the long run in their long statement on the foundation's website. They have used the foundation to make a difference in many ways recently, such as donating to Harvest Home on Mother's day as well as encouraging the public to make donations to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to help provide COVID-19 vaccine equity for underprivileged nations around the globe on their son Archie's birthday.

What do you think of this partnership between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Proctor & Gamble? Tell us your thoughts, and be sure to ask your friends what they think about it as well.