March 16, 2022 | 3 minute read

Gender Bias in Indian Advertisements

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Sharad Vadehra

Managing Partner

Get in touch

Sharad Vadehra

Managing Partner

This year, as the world celebrated International Women’s Day under the theme “gender equality for a sustainable tomorrow” as announced by the United Nations, the e-commerce platform Flipkart ironically decided to celebrate the day in India by sharing messages promoting kitchen appliances. For the unversed, the message read as follows: “Dear Customer, This Women’s Day, let’s celebrate you. Get kitchen appliances from Rs. 299. Shop at Flipkart now.”

The tone-deaf and sexist message was however not well received, drawing ire and severe criticism by the masses especially on social media eventually leading to the e-commerce giant tendering an apology: “We messed up and we are sorry. We did not intend to hurt anyone’s sentiments and apologize for the Women’s Day message shared earlier.”

Advertisements in India, whether on television, radio, or hoardings on roads, etc. have unfortunately always played an active role in augmenting and propagating gender stereotypes. To state a few examples- the baby product ads always portray the mother taking care of the baby essentially showcasing that the responsibility of tending to the child rests primarily on the shoulders of the mother; the car/automobile commercials or advertisements for financial services rarely feature women, sending out the message that men are intelligent and better decision makers than women; and, most of the home appliance ads show women as the principal consumers.

The usual rebuttal of the advertisers in the past was that these advertisements are a reflection of the society. On some level, such advertisements also work and their problematic nature is overlooked because these cater to the patriarchal ideology prevalent in India.

In fact, a recent study by UNICEF in the year 2021 has shown that while women have been well represented in the most viewed Indian advertisements during 2019 with equal screen presence and more speaking time than men, they are still deeply stereotyped by portraying the traditional gender roles of primary caretakers of the family mainly seen in private rather than public spaces. Most of the advertisements in which women appear cater to domestic and beauty products. While men are shown as taking important decisions and calling out the big shots, women are mostly confined to fulfilling household commitments.

“GenderNext”, a research study by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) in partnership with the consulting and management firm Futurebrands, has found that while there has been some positive change, the conventional advertising still relies heavily on the detrimental and derogatory stereotypical cliché.

It goes without saying that advertisements, even if no longer than a few seconds, leave an impressionable impact on the minds of the consumers and subconsciously outline their social viewpoints. It is thus crucial that the marketing world keeps up with the changing times and churns our advertisements which rightly picture women in a progressive light thus breaking the shackles of age-old prejudices and gender biasness.

In this regard, it is also imperative to mention that with the passage of time, the brands are slowly and steadily becoming aware of their social responsibility revolving around gender equality and some of the advertisements have indeed been able to beautifully break the stereotypes. For example, Ariel’s “Share The Load” campaign showing a father introspecting his role at his house and deciding to help his wife with the laundry after watching his married daughter balancing work and household tasks alone; Havell’s “Hawa Badlegi” advertisement showing the husband taking up his wife’s surname after marriage; and, Biba’s “Change The Convention” campaign showcasing the father questioning the cooking skills of his prospective son-in-law with the latter inviting him for dinner after ten days allowing him some time to learn cooking.

Thus, over the period of time, there has been a definite change in the caliber of advertisements, albeit a slow one. It is encouraging to see some brands valiantly challenging gender stereotypes and attempting to bring in greater inclusivity. It is hoped that with such positive and persistent efforts the Indian advertisements will be able to shatter the striking gender bias and play a pivotal role in shaping the society and culture for tomorrow.

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