5 Qs With Enamor's Sandra Daniels On Gender Stereotyping In Marketing

Gender stereotypes are entrenched in our society and therefore brands have often developed their communication strategy around the existing gender perceptions. However, we can thankfully say the days of 1970’s adverts are over, where scripts for detergent adverts included lines such as “no one takes better care of her husband”.

In fact, a study was conducted to analyze gender representations in ads in India to serve as a benchmark for making advertising more gender-sensitive in the country. The study, done by UNICEF and the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, analySed the top 1,000 most viewed ads in India in 2019 on television and on YouTube. The findings show that although female characters are prominent in ads in India, they are still highly stereotyped: less likely to be shown in public spaces and in paid employment; more likely to be selling domestic products and food to other women as well as responsible for childcare and shopping. It has recommended content creators to drive advertising that promotes equity as well as positive and empowering gender norms. 

Enamor, as a brand, has endeavoured to represent the women of today and all their campaigns overtly celebrate women. In an exclusive conversation with Sandra Daniels, Vice President, Marketing, Enamor, she expresses that while a brand’s approach to communicating with its audience is evolving with rising awareness around changing gender roles, there's still plenty of work to be done. 

Excerpts:

Q1. Why is it that some brands celebrate the empowered woman but do not challenge conventional roles?

The representation of women in advertising has shifted considerably with Indian brands pushing the gender equality and women empowerment narrative further.  Age-old taboos are also being addressed - a single mother, menstruation taboos, remarriage, many such subjects have been touched upon in recent years. 

However, in some ways, the portrayal of women remains largely unchanged, and some stereotypes continue to be perpetuated. Ads depict empowered women that challenge norms but within the set boundaries. While the ads show a modern woman carving her own identity, she still conforms to traditional roles defined by society. For instance -in most advertisements, women are still conventionally good-looking, fair, thin, not portraying real women - regular-sized women or women who are not fair. Or women are not featured as decision-makers in ads for products like insurance, home loans or financial services. 

Marketers are usually trying to relate to and be relevant to most viewers and alienate no one. By depicting empowered women but at the same time conforming to established practices and norms, the ads resonate with the modern woman but do not alienate the conventional one.

We, as advertisers and marketers, can play a vital role in shaping social norms and stereotypes. We need to fight our own conditioning and stop the outdated portrayal of women in our content. 

Q2. Marketing is often blamed for the stereotyping of the sexes. However, consumers in today’s world are increasingly becoming more comfortable with grey areas instead of the two-sex stereotype. How do you see this from a marketer's lens?

Consumers are slowly shifting away from the traditional binary understanding of gender, and starting to see gender as a spectrum of behaviour and emotions that we can shift between. In order to stay with the times, brands are mirroring and representing this shift, for example, Zara is offering ungendered clothing collections. Products in the beauty industry have been heavily marketed toward gender demographics, but as gender norms become less definitive, the consumer base has widened. Marketers are embracing gender fluidity, focusing on what they want to say about their product to consumers without focusing on their gender. 

It is important for marketers to address gender issues in a sensitive manner in order to reflect modern values without alienating customers. And the advertising needs to be more creative, reflecting a more diverse view of gender, and speak to all customers regardless of gender.

Q3. How do you see the relationship between stereotypes, inclusive marketing and regulation?

Negative stereotypes, especially of women, have become deeply rooted, even in countries with strong anti-discrimination legislation. This touches every facet of people’s lives from home to school, at work or on the street. Confronting and changing stereotypes is therefore central to evolving how both women and men are able to operate in society and in the economy.  Everyone - society, marketeers, regulatory bodies - has a role in shaping and re-shaping those stereotypes. That is why organisations such as UN Women are working with partners across governments, corporations, media, and many other sectors to get commitments to remove structural barriers, discriminatory social norms and gender biases. They are working with partners like Unilever who are actively seeking to change those biases internally within the organisation as well as with a larger audience through their marketing. 

Q4. There have been plenty of campaigns that have fallen flat and tasted flak. How can marketers better prepare themselves while outlining such a critical and controversial subject, especially to avoid bringing in any stereotypes that won’t sit well with either of the genders?

Marketers must adapt to the modern consumer whose wants and needs reflect a new set of gender roles. The best course for any brand is therefore to understand where the company’s values meet the consumer’s aspirations while staying authentic to who and what the brand is.

At Enamor, we conducted research to understand women, their motivations, their sense of self and what they think of their bodies. And that became the basis for the brand Enamor and the ‘fabulous as I am’ messaging back in 2013 and has resonated well with consumers.  

While most of the lingerie brands prefer to build on a looking sexy premise and through the lens of the male gaze, Enamor has been very clear that the women would not be portrayed through the lens of the male gaze. She is a strong, confident woman – fabulous, as per her own terms with no care of what the world thinks of her. Our woman has moved from external validation to self-appreciation. Enamor makes it a point to show women of different personalities, different body types and different skin types.

In 2017, we released an ad that said it doesn’t matter what shape or size you are, you’re fabulous just as you are. The prime objective was to ensure greater inclusivity in our product range and our messaging. We don’t see perfect bodies all around us, but real women with all their quirks, who are fabulous just the way they are. That was the genesis of our ‘We Are All Fabulous’ campaign. The campaign encourages women to celebrate themselves, each one unique and fabulous in her own way.  This year, with the latest campaign, the focus was to bring the concept of fabulous into everyday life - whether it is at work, at home, on vacation. We have been able to execute the thought of diversity and yet retain the fashion essence of the brand. 

Q5. What is that one brand that has time and again contested the existing gender norms and emerged as a true winner for its audience? 

The way women have been portrayed in the media over the years has created enormous amounts of pressure on women to look a certain way. As a result, many women have an unjustified low opinion of the way they look. Dove is one brand that has done something different. The Dove ‘Campaign for Real Beauty’ shows strong, confident, real women - women that break the beauty stereotypes that everyone is used to seeing in advertising. The campaign celebrates the natural physical differences in women and encourages them to have the confidence to be comfortable and happy with themselves.

Another great example is Ariel’s  ‘Share the load ‘ commercial raises the question - Why should women be the only ones doing the laundry? This breaking of the stereotypes is the most important transition needed in India – especially since we are a patriarchal society. Now that women are more educated and becoming more independent, society needs to change and break the old age norms. Ads and films must represent a more progressive thinking India, as they play a prominent role in changing mindsets and inspiring new thought processes.