Publicis Canada is making a blanket statement on just one of the many inequities endured by women in the workplace.
Timed for International Women’s Day, “Turn the Temp to 23” shines a spotlight on how office temperatures have traditionally left women in the cold by being set to a 1960s standard—when far fewer women were in the office—of a 150-lb, 40-year-old man.
Studies have shown, however, that those standards could overestimate the metabolic rate of women by as much as 35%. “This may cause buildings to be intrinsically non-energy-efficient in providing comfort to females,” the study concluded.
The result is that 76% of women report their office as too cold, and frequently wrap themselves in blankets or wear multiple layers for comfort. Studies have shown that cooler working temperatures can decrease women’s productivity and cognitive performance, factors that can ultimately impede their career progression.
As part the initiative, Publicis is inviting agencies in its network, as well as partners and clients, to commit to adjusting their office temperatures to a “more inclusive” 23 degrees Celsius.
It has also created a wearable call-to-action: custom-printed blankets designed to look like heat maps, and featuring statements such as “Hot tip: I’m cold” and “I need a raise in temperature too.”
The agency has also introduced a website called TurnTheTempTo23.com that details the problem and invites visitors to post the email address of office decision-makers who can turn up the temperature. It will send an anonymous email to those people asking them to join the initiative.
“We cannot continue to ignore the fact that office temperature standards are rooted in a bygone era that fails to account for the needs of more than half of today’s workforce,” said Publicis Canada’s chief talent officer Lindsey Ash in a release. “Raising office temperatures is a simple yet powerful action any company can take to start addressing systemic inequalities.”
