This Month’s Spotlight: Kering Empowering Women
At Scarlet Destiny, our dedication lies in delivering the finest arts, culture, and social news through our channel. This commitment inspired us to launch our blog, and we continually aim to highlight the best news and companies making a positive impact on the world or fostering innovation. To enhance your experience, we’re excited to introduce a monthly feature that you can look forward to. This week marks the debut of our new series - Our Monthly Spotlight - which will showcase businesses and brands making remarkable contributions on environmental or social fronts. This month, we’re shining the spotlight on Kering Group and their efforts to empower women worldwide.
How Is Kering Empowering Women?
At the Kering Group, promoting gender equality, nurturing women's talents, and fighting against violence towards women are fundamental priorities woven into the fabric of their culture and practices. In fact, their initiatives towards this are rooted in three main pillars:
- Empowering Women: Kering recognises diversity as a vital asset. The Group is dedicated to fostering gender equality and cultivating talented women across all its divisions and levels of the organisation.
- Kering Foundation: Established in 2008, the Kering Foundation focuses on combatting this pressing issue of women experiencing violence by supporting survivors, implementing prevention strategies, and mobilising efforts worldwide. To amplify its impact, the Foundation collaborates with long-term partners for at least three years across six countries: US, France, Italy, Mexico, UK, and Korea.
- Women In Motion: Kering introduced the Women In Motion program in 2015 to raise awareness about inequalities in culture and the arts industries and to shift perceptions around this.
In collaboration with the Festival de Cannes, Kering launched Women In Motion in 2015 to celebrate women's contributions to cinema, both in front of and behind the camera. The program has since gained international recognition and expanded into various art forms, including photography, literature, and visual arts. Originally founded to showcase women's roles in cinema, Women In Motion has diversified its reach and now encompasses numerous artistic disciplines such as photography, music, choreography, visual arts, and design, aiming to enhance representation, create new models, and promote equality.
Women In Motion provides a platform for prominent figures to express their perspectives on women's representation. With over 40 discussions featuring more than 70 influential cinema personalities (all women, of course), the programme has become a vital space for changing mindsets, celebrating women of influence, and examining the roles and recognition of women in the arts and culture.
Through its Awards, Women In Motion also honours trailblazing women and emerging female talents. In fact, each year at the Festival de Cannes, Kering presents two prizes: the Women In Motion Award, which recognises iconic figures in cinema whose careers inspire others, and the Emerging Talent Award, which supports promising female professionals in the industry.
Since 2016, the program has also endorsed the Prix de la Photo Madame Figaro Arles to uplift young female photography talents. In 2019, Kering intensified its commitment to female photographers by establishing the Women In Motion Award for photography. For the fifth edition of Women In Motion, Kering also introduced a podcast that serves as a platform for women across the film industry, including directors, producers, casting directors, and prominent figures from production and distribution companies, as well as film critics. Each season, they share their journeys, experiences, and thoughts on cinema and the status of women in society. You can check out their podcast on Spotify here and on Apple here.
In 2024, Women In Motion honoured several award recipients at the 77th Festival de Cannes. Dame Donna Langley received the Women In Motion Award, presented by François-Henri Pinault and other festival officials. The Emerging Talent Award went to Malaysian filmmaker Amanda Nell Eu. In June, the Emerging Talent in Music Award was introduced, with singer-songwriter Solann as the first recipient. In July, Ishiuchi Miyako received the Women In Motion Award for photography at the 55th Rencontres d’Arles festival, recognised for her unique insights on women's roles in Japanese society. Additionally, Kering supported the Prix de la Photo Madame Figaro, as we previously mentioned, which was awarded to young talent Tshepiso Mazibuko.
Over the years, numerous award winners have emerged, each more inspiring than the last. We genuinely encourage you to explore the history of this award and take a look at the winners' interviews over the years, as they are truly remarkable.
[info sourced on kering.com; featured image sourced on canva.com]