Last updated on September 7th, 2012 at 10:45 am
On the occasion of the fifth annual Women in Sports Conference, Procter & Gamble (P&G) demonstrated its commitment to women athletes by announcing its strong support of female competitors, who will make up one half of the company’s sponsored athletes in the upcoming London 2012 Olympic Games. In 2010, P&G and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) signed a 10-year partnership for the next five Olympic Games, starting with London 2012 and continuing through 2020.
Gina Drosos, group president of Global P&G Beauty, shared the company’s commitment to the international gathering of more than 750 key leaders in Los Angeles last week. Sponsored by the IOC, the conference is focused on promoting women in sport by bringing together nonprofit, sporting and women’s organizations and corporations.
As part of a distinguished international panel, Drosos, leader of many of the world’s most iconic women’s brands, like Olay, CoverGirl and Pantene, spoke of “Leadership through Partnership” and shared some examples of P&G’s partnerships to further the company’s purpose of touching and improving lives around the world. Mother of a 13-year-old daughter and sports enthusiast and coach herself, Drosos shared that P&G-sponsored female athletes believe that “healthy is the new beautiful,” and that the confidence they feel from using P&G’s products helps them take on whatever comes up…including tough competition.
Argentina's champion tennis player Gisela Dulko for Pantene.
As part of its Olympic Games program, P&G and its brands will support approximately 150 world-class athletes from around the globe; half of whom are women competitors. Some of the P&G ambassador athletes already announced include U.S. champion swimmer Natalie Coughlin, who has 11 Olympic medals to date, and Alicia Sacramone, the most decorated U.S. gymnast in the history of the World Championships. P&G also will sponsor many other world-class female athletes, like Mexico’s Paola Espinosa (Diving); Argentina’s Gisela Dulko (Tennis); Great Britain’s Victoria Pendleton (Cycling); and China’s Wu Minxia (Diving).
These athletes also are quick to support P&G’s Proud Sponsor of Moms campaign. P&G plans to use its voice at the Olympic Games to honor Olympic moms—and moms everywhere who do the important work of helping their children be the best they can be. The athletes say that support is critical.
“When you think about it, behind every amazing athlete is an even more amazing mom,” said Drosos. “We help moms every day with our products. We like to think that our innovative brands help make mom’s life just a little bit easier, so it’s a natural fit that we become the Proud Sponsor of Moms and provide support and services for them.”
Part of that support means P&G plans to help raise $5 million to support youth sports around the world, to help mom’s favorite athlete get off to a good start.
P&G’s commitment to women extends beyond its products and sponsorship endeavors, to reflect the makeup of its global employee base. In fact, Drosos herself was named to the list of Fortune Magazine’s 2011 Most Powerful Women.
P&G has a long-standing commitment to be an employer of choice for talented women, and to help improve the lives of women in all parts of the world.
In the photo at top: Gina Drosos, group president of Global P&G Beauty, shares the company’s commitment to supporting female athletes at the 5th Edition of the International Olympic Committee’s World Conference on Women and Sport. P&G is a TOP Worldwide sponsor of the Olympic Games and, as part of its program, P&G and its brands will sponsor approximately 150 athletes globally, half of whom are women.
