The Glass Lion: The Lion for Change applauds work that “challenges gender bias and shatters stereotypical images of men and women which remain rooted in marketing messages”.

Cannes Lions has gone above and beyond its usual job of highlighting great ad work and the people behind it. The new Glass Lion: The Lion for Change, has a special role. It applauds the work and the people who are trying to change how all of us depict and see men and women.

“It is the Festival’s long-held belief that marketing actively shapes culture, and the launch of the award is part of an ongoing commitment to positively impact the course of communications.”

The award has been launched with the support of LeanIn.Org and its sole criterion is to applaud “highly creative, positive and progressive contributions to gender representation…work that challenges gender bias and shatters stereotypical images of men and women which remain rooted in marketing messages”.

Cindy Gallop, founder & chief executive officer of IfWeRanTheWorld/MakeLoveNotPorn and former founder of BBH New York, has been made the inaugural Glass Lions’ Jury President.

“We are humbled to be described as a global benchmark for creative excellence. Creativity has the power to change culture, and the wider world, in a deeply positive way. So rewarding creative work that fights to address the (mis)representation of gender in marketing communication is something we hope will lead to real change across the industry and society,” Lions Festivals chief executive officer, Philip Thomas, commented.

Cannes Lions will donate all proceeds from the Glass Lion entry fees and put them back into a programme that promotes and enables the creation of a more gender-neutral media landscape. Details of this programme will be announced over the next few weeks. Cannes Lions intends to evolve The Glass Lion in future years to include other global, cultural and societal issues.

The introduction of the Glass Lion: The Lion for Change was ignited by See It Be It last year, whose aim was to accelerate creative women’s careers in advertising. “To date, a predominantly male voice has informed the creation of a lot of the marketing messaging. Applying creativity to capture the hearts and minds of the largest consumer base in the world – women – will inform the financial future of this industry. This will require a more gender-balanced talent pool,” explained Senta Slingerland, Lions Festivals’s director of brand strategy.

One of See It Be It’s standout results is that Facebook chief operating officer and founder of LeanIn, Sheryl Sandberg, urged Cannes Lions to consider the launch of a Lion specifically to tackle misrepresentation of gender.

“You can’t be what you can’t see – and how we market to women is critically important,” Sandberg noted. “If our messages to women – and men – portray equality, we will help create a more equal world. LeanIn.Org is thrilled that Cannes Lions is making the Glass Lion a reality so we can all applaud advertising that is more representative of the world as it should be.”

Points won in the Glass Lions category will count towards Special Awards – accolades for agencies, network and holding company of the Year.

Entry for the Glass Lions is open from Monday 2 March to 27 March.

Winners will be awarded on Tuesday 23 June 2015 at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes.

Nominations for this year’s See It Be It programme will be collected via the website from late March.