Stereotypes Expert Challenges Adland’s Gender Study & Questions ShEqual’s Effectiveness
Anne Miles (main photo) is a marketing strategist, advisor, author, speaker and trainer specialising in removing harmful stereotypes from media, marketing and advertising. here, Miles tackles the very prickly topic of stereotypes around gender in Australia’s advertising community…
Reading the results of the latest Women’s Health Victoria study is literally triggering past trauma and abuse through my body right now, I’m literally shaking and feel like a panic attack coming on. Not just because I’m reminded about the atrocities that I’ve been through myself over the years with everything from sexual abuse, financial disadvantage, discrimination, verbal abuse, emotional abuse and even physical abuse in my day job in this industry but also at home to a worse extent. Worse than experiencing all this flashback is seeing continuation of old strategies and campaigns that are proving totally ineffective and I’d go so far as to say will make things worse. As an industry we are getting Diversity and Inclusion all wrong.
I am willing to say publicly that I condemn the ShEqual campaign currently running (ineffectively) in our industry and I believe it will have little if no actual impact in the future either. If there is support for it from the male community I would say it is lip-service and there won’t be tangible or lasting change for the future if it keeps going like it is.
Not only this, if we keep reporting on certain statistics (how terrible men in our industry are) without capturing the full market perspective we will keep seeing the same results. Like Einstein says with the Observer Effect, we impact the outcome just by what we measure. Where is the data that says how some men are abused, hated and objectified too? Our media shows women physically abusing their partners and the world doesn’t blink an eye, as if it is invisible. (No, I’m not saying that domestic violence isn’t real – I’ve been through it myself! I definitely know it is real, and that the extreme cases are currently dominated by men…I’m not stupid). Regardless, we’re not measuring fairly, we’re asking the wrong questions, and questions that are perpetuating the problem and not helping make change because we’re making good men feel excluded and blamed. Good men who could be advocates are clamming up for fear of retribution.
If this WHV study was a market research project for a brand, it would be called out for stacking the survey to validate an existing position and we would not be finding anything useful to go to market with. That’s just bad marketing research practices in my experience.
Right now we know that feminism is not working – I’m not talking about the literal meaning of the word that women are quick to remind everyone about, but the fact that it is a biased word with ‘female’ as the focus and the intention behind most people’s use of it. We know from at least the Canberra University 50/50 study that the world has become worse off in our perceptions of a woman’s role in the home and men perceived as the bread winner in charge of the household in 2019 than it was in 1991 (yes, some slight improvement since 2019 but we’re still in a bad place). That’s appalling and telling us that what we’re doing as an industry and in society is not working. What we have been doing is female-focused campaigning and complaining and it isn’t working.
We also know that more men now think that they are being discriminated against in a backlash and the study by Women’s Agenda shows us that that is 52 per cent of men. That’s a big community who are in a position of power to make change who don’t have any incentive to do anything about it. This study and the work of ShEqual probably will make that rise further too unless something changes in their approach.
Likewise, we know that more men will support a cause that they are a part of than a cause that they are not a part of. That’s also telling us that female focused campaigning will have no effect on this audience when we need them to. We’d have more impact if we were to fight for men’s rights to parent and be recognised as equal and primary carers rather than babysitters in their own homes. If we get men in the home, we open up the world to have women in boardrooms and in a variety of roles that currently exclude them.
Until our industry starts talking about equality as a unified mission, that also includes people who don’t identify in a binary world too, we won’t have any success as an industry at changing this ratio.
We need to focus our efforts on true equality and inclusion and stop wasting time on feminist complaining. We need action. We need more of the following and less of the reporting and talking that is only going to perpetuate the issue further.
Let’s focus on these effective methods instead:
- We need to treat this problem like a brand problem and talk to the right target audience – and not to ourselves as women. Where are the smart strategists??
- We need to be thinking of this as a total equality and inclusion issue and stop making it about women only
- We need to be thinking how we can get men to have more rights (and therefore responsibilities) at home and how that would automatically open up opportunity for women in the workforce.
- We need the marketing and creative process to change at every step of our workflow to take out the automatic behaviours that harm women (and all minorities actually)
- We need guidelines that show people how to do the right thing – it is ineffective to tell people what NOT to do without showing them what TO DO (parenting 101)
- We need policy change and self-regulation in media to take out harmful stereotypes that are the root cause of all this.
