Diversity, equity, and inclusion should always be top-of-mind, no matter the time of year, no matter the time of day. These tenets serve as the foundation for social progress and everything that follows. Now more than ever, it’s crucial to push the dialogue around key issues and accelerate it forward.
Standing Against AAPI Hate
As we pass the one year mark since the pandemic upended our lives, we continue to see disturbing aggression toward Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. Backlash immediately followed the COVID-19 outbreak, but the past few weeks have shown a rise in racially-motivated language and violence:
- In the days following a series of murders, the viral hashtag #stopasianhate grew an average of 802% per day.
- Online outrage skyrocketed when a police captain suggested the alleged murderer in the Atlanta spa shooting was “having a bad day”; hate crime and racism discussions were 4.2x and 2.1x higher than the week prior, respectively.
- Support is growing rapidly for the Asian community, with searches growing 1178% and shares 1047%, on average week-over-week, for causes dedicated to stopping violence against Asians.
Black History Month is… Every Month
February might be over, but Black history and any discussions around racial disparities need to be highlighted and amplified every month. Dismantling systemic racism is always in season. While ShareThis has observed a softening of U.S. engagement around these issues since its peak in June of 2020, there is some good news:
- Engagement with Black Lives Matter in February was down 62% since June of 2020, but is up 526% year-over-year (February 2021 vs February 2020).
- Engagement with content mentioning black-owned businesses is up 37% compared to June of 2020 when Black Lives Matter protests began in earnest.
- Related search terms like “social justice,” “police brutality,” and “white privilege” are still high in the rankings. This revolves around the need to be safe, respected, and equal.
The Push for Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Continues
March presents an opportunity to think deeply about and demonstrate unwavering support for women’s empowerment, along with recognizing how swiftly gender equality discussions have evolved — and will continue to evolve. Today, gender equality extends well beyond birth identity, and ShareThis is seeing major shifts in online consumer engagement around the topic in 2021, globally:
- 107% average weekly increase in searches for Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day.
- 102% average weekly increase in shares for gender identity content, including gender fluid, non-binary, transgender, and agender identities.
- Spike in engagement around keywords like “equal opportunity,” “women’s rights,” and “gender equality,” and historical activists like “Susan B. Anthony” and “Sojourner Truth.”
Expanding the ShareThis Data For Good Initiative
Since launching its first Data For Good audience segment back in August of 2020, ShareThis has added ten additional audience offerings, addressing a host of issues that marketers align with (animal welfare, environmental issues, gender equality, poverty and hunger, women’s rights, etc.).
20 percent of the resulting revenue from these segments will be donated to related not-for-profit organizations. They are available on more than 40 platforms across the programmatic media ecosystem, including Liveramp Data Marketplace, The Trade Desk, Xandr, Verizon, and DV360.
Download the full taxonomy list below or reach out to your ShareThis lead for more information. Together, we can effect real and tangible change.
