When it comes to DE&I people are over brands simply changing their logos to show they’re trying to affect change, or throwing money at manifesto-y ads that show how much they “care”.
So, during Women’s History Month we wanted to go beyond the typical corporate celebration of women’s accomplishments. Instead, we aimed to start a movement within our own organization to get Verizon employees to understand the collective contributions of women, while also rallying behind their female co-workers to be their most authentic selves at work.
To do this we highlighted inspiring historical badass women and then hacked the number one form of communication at work. Email. While our hack got people to take notice, it also helped spread the word—then we hit them with a real talk. On social we hosted a roundtable discussion with women who are thriving in corporate America, who gave practical advice on being yourself and how not to edit yourself to death at work.
There’s a reason we have the saying ‘it’s a man’s world’—so many of the inventions, technologies and civil liberties that we all benefit from are attributed to men. Yet, women have been there, often playing pivotal roles to make some of humankind’s greatest achievements happen.
In the United States, we started celebrating Women’s History Month 38 years ago, and while women have made great strides there is still a long way to go. In corporate America it is common practice for women to code switch at work—going through great lengths to change how they email and speak to be more in line with men. Articles, podcasts and whole books have been dedicated to the subject matter, yet the problem still persists. But, what if an every day task like sending an email could be used as a moment to inspire change?
Introducing the FeMail Signature.
During Women’s History Month, Verizon hijacked the emails of their own employees with a purpose driven signature: custom illustrations highlighting underrecognized women in the world of science, technology and civil rights.
Each email signature highlighted a figure from history using her own words to inspire and empower both sender and receiver. The Fe-Mail signature plug-in was then released publicly, so others could help spread the word. Then, on LinkedIn we hosted a roundtable discussion with women who are thriving in corporate America, who gave practical advice to being yourself and how not to edit yourself to death at work.
A small change, a simple email signature, signaled to women everywhere that apologizing less, and leaning into the power of your own voice was not just ok, but welcomed.
The FeMail signature was an internal activation that went beyond the typical virtue signaling and instead sparked deeper conversations. With every email sent, women of the past reminded women today to be their most authentic selves for the betterment of us all. Beyond that, more employees than we anticipated participated, making it one of our most successful DE&I initiatives to date.
100,000+ employees participated
1 Million+ emails sent
95% positive sentiment
164% increase in employee engagement rate
By creating a simple email signature plug-in that highlighted women of the past, we were able to empower female voices today.
