Apply your skills to the household

Equal Pay Day and mortierbrigade have been closing the wage gap between men and women for the past 18 years.

And you wouldn’t be wrong to call it a success story, because the wage gap became smaller, laws concerning this topic were altered, the matter has been on the political agenda every year and the campaigns are amongst some of the most awarded of our country, nationally and globally.

This success story got noticed abroad as well. That is why mortierbrigade was appointed to create a campaign that will run across Europe. Female European employees still earn 13% less than men on a yearly base, meaning these women actually work for free from November 15 until the end of the year. This day was named ‘UnEqual Pay Day’.

The new campaign focuses on one of the main reasons that cause the wage gap: the unequal division of household tasks,forcing many women into part-time jobs.

The video addresses men, asking them to do their fair share of unpaid work in the household, to give women a more equal opportunity on the job market. Research from ZIJkant and Ipsos (2022) shows that men don’t see the problem: they think their household is balanced as it is (which is contradicted by women) and don’t recognize the link between the unequal division of household chores and lower career opportunities for their partners.

With ‘Apply your skills to the household’, the belief that women are simply better at doing the dishes and the laundry is disposed of in a playful way. Men have the same skills as women, they only apply them in different contexts.

The extremely witty film was directed by Jeroen Mol and produced by Czar and is accompanied by a print and poster campaign and various social media executions.