Workplaces for All

Preventing workplace discrimination and sexual harassment

The Workplaces for All campaign is a result of Act 183, which allocated funds to the Vermont Commission on Women (VCW), in consultation with the Vermont Attorney General’s office and the Vermont Human Rights Commission, to inform and assist Vermont employees, employers, and members of the public about the laws and best practices for preventing sexual harassment and workplace discrimination.

Our public education campaign included the strategy, messaging, creative materials, and implementation for an integrated, multi-channel outreach program to support fair and respectful workplaces for all Vermonters.

Focus Areas

Government Agencies

Social Equity & Community

 

Related Services

Brand Strategy & Positioning

Content Strategy & Development

Digital Strategy & Web Design

Integrated Marketing Communication

Public Interest Communication

Traditional Marketing

The Challenge

How can we best help workers understand their protections and rights while encouraging employers to adopt best practices for what has become an emotionally and politically charged rather than human issue?

Insight: Workers and employers need to see themselves

Years of limited state resources meant Vermont’s image library skewed toward beautiful landscapes, executives, and manufacturing versus the many small workplaces with the positions held by most Vermonters. An appeal to employers and workers to participate in workplace photoshoots for social good created a new, representative collection of realistic images.

 

workers at four Vermont workplaces

Strategies

When you want your state program identity, outreach, digital and traditional marketing to work together seamlessly and effectively to reach diverse audiences — then you need an integrated multi-channel marketing approach:
  • Develop a program identity and visual style guide using unusual colors to attract attention while remaining in compliance with State of Vermont government brand guidelines.
  • Invest in professional photography to show real workers in diverse workplaces so workers and employers can “see themselves.”
  • Plan and develop core information resources designed to repurpose and reformat for use in multiple media channels and for distribution by partners serving specialized communities.

Workplaces For All program identity

How We Helped

We began by developing the campaign name and a State of Vermont sub-brand or program identity, then planning and designing the website while three state agencies reviewed legal content. After workplace photoshoots, we supported VCW staff building the website on the State’s Drupal platform, developed assorted print materials for distribution by partners to specialized communities of employers and underserved workers, created PSAs for broadcast and digital advertising, and created and maintained social media accounts.
 

Knowledge & the Tools to Put it Into Practice

Human resources laws and regulations are renown for being long, dense, and complex. The goal of the information architecture design for the website was to organize and make accessible education, legal information, and best practices for employers (especially smaller businesses without HR departments), the individual workers most likely to experience sexual harassment or workplace discrimination, and their co-workers and “bystander” colleagues.

 

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Unexpected Subjects in Unexpected Places

Digital and social media advertising typically focuses on selling products, services, or causes. Thought-provoking facts and questions about workplace discrimination, sexual harassment, and our roles as employers, workers, or colleagues attracted attention and stimulated discussion.

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HubSpot Video

 

 

 
A series of public service announcements developed for TV and radio.
Workplaces for All guide book

Sexual Harassment Guide

New law translated into everyday language
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Infographics and Factoids

Statistics and quotes in accessible, digestible bites
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Assorted Print Handouts

Helpful materials with or without internet access

Impact

As the COVID-19 pandemic shut down workplaces and disrupted the extended implementation of the public education campaign, an inclusive framework, and resources to help prevent workplace discrimination and sexual harassment is established in Vermont.
  • Image library with Vermonters at work in a range of positions and workplaces
  • Content library with core messages and graphic factoids for ongoing promotion via social media channels
  • Toolkit of print and digital public outreach materials that enables the VCW team to continue to spread the word with unspent funds
  • Broadcast PSAs appeared in every county in Vermont.

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