ANZ joins the Shift 20 Initiative Increasing Representation in Australian Advertising and Media

ANZ is proud to be a foundation partner of the Shift 20 Initiative. Led by the Dylan Alcott Foundation, the Shift 20 Initiative is committed to increasing disability representation, inclusion and accessibility in Australian advertising and media.

Almost 20 per cent of Australians live with a disability and yet they are represented in only one percent of advertising.

The Shift 20 Initiative is a coalition of some of Australia’s largest brands and aims to transform disability representation by normalising disability on our screens.

ANZ has a long-standing commitment to inclusivity with several programs, products and partnerships that aim to drive and embed accessibility and inclusion across all aspects of the organisation.

ANZ General Manager of Marketing, Sian Chadwick said: “ANZ’s involvement in the Shift 20 Initiative is a continuation of our commitment to diversity, accessibility, and inclusion. ANZ has been championing this space for a long time, including disability representation in our advertising briefings and casting. It’s important for us to be deliberate about making sure we are equally representing members of the Australian community.

“We are excited to be involved in this initiative, and our hope is that we see appropriate and effective disability representation become second nature to advertisers.”

ANZ Group Executive Technology and Executive Sponsor of Accessibility, Gerard Florian said: “As one of the largest brands in Australia, it’s our role to represent the communities in which we live. By considering the needs of everyone, innovations can emerge which offer more inclusive products and services to benefit the whole community.”

In support of the campaign, ANZ alongside a number of Australian brands have transformed existing TVCs to include actors with both visible and invisible disabilities.

ANZ re-shot the final scene of a recent TVC, replacing the original talent with an actor with a limb difference. Importantly, this commitment to visibility for people with disability in ANZ ads is not new. The original TVC featured an actor who is a bilateral above knee amputee, but this simple and powerful change increases the representation in a more deliberate way.

ANZ’s advertising has and will continue to consider and ensure representation is inclusive across ability, ethnicity, and gender.

ANZ’s commitment to accessibility:
ANZ is committed to ensuring our workplace welcomes, supports and celebrates the unique contributions of all our people, and ensuring our products and services are inclusive and accessible to everyone. We understand that disability is relevant to every aspect of our business – customers, employees, markets, communities, suppliers and key stakeholders.

We are committed to building a more accessible bank for our customers, employees, and the wider community. Our Accessibility and Inclusion Plan 2023 – 2025 includes 14 new commitments across four focus areas. Each commitment is intrinsically linked to our purpose to shape a world where people and communities thrive, creating opportunities for us to better serve our customers and build inclusive workplaces and thriving careers.

About the Shift 20 Initiative:

Shift 20 Initiative was created by Dylan Alcott Foundation, Special and some of Australia’s leading brands to increase representation, inclusion and accessibility for people living with disability in marketing and communications. The initiative demonstrates the importance of disability representation on-screen, by encouraging brands to commit to fair representation of people with disability, whilst providing the opportunity and opening doors for people with disability to see themselves on screen.

Source – ANZ