- We need consolidation of our complaints system so that the public can actually know how to complain and to know that something will be done about it
- We need the discrimination act, disability act, parenting act, and all those other disparate laws to be embedded with equality as a unified system – like the UK do it.
- We need the parenting law changed so that there can be two Primary carers with equal responsibilities.
- We need men to know how to manage their mental health and communicate without harming others or putting others down.
- We need to take our industry’s habitual focus on demographic profiling out of circulation
- We need to stop brands who repeat offend in perpetuating harmful depictions with proper sanctions in a corrupt self-regulation system and to stop to uphold the equality laws we do have
- We need consolidation of disparate human rights laws into one enforceable law, and education to go with it
I can honestly say that I am personally working on every one of those actions I propose above, and I am confident that I will have more impact in the world on my own than another tired study and outdated feminist campaigns telling us what we already know, more talk without action, and making men in power positions feel disempowered.
As a survivor of the impact of this problem in the workplace and at home I could not find this study and outdated campaign strategy any more annoying and disappointing if they tried today – and actually triggering. Please stop this biased process that is backlashing. Let’s put well-meaning people’s efforts where it will have actual impact – please.
We need this issue taken out of our hands as an industry now because this study and ShEqual’s position just proves to me that we don’t have the skills and capability to fix the problem on our own. We need a Government intervention now.
Just saying…
Sources:
https://www.5050foundation.edu.au/assets/reports/documents/From-Girls-to-Men.pdf
https://www.asa.org.uk/resource/depictions-perceptions-and-harm.html
Submission to parliament by Anne Miles requesting government intervention and enquiry here: https://www.suitsandsneakers.global/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/SubmissionV4.5-Stereotypes-in-Media_Linked_Dec1.pdf
Please login with linkedin to comment
anne milesLatest News
TV Ratings 29/4/24: Farmer Wants A Wife And Lego Masters Lock Horns In Overnight’s Battle
Who won the battle of the big guns - Lego or Farmer Wants A Wife? One thing's for sure, it wasn't Great Train Journeys.
Nielsen Data Reveals Brands Spending Big To Attract Aussie Tourists
Nielsen Ad Intel data has revealed that the travel and tourism industry spent more than $153 million on advertising in Australia in Q1, 2024 – an increase of 8 per cent from the previous quarter, with TripADeal the biggest spender, followed by Virgin Australia, then the Flight Centre-owned Ignite Travel. As many Australians return from […]
IAS Awarded New Responsible AI Certification From Trustarc
Integral Ad Science tossing up over the mahogany or teak frame after being awarded TRUSTe Responsible AI Certification.
AWARD Calls For Hall Of Fame Nominations
B&T's noms for AWARD Hall of Famer includes Louis The Fly, Chums' talking Scottie dog & Mumbrella's coke dealer.
Havas Red Wins PagerDuty PR Account
Havas Red wins PagerDuty's PR. And judging by B&T having to Google PagerDuty, it could probably do with some help.
ACA Poised To Release Results Of 2023 Create Space Census
The Advertising Council unveils date for its census results. Hey, why not coincide it with an office lamington drive?
Why Fear Is Essential To Fernando Machado’s Creativity
If there's anyone B&T loves to chat to, it's fabled marketer Fernando Machado. Although the 5am time difference sucks.
Superdry Drafts AFL’s Patrick Lipinski For New Campaign
B&T fast regretting that poncho we just bought, as it appears the puffer jacket returns as winter's hottest trend.
Elon Musk vs eSafety: Legal Experts Warn That ‘Rogue Operators’ Like X Are Unlikely To Win Federal Court Battle
If this legal stoush boils down to who can afford the better lawyers, B&T's backing Mr Musk every single time.
Amy Poehler Presents First Look At Inside Out 2 At Vivid Sydney 2024
Vivid isn't about freezing your arse off while looking at lights on a wall, as you'll learn with this Amy Poehler news.
Mutinex Launches DataOS Improving Data Warehousing & Quality For MMM Marketers
Work in marketing? Does your data warehousing resemble a teenager's bedroom? Here's a Marie Kondo-approved read.
IMAA Celebrates Three Years Of Group Trade Credit Insurance Deal
Are you a struggling indie? Thinking of firebombing the building for the insurance money? IMAA has you covered here.
Adam Sandler Seemingly ‘Slams’ Ukraine In Pro-Kremlin Campaign
Host of A-list celebs caught slamming Ukraine's president. Thankfully it does have the Milli Vanillis about it.
