49.6% Female Charachters are just likely to appear in ads - Report

The United Nations Children’s Fund  (UNICEF) teamed up with The Geena Davis  Institute on Gender in Media to conduct  the first public study to systematically  analyze gender representations in ads in  India.

The purpose of this study was to assess the  role of advertising media in reinforcing and  challenging harmful gender roles that shape  the lives of girls and women in India.

It will serve as a benchmark for making  advertising more gender sensitive in the  country.

According to this report, 49.6% Female Charachters are just likely to appear in ads, whereas 50.4% Male Charachters are prominent in ads.

When it comes to screen speaking time, its the female characters who dominate time with 59.7% and the male characters with 56.3%

The representation however has always been the problem area. The representation of female charachters in Banking & Finance,Home Decor & Infrastructure, Media & Entertainment, Travel & Tourism and sports are always underrepresented, however it is overrepresented in ads related to Personal Care, Fashion & Accessories and Corporate.

While women have a strong presence in advertising, they are mostly selling domestic and beauty products to female consumers.

The charachters of Lower income communities are underepresented with only 6.4% whereas the representation of the middle-class community is represented 51.3%

Intentionally or not, the charachters with light skin tones are represented 59.6% in the ads whereas the charachters with the darker skin tones are represented only 4%