IAA study maps gender portrayal over a decade of advertising in India
The recently concluded pioneering change summit, IAA Voice of Change: Gender Portrayal from 30 seconds to 3 hours, featured an array of conversations on gender parity as seen in the media. A whole session was designated on the first of its kind report, ‘Moving the Needle: Gender Portrayal Over a Decade Of Advertising’, which assessed the gender sensitivity of Indian advertisements. Presented by Dr AL Sharada, Director, Population First, a social impact organisation working to make the society more gender-just, the study collated and analysed a total of 870 advertisements that were scored for gender sensitivity over a span of five years by Dr Sharada. Over 172 agencies and 375 brands were covered in the study.
“Looking at the trends, it was noted that the advertisements were almost equally divided between being gender stereotypical, a 40.5%, and gender neutral a 43.6%. Consumer Goods, BFIS, Apps/eCommerce were the primary industries analysed and constituted over 58% of the ads reviewed. There was a clear indication that advertisements targeting women performed better than those targeting men. There has been a definite improvement in the GS Scores since 2020, not entirely to a level that one would desire, but it is at least a step in the right direction. The needle is moving slowly, but surely,” Dr Sharada noted.
Dr Sharada is a leading expert on gender and has been advocating for a gender-just society through a bouquet of interventions that are aimed at sensitising the influencers – particularly the media and the advertising industry. She envisioned the Laadli Media Advocacy initiative, which has been organising the flagship Laadli Media and Advertising Awards for Gender Sensitivity and Laadli Media Fellowships that enable young journalists to produce nuanced and inclusive in-depth reports on various aspects of society through the gender perspective. She has conducted workshops on various aspects of gender for journalists, media persons, filmmakers, policymakers, corporate strategists and leaders, students, and more across the country.
The scores presented in the report were culled from the weekly ‘Creative Critique’ articles by Dr Sharada for an advertising publication. It offered insight into the best and worst-performing industries and the indicative year-on-year changes in the Gender Sensitivity Scores (GS Scores) of the advertisements based on target groups by age and gender.
Methodology
The study aimed to identify and analyze gender transformative advertisements driving the change, primarily from the medium of television. The data was segmented into 10 industries and target groups by age and gender. It rated the advertisements according to the following grid:
- 0-1= Gender offensive
- 1-2= Gender insensitive
- 2-3= Gender stereotypical
- 3-4 = Gender non-stereotypical
- 4-5= Gender Transformative
A framework was developed to assess gender sensitivity and looked atfour parameters:
Gender qualities and features which bifurcate personality and psychological traits as masculine and feminine. Advertising reinforces these gender expectations and norms through:
- Body shaming
- Setting conventional and unrealistic beauty standards that create insecurity and diffidence in women
- Lack of representation of the LGBTQIA+ community.
- Promoting masculinity and Machoism that promote aggression, dominance and violence as normal manly traits
- Showing women as vulnerable and sexually attractive and men as stoic and as being the pursuers in a relationship
Gender roles: Women are seen as primarily responsible for the caring and nurturing roles in society and men as being in-charge of the productive and protective roles. Advertising reaffirms gender roles by showing:
- Women as homemakers, care givers and nurturers and showing them predominantly in domestic sphere overwhelmed with the responsibility of giving her best to the family
- Men are portrayed as providers and protectors and repeatedly they are shown as failures when they fail to live upto the gendered role expectations
- Women as dependent and without agency and choice and men as the decision makers and authorities.
Gender equations: Women and men are not just different, they are unequal in terms of the power and control they exercise at home and in society. Advertising reflects and normalises inequality by showing:
- Women being subservient to men.
- Confining women to indoor work.
- Showing women seeking validation from others, particularly men
- Presenting the interaction between men and women in a way that propagates this dynamic.
Gender entitlements: Women and men have differential access to power and resources – be it education, employment, career progression, possession of wealth and property etc. Advertisements repeat the narrative disempowerment of women through:
- Showing them as being dependent on men for important financial decisions.
- Invisibilizing them in ads promoting financial services and products.
- Lack of decision-making powers.
- Promoting men as leaders, influencers, decision-makers and authorities on financial and matters related investments.
Changes noticed
When it came to gender qualities & identities, it was noticed that some brands are promoting body and beauty positivity. Some ads are also normalising sensitive, affectionate, and caring men while celebrating strong, assertive, and competent women. Another positive shift was the inclusion of diverse voices such as LGBTQI+ identities in the narratives, which were seen to be going beyond the binary.
In so far as the gender roles were concerned, it was seen that typical gendered roles were being challenged – men were shown in nurturing roles and women as breadwinners. Moreover, women were shown to pursue activities generally not associated with them. The narratives were also questioning the biases present.
With regards to gender equations which looks at how women are depicted, it was noticed that attempts are being made to show women as primary or lead characters and men as positive role models. The dynamics were shown as changing both at professional and personal levels, with men being shown as taking up household work willingly.
Gender entitlements and for the way they disempower women: The study reveals that there was an increasing trend showing women and girls as independent decision-makers. They are shown accessing education and being financially independent. Women were shown in positions of power along with men in various fields, including science and technology.
The Health and Wellness industry lead the change followed by the Fashion and Jewelry industry with top brands like Anouk, Biba, Tanishq, and Titan coming up with gender transformative advertising targeted at young women. The review also highlighted that the men’s fashion industry has a long way to go in terms of gender sensitivity, while the home appliances industry is showing a steady improvement.