New Marketing & Comms Agency For Defence & Aerospace Industry Takes Flight
As painful as this is to say, judging by current world events, the bomb & tank industries must be in rude health.
Opinion: Do Punters Want To Wear Your Brand?
This columnist asks do punters want to wear your brand? B&T'd say yes if you were Nike, no if you were Anusol.
WiredCo Builds Portfolio With Appointment To G.J. Gardner Creative Account
WiredCo 'cements' its relationship with home builder G.J. Gardner. Did you see what B&T cheekily did there?
Keep Left Reveals ‘Strategically Assembled’ Strategy Team
PR agency announces serious upgrade to its strategy offerings. Thankfully stops short of calling them Delta Force.
Initiative’s Michael Chong: What Do Mountaineering, Media & Marketing Have In Common?
Yes, B&T's running an inspiring mountaineering story. And this from people who won't come to work if the lift's broken.
CMOs To Watch: DrinkWise’s Part Time Builder, Part Time Marketer, Nathan Kent
Despite his love of DIY, B&T can't see Drinkwise's Nathan Kent in any "you can get it" VB ads anytime soon.
Mari Kauppinen Pops Up As MD Of ITA Group ANZ
Mari Kauppinen set to bring some zing, some song and some va-va-voom to her new role at ITA Group.
“It Is Getting Better But At A Glacial Speed”: PR Guns On Shaping A More Diverse Media Industry
B&T has a love-hate relationship with PRs. Love if they take us for a boozy lunch. Hate when you send releases as PDFs.
GoTransit Media Group Unveils The Power Of Regional Transit Advertising
Need reminding lots of people live outside the Surry Hills enclave? It's the regionals &, yes, they have almond milk.
Slew Of Promotions For Special Senior Creative Leadership Team
Special announces a slew of promotions in its creative team. And, no, they didn't order Uber Eats to celebrate.
Kantar: AVOD Subscribers Double In 12 Months
Study finds Aussies happy to watch ads on their streaming services. Or, are they just putting the kettle on more often?
Val Morgan Digital Exceeds All Campaign Uplift Benchmarks Via A 12-Month Brand Metrics Study
Val Morgan announces it has exceeded all its campaign benchmarks. Still can't get under an hour for the City To Surf.
Australian Retirement Trust launches monster of a campaign, by M&C Saatchi and Bohemia
Get offered a seat on the bus today? Knees creak like an old pirate's galleon? This retirement ad may be of interest.
Print Audits To Discontinue As Audited Media Association Of Australia Pivots To Support Influencer Marketing
Is it just B&T or are audits in the media industry suddenly becoming murkier than Roxy's husband's tax returns?
News Corp Australia Launches 2024 National Education Advocacy Initiative With Expanded Program
News Corp set to shine a light on the nation's schools in new series, giving illegal bikie gangs a well-earned rest.
Decoding The Consumer Maze: Urban List Report Reveals How Modern Shoppers Spiral From Discovery To Purchase
Latest report unravels a shopper's journey from the joy of discovery through to a nasty letter from a debt collector.
Cosmo Returns To Australia!
Ever get the feeling we've weirdly warped back to 1988 at the moment? Confirm it with the relaunch of Cosmo in print.
People & Culture Consultancy Human Kind Collective Launches To Plug HR Gap For Media Agencies
Does the very mention of HR have you struggling to remember last year's Christmas party? Get the sweats with this news.
‘We Want To Be A Growth Partner, Not Just A Media Buyer Or Someone That Makes Ads’ – Bohemia Boss On Agency’s Ambition
B&T's chatting with Bohemia boss Paul ‘Hutch’ Hutchison. Although we do think 'the dagger' a far superior nickname.
Initiative’s Geoff Clarke: ‘Youth Hits Targets With Enthusiasm, Experience Hits The Targets You Can’t See’
Initiative’s CCO Geoff Clarke on the value of experience in agencies. Not to mention quoting lines from Pulp Fiction.
The Iconic Teams Up With 5 Aussie Athletes For Latest Campaign
Fashion label brings in the athletes for new campaign, many of whom appear to have prepped with re-runs of Zoolander.
Seven West Media Secures New Director Of News & Current Affairs
After a tumultuous few weeks, Seven unveils director of news & current affairs. And B&T never uses tumultuous lightly.
Seven Network Expands NSW Sales Team With Two New Group Business Directors
Seven ramps up its NSW sales team. Both of whom are well versed in pronouncing Manu Feildel's croque-monsieur.