Notice you had more Peters in your LinkedIn network this week? Glad it caught your attention — that’s what Dutch women were aiming for.
Back in October 2020, a survey of the Netherlands’ top 100 companies found there were more CEOs named Peter than there were female CEOs in total, a sad fact that didn’t change much since then, so LinkedIn females united. 💪
In an initiative by Dutch organization WOMEN Inc. in collaboration with women branding agency BrandedU and Amsterdam based digital branding agency The Family, women were invited to change their first name to Peter on LinkedIn between January 24 and January 28.
#MijnNaamIsPeter
The ‘my name is Peter campaign’ aims to address that 4.3% of unequal gender representation in CEO positions concerns women, explains spokesperson and Vogue Nederland editor-in-chief Cécile Wansink in a Peter LinkedIn post.
Men also chimed in on this cultural and systemic issue, reports the NOS, where one person changed their name to “Petra” on LinkedIn for the week — “A spontaneous initiative that we are happy with,” expressed Wansink.
To address this issue nationwide, a Dutch law came into effect in January 2022 to force companies into hiring more women in their leadership roles. Hopefully, by next year, fewer Peters will show up on surveys of gender quality in the Netherlands. 🤞
What do you think of this LinkedIn initiative? Will you change your name to show support? Tell us in the comments below!
Feature Image: pixelheadphoto/Depositphotos
