Unsure about your brand taking a public stand against the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade? Presenters from WPP at Advertising Week today said it’s imperative—but through activism, rather than through empty statements or paid media.

Rachel Lowenstein, global head of inclusive innovation at Mindshare, and LaToya Christian, managing partner, inclusive strategy and innovation at GroupM, took to the stage to outline the findings of its Women’s Rights & Bodily Autonomy survey, conducted by Group M/Choreograph and Audience Origin. The survey, conducted among 2,169 respondents between Aug. 5 and Aug. 25, according to a press release, was not nationally weighted but was “conducted with a sample reflecting the diversity of our society with distribution amongst socioeconomic levels, age groups and varying identities across the U.S.”

The findings showed that 86% of women believe that Roe v. Wade being overturned is a violation of their “basic human right” to control decisions about their body and sexual life, according to the survey. They also showed that women, non-binary and LGBTQ+ respondents feared the ruling could set a precedent for restrictions on other constitutional rights such as voting, gay marriage and contraception.

Nearly three-quarters of women—74%, along with 65% of men, 91% of non-binary individuals, and 89% of LGBTQ+ respondents said the reversal puts women’s health and safety at risk. Those numbers rose significantly for millennial women (79%) and Gen Z women (80%). 

The trust gap

The majority of respondents–particularly women (76%), men (63%), and nonbinary individuals (84%), said they do not trust the government to make decisions about their bodies. Nor do they trust the media to give accurate information: Some 67% of respondents said the media played a significant role in spreading misinformation on the subject. In fact, 57% of Gen Z respondents trusted social media creators more than the mainstream media for treating Roe v. Wade “in a progressive way,” the survey said.

This, said Lowenstein, offers an opportunity for brands to step into the breach. “The question is can feminism be a marketing tool when half the country has lost what the United Nations deems a fundamental human right?” she said.

Though Lowenstein said there is no hard and fast answer, the Roe v. Wade reversal presents “an opportunity for everyone in this room to ask themselves a question when it comes to purpose marketing. Purpose flourished in a time of legislative progress; we are now in a time of legislative regression and purpose has to change for brands to better align their values with how they are behaving not just in advertising, but in every part of their communications.”

But to do so will take work. The research showed that 51% of women, 54% of men, 62% of non-binary people and 62% of LGBTQ+ respondents said they don’t believe brands when they express support for Roe v. Wade because their statements are inauthentic. Multiracial women (55%), Hispanic men (60%), and white men (61%) are even more suspicious.

Action vs. statements

“There is a reshaping of the trust dynamics taking place in understanding what the role of business is,” when it comes to bodily rights, said Christian. “For brands, there is a real need to reevaluate your values in ensuring that at every touchpoint what you are saying and what you are doing truly aligns with your values.”

Survey respondents “do not want brands to be speaking about this issue in paid media; instead they want them to be patrons to movements,” Lowenstein said.

This was a particularly strong sentiment among respondents who were Gen Z, millennials and LGBTQ+. These groups, she said, would rather see brands “work with NGOs and advocacy groups—investing rather than co-opting it into a marketing moment.”

The groups most in favor of brands working with abortion advocacy were Gen Z, at 50% of respondents, and millennials, 40%, along with LGBTQ+ people, at 50%.

Consumers are already voting with their wallets, Lowenstein said. More than one-third of women (34%) in the survey said they would stop purchasing a brand “if their CEO made regressive statements about bodily autonomy.” That rose higher for multicultural or mixed-race women (41%) and LGBTQ+ respondents (38%). 

More than a third—36% of men and 41% of women—in the survey also said that companies should “support employees through organizational policy” regarding abortion. Agreement was stronger among nonbinary (62%) and LGBTQ+ respondents (55%).