Ending Gender Discrimination in Advertising
The right to vote was a start, and women’s liberation moved us forward like a wave. But in an age when rights seem to be disappearing by the day, women want to know who’s actually got their back.
According to UN General Secretary António Guterres, equality is slipping further away and will take 300 years to achieve at this rate.
Across 15 world gender-parity indicators, like leadership positions, financial inclusion, and political representation, only four showed positive progress between 2015 and 2020. And as the linked McKinsey report notes, even though 87% of North American companies prioritize gender equality, the intention needs to translate into action; C-suite representation of women has inched from 17% to 21% since 2015, and in the U.S., women continue to earn 82% of what men earn.
Below we’ll clarify the challenges women continue to face and what you can do about it as advertisers.
The challenges of existing as a woman
Three in four women who participated in our research say they’ve faced challenges like
Discrimination based on their gender
Pressure to prioritize work over personal or family needs
Discrimination based on their age
Discrimination based on how they speak
Discrimination based on their body size and shape
Discrimination based on their clothing or hair
Boundary Pushers, Female Favorers, and older women are more likely to cite experiencing challenges related to being a woman. And over two in three Boundary Pushers and Female Favorers say they’ve been discriminated against because of their gender.
On the other hand, 40% of Brand Approvers say they haven’t experienced any gender-based challenges.
There’s a substantial rift between these groups.
Brand Approvers tend to be younger, so they may have benefited from the gains of the last few decades; they may have experienced fewer gender-based challenges because these challenges are less common today than they were 50 years ago. But there may be other reasons for this difference, too.
Perhaps Boundary Pushers and Female Favorers notice the challenges more because they’re looking for them; these two segments care deeply about women’s equality, and their attitudes reflect that.
As far as we’re concerned, 60%—a majority—of Brand Approvers have still experienced any number of these challenges, and until that percentage is 0% for each of the three segments, we need to do more.
Advertisers’ Responsibility for gender equality
To advertise to women effectively, you need to understand their context. For many women, discrimination and gender disparities are realities they’ve faced and continue to face. These experiences are sources of pain, stress, and are part of their daily lives. Advertising is more effective when it solves a problem, and many women have a big problem at work, at home, and just living in society. You can show women you care by contributing to the solution.
Focus your efforts, attention, and intention on creating equitable advertising.
We live by these three techniques:
Be conscious of who you’re centering in your ads. Are there men on the screen? What role do they play? How do they interact with women? How often do the women speak? What do they say? How might you be reinforcing gender stereotypes, even for comedic effect?
Be aware of the messaging in your ads. What language do you use? Does the language reinforce misogyny? What storyline does your ad follow? How accurately does that story reflect the lives of the women in your audience? How can you “see” and “hear” women better in your ads? How do your ads spread the message that women deserve to be treated equally?
Be intentional about your representation. What role do women play in your ads? How are you portraying them? Are women with children only shown as young mothers with toddlers? Or do you have women in their 40s guiding their teenagers through life transitions? How do you portray women who have retired? How do you portray women’s sexuality and sensuality? Does it stop at age 30?
Better advertising comes from interrogating your work and asking thoughtful questions. They called it unconscious bias for a reason—you need to bring it into the light to eliminate it in your ads.
We get it. Gender inequality is deeply engrained stuff. And sometimes you need another perspective, somebody to hold you accountable and collaborate with you. So we recommend adding women’s voices to your conversations. Start by downloading our executive summary to hear 600 women consumers’ thoughts on advertising—the Boundary Pushers and Female Favorers especially will be looking to see your ads do right by women.
