Gender Roles in Advertisements: Challenging Stereotypes

Think about the last few ads you watched on TV or scrolled past on social media. How were men and women shown? Chances are, the woman was in a kitchen, worrying about stains on clothes or choosing the right cooking oil. The man? Probably driving a car, closing a business deal, or spraying cologne before heading out. These are not random creative choices. They reflect deep-rooted gender roles that advertisements have reinforced for decades. Understanding how ads construct masculinity and femininity is key to understanding how society itself shapes – and is shaped by – media.

How advertisements mirror and reinforce gender roles 🔗

Advertising does not exist in a vacuum. It draws from existing cultural norms and, in return, amplifies them. Research published in the Journal of International Women’s Studies describes advertising as a pervasive social agent that shapes gender roles. Women are frequently placed in domestic settings or presented as objects of beauty, while men are shown as strong, dominant figures. This isn’t accidental – advertisers tap into familiar stereotypes because they resonate quickly with audiences, making the message easy to process and the product easy to sell.

A meta-analysis of television and radio advertisements found that women are roughly 3.5 times more likely than men to be depicted in domestic or home-based settings. Men, on the other hand, are predominantly placed in the public realm – offices, outdoor spaces, and professional environments. This divide between the “home” and the “world” is one of the most enduring gender binaries in advertising history.

The most common stereotypes in advertising 🔗

Gender stereotyping in advertisements typically follows a set of recurring patterns. Let’s look at the most common ones.

Women as homemakers and caregivers 🔗

From detergent ads to pressure cooker commercials, women are overwhelmingly shown managing the household. Their value in these narratives is tied to how well they cook, clean, or care for their families. A landmark study by UNICEF and the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media analyzed the top 1,000 most-viewed ads in 2019 on television and YouTube and found that female characters were significantly more likely to be shown making household decisions, acting as caregivers, and selling domestic products to other women. They were also less likely to be shown in public spaces or in paid employment.

Men as decision-makers and authority figures 🔗

While women are confined to the domestic sphere, men in advertisements typically occupy roles of authority. According to the Geena Davis Institute, male characters in advertising were twice as likely as female characters to be shown with a paid occupation, shown actually working, and depicted as leaders making decisions about their future. They were also more likely to be portrayed as intelligent and nearly twice as likely to be shown as humorous. These portrayals send a clear message: decision-making and public life belong to men.

Women as objects of beauty and desire 🔗

Beyond the homemaker image, women are also heavily sexualized in advertising. Their bodies are used to sell products that often have nothing to do with them – from automobile parts to deodorants. Research has consistently shown that this kind of objectification leads to lower self-esteem, body dissatisfaction, and limited self-perception among women who consume such content regularly. The emphasis on physical appearance reduces women to their looks, undermining their agency and competence.

Rigid masculinity for men 🔗

It’s worth noting that stereotyping cuts both ways. Men in ads are almost always shown as stoic, strong, and unemotional. There’s rarely room for vulnerability, caregiving, or domesticity. This creates unrealistic expectations of masculinity – men who cook, clean, or express emotion are implicitly positioned as exceptions rather than the norm. Such portrayals perpetuate harmful gender norms for men too, limiting the range of acceptable masculine behaviour.

Why this matters: the social learning effect 🔗

Advertisements don’t just reflect reality – they teach behaviour. According to Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory, people learn by observing and imitating behaviours modelled in media. When viewers see men and women repeatedly placed in specific roles, they begin to internalize those roles as natural or expected. Children, in particular, are deeply impressionable. If a boy grows up watching ads where only women do laundry, he is less likely to see it as his responsibility. If a girl constantly sees women valued primarily for beauty, she may internalize that as her primary worth.

A survey cited by UN Women found that around 87 per cent of respondents in India felt women are typically portrayed in traditional roles in their country’s media, with 86 per cent saying the same about the portrayal of men. These numbers underscore how deeply entrenched gendered advertising tropes are in public consciousness.

The Indian advertising landscape: a closer look 🔗

The advertising industry in India is massive. Television advertisements alone accounted for a dominant share of total ad spending, and the country is projected to become one of the largest TV advertising markets globally. Given this scale, the gender narratives embedded in these ads have an outsized influence on public attitudes.

Indian advertisements have historically leaned into cultural norms around gender. The ideal woman is often portrayed as someone devoted to her family, skilled in the kitchen, and anxious about her husband’s and children’s well-being. Think of the classic pressure cooker ad tagline that essentially linked a wife’s love with domestic appliance choices. Or the countless fairness cream ads that told women their professional and personal success was contingent on lighter skin.

For men, Indian ads typically celebrate dominance, ambition, and financial success. The “provider” archetype – the man who earns, decides, and leads – remains a staple of advertising narratives. Men shown in caring or domestic roles are still relatively rare, though this is beginning to change.

The tropes that persist 🔗

The Geena Davis Institute’s research identified some of the most common gender tropes in the advertising landscape. For female characters, the dominant stereotypes were the “Subservient Wife” and the “Pushy Aunt.” For male characters, the most prevalent trope was the “Domineering or Controlling Male.” These archetypes are not just annoying clichés – they actively shape how people think about gender, relationships, and power dynamics within families and communities.

Challenging the stereotypes: brands that got it right 🔗

Not all advertising reinforces harmful gender norms. Over the past decade, several brands have made conscious efforts to challenge stereotypes and present more balanced representations.

Ariel’s #ShareTheLoad 🔗

Ariel’s #ShareTheLoad campaign, launched in 2015, is one of the most recognized examples of gender-progressive advertising. The campaign asked a straightforward question: is laundry only a woman’s job? Over successive editions, it explored the role of fathers, sons, and unconscious biases in perpetuating the unequal division of household chores. Before the campaign started, surveys indicated that 79 per cent of men believed household chores were a woman’s responsibility. By 2018, that number had dropped to 52 per cent. The campaign didn’t just sell detergent – it sparked a genuine national conversation about domestic equality.

Titan Raga’s #BreakTheBias 🔗

Titan Raga’s #BreakTheBias campaign addressed gender biases in the workplace. It highlighted a common prejudice: when women succeed professionally, their achievements are often attributed to favours or connections rather than merit. By putting this bias front and centre, the ad challenged viewers to re-examine their own assumptions about women’s professional capabilities.

Whisper’s #LikeAGirl and other efforts 🔗

Brands like Whisper and Tata Tea (through its Jaago Re campaign) have also tackled gender stereotypes head-on. These campaigns moved beyond product selling to address social taboos – whether