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Solo Powered with Ariana Dunne

Women Un-branded, Cathy O'Connor talks about under representation of women over 40

Ep. 18
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The wonderful fashion stylist Cathy O'Connor come on to talk about her fabulous career in fashion from working on TV's 'Off the rails', to being a magazine fashion editor and stylist to the stars. She has recently launched an important campaign called Women Un-Branded.


Women Un-branded is a social awareness campaign that aims to create social change towards ageing in the fashion and beauty worlds. Spearheaded by stylist, broadcaster, and content creator, Cathy O’Connor, Women Un-branded gives a voice to women over 40 and beyond who have experienced a lack of representation and inclusion in many fashion and beauty brands’ marketing and advertising campaigns.

Women Un-branded recently conducted a *survey among women aged 35+, many of whom have significant spending power in the fashion and beauty industries. The survey revealed that 45% of this cohort spend up to €500 per month on fashion, while 61% spend up to €500 per month on beauty. At a time of extraordinary inclusion, many women over 40 feel they are on the outside looking in, and that the brands they are loyal to don’t always represent them in their campaigns. 71% would prefer to see more realistic portrayals of women in brand campaigns. Women Un-branded is calling for a more realistic portrayal of women over 40, highlighting their vivacity, wisdom, and value.


With the Women Un-branded campaign, Cathy wants to create awareness and act, and she is encouraging women to champion those who are creating a change. Women Un-branded is calling on women to be aware of which brands communicate with them directly, and if women feel ignored by brands or boutiques they support, speak up in a positive way.

 

Cathy has many ambitious plans for Women Un-branded including a shoot of real women who own their style across all age ranges from 40+, and even a podcast. As the founder, Cathy is also passionate about the media and brands having access to images of vibrant looking older women so that positive images of age are more available and therefore, may increase visibility. Watch this space! Women Un-branded is also open to working with agencies worldwide who want to create positive change to help them be inclusive in their work and there are plans for more in-depth research in the future.

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