Hershey Canada Strives to Make Women More Visible in International Women’s Day Campaign

This International Women’s Day, it’s time for action; a time to not just imagine, but to put in the work towards a more equitable future. To achieve a sustainable tomorrow, it’s imperative to tell the often untold stories of women who are forging change today. With this in mind, Hershey Canada announces the Her For She campaign in partnership with Girl Up, as part of a global initiative to drive conversation and shine a light on women’s voices and impact in communities across Canada. The #HerSHE campaign originated in Brazil in 2020, and will come to life in six additional international markets this year, including Canada, to advance gender equity commitments on a global scale.

“Like the words, HER and SHE, the accomplishments of women have gone unnoticed for far too long,” says Brittany Chopra, Senior Marketing Manager at Hershey Canada. “This is why Hershey is starting a global movement to make the accomplishments of more women visible.”

The initiative spotlights five incredible Canadian women who are each contributing to lasting change in their community by featuring their stories on limited-edition, not-for-sale milk chocolate bars, designed by Toronto artist Gosia Komorski. Together with accompanying video spots produced in collaboration with Mint, the bars are a powerful celebration of Canadian women’s essential accomplishments, strengths, and potential. Each bold and striking design takes inspiration from its subjects: Marion Willis, Founder and Executive Director, St. Boniface Street Links and Morberg House (Winnipeg); sustainable fashion designer Natalya Amres (Toronto); Fitriya Mohamed, Founder and Executive Director, Muslim Women's Summer Basketball League (Jane and Mount Dennis, Toronto); Trans /Activist Yasmeen Persad (Toronto); and Erica Jacobs, Founder of 100% Skate Club (Calgary).

“In a world facing challenges such as we have never known, I feel the importance of giving power to the voices and potential of the girls and women who will become our future leaders,” says Marion Willis. “I love that Hershey is celebrating the day by honouring the leadership and contributions of women in the community.”

Hershey Canada is extending this ethos further by partnering with Girl Up, an organization that focuses on creating opportunities for girls to harness their untapped power and skills to make a difference. Girl Up leaders will collaborate to bring visibility to women in their communities across Canada, and a $20,000 donation will serve to support the advancements of girls’ skills, rights, and opportunities to be leaders.

“By highlighting diverse role models, the Her For She campaign is doing something crucial for our next generation: it's proving that incredible women aren't the exception, they're the norm,” says Girl Up representative Kiana Mokrian.

Hershey and Girl up want to make even more women visible, and invite Canadians to shout out and share stories of women who are changing their communities using #HERFORSHE. The goal is to spark a movement, and to shine a light on women across the country, so they can also be fully seen for who they are and the incredible work they do each and every day.