Monitoring of sexist advertising is in the focus of our organization's constant attention. Discriminatory advertising on grounds of gender identity seems to be a thing of the past, but Ukrainian creative directors occasionally offer new old solutions to the market and place images of naked women and men next to the advertised product.
In 2018-2019, in the framework of the Project “Gender Culture Center as a Platform for Women's and Youth Empowerment” supported by the European Union, in partnership with the Gender Culture Center we conducted two stages of sexist advertising monitoring and involved 192 volunteers from different regions of Ukraine. 84 appeals on the placement of sexist advertising were submitted to the Expert Council on Combating and Preventing Discrimination on the Grounds of Sex at the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine, of which 16 appeals were found discriminatory according to the following criteria:
- the significance or mental abilities of representatives of one or another sex are diminished, [advertising] promotes stereotypical images or roles or emphasizes the dominance or superiority of one sex over another;
- depicted body (or part of it) or a woman or man described as decoration or sexual object, including allusions to sexual intercourse and sexuality of people that have no direct connection with the advertised product or direct associations with the consumption of the advertised product, goods, services, etc.; human sexuality is portrayed or described in a humiliating and derogatory way due to language, posing, verbal or non-verbal hints, etc.;
- directly or indirectly a woman or a man was equated with goods or things that can also be used to satisfy their needs, the person was objectified.
You can find more details about the monitoring of sexist advertising in Ukraine following the link.
REPORT ON MONITORING RESULTS 2019
REPORT ON MONITORING RESULTS 2018
METHODOLOGICAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MONITORING
In 2021, in partnership with "Sphere Women Association" and "Baggage. School of Marketing and Communications” as part of the Women's Solidarity Weeks we organized viewing of advertisements that support women, talk about the female body, debunk gender stereotypes and help to overcome barriers. Women-friendly advertising has several features: it speaks honestly about the female body, portrays men as partners, and supports courageous women who follow their dreams.