Some case studies
The report also highlighted top-performing advertising campaigns that moved the needle towards progress in each of these aspects. Some of the case studies presented included #EducateTheGirls by Nanhi Kali and Nestle India, Bharat Matrimony’s #Be Choosy, Horlicks #TumKabItneyBadeyHogaye, #HumRuknaNahinJaante by Microsoft and more.
Dove Campaign for Real Beauty #StopTheBeautyTest:
Dove launched its Campaign for Real Beauty in the year 2004 after a research study showed that only 2% of women truly felt beautiful. It assessed the beauty stereotypes present in the societies across the world and questioned the existing beauty standards. The campaign, which was developed by Ogilvy, adopted a Purpose | Objective | Vision strategy “To make women feel comfortable in the skin they are in, to create a world where beauty is a source of confidence and not anxiety.” It was launched in India a few years after it registered its presence in the USA.
Since then, the brand has consistently been bringing to the fore the biases and standards that are implicit in the description of what true beauty is. In its latest advertisement, it looks at the pre-marriage scrutiny of the girls and what they have to go through if they don’t conform to societal expectations. Brought out in response to the findings of independent research which was commissioned by Dove, the film looks at body shaming that the woman is, overtly or covertly, subjected to on account of her body size, complexion, hair, height and marks on the skin. Through these five hard-hitting real-life examples, the campaign spotlights what millions of young women go through when it comes to gender qualities and identities that have been traditionally imposed upon them by society. It depicts the sense of shame and inadequacy felt by the women and urges that these inane beauty tests be stopped.
Titan Raga: #WhatYouFeelIsWhoYouAre:
With this film, ‘Proud to be Me’, Raga Titan celebrates inclusivity and the right of everyone to express their true selves the way they wish to. The brand subtly highlights the importance of nurturing a relationship with oneself. Following a person dressing with total care and delight – wearing a saree, putting on make-up, and finally choosing the watch of their choice, the film urges us to wholeheartedly embrace who we truly are and not cower to societal norms.
Going beyond binary slotting of gender, the advertisement features a transgender person, who is totally comfortable in one’s own skin. The film, conceptualised by Ogilvy, takes the progressive narrative several notches higher.
#DadsForVirat Pampers:
A series of easy and fun advertisements feature real-life fathers who take it upon themselves to give tips to Virat Kohli on the art of handling a new-born, including changing diapers, bathing, playing, and more. Conceived by Leo Burnett, the campaign came in response to Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma becoming first-time parents.
These films portray Indian dads and how they have taken care of their infants and toddlers. Traditionally, the role of caregiver is essayed by the mother, who shoulders the responsibilities of feeding, changing diapers, bathing, making the baby sleep, or playing with the baby. These films are a definite deviation from this gender role perception and show fathers not just taking care of their children, but even offering cogent advice to Kohli with not just a lot of camaraderie and bonhomie, but with the recognition of the nervousness that a new father may experience.
Ariel #Share the load:
https://www.ariel.in/en-in/about-ariel/share-the-load/the-share-the-load-journey
Challenging the traditional gender roles, Ariel has been unearthing the inequality within the Indian households and urging men to share the load of the household chores equally paving the way for a happier and balanced household that exude mutual respect. Since 2015, these thought-provoking advertisements have been questioning the inequities in expectations from and the stereotypical grooming of men and women since birth.
Ariel recognised the urgency for progressive thinking after a series of research studies threw up alarming statistics around traditional gender roles and the impact of adherence to them. While two out of three women felt there was inequality between men and women in the home, 76% of men believed that laundry is a woman’s job and 2 out of 3 children believed that household chores are a mother’s job. They carried this view into their adult life further exacerbating the imbalance. Another startling revelation was that only 71% of Indian mothers got adequate sleep when compared to men due to their unending household responsibilities.
Over the years, Ariel has released a series of advertisements that address these inequities, whether it is a father recognising the generational conditioning and his apology to his daughter, a mother’s realisation that the sons need to learn household chores as much as the daughters are taught to be ‘independent’, a wife questioning the husband’s hands-off attitude, a young daughter who observes the way the mother works tirelessly at her high-profile job, and attends her household chores points to the father when the mother falls asleep while doing the laundry. The campaigns have been well received and each film sees a call to action urging the audiences to change their mindsets, question stereotypes, and take a small step towards a more gender-just and happier world.
Quoting from an article placed on the Ariel website, which documents the journey of these advertisements, “The key has been to consistently drive the message of #ShareTheLoad, year after year. Before Ariel began this journey, in 2014, 79% of Indian men thought household chores are a woman’s/ daughter’s job and that ’outdoors’ work is man’s/son’s job. In 2016, this number dropped to 63% men. By 2018, this had further dropped to 52%.” And that surely has contributed to moving the needle in the desired direction.
Benetton #UnitedByHalf:
Reaffirming its commitment to gender equality and inclusivity, United Colors of Benetton launched its #UnitedByHalf campaign that underpins the need for equality of women. Montages of various spaces showing women across different social groups asserting their right to equal opportunities are stitched together to create a powerful message – Women are neither better nor the better half and definitely not the weaker half, and that they will not settle for less anymore. Launched on Valentine’s Day in India, it made its global debut on International Women’s Day. Conceived by CreativeLand Asia, the advertisement urges the society to recognise women as equal partners.
The film opens with a young bride standing next to her husband, with a voice-over highlighting that women are definitely not the weaker half. The narrative weaves in a young girl winning a wrist-fight with a boy, several successful women achievers, a group of older women at a bowling alley, a young woman asserting herself in bed with her partner, and an array of women across age groups standing up for equal pay for equal work.The film leaves the viewer with a message that women have been denied their equal half for too long and it is now the time for their equal rights.
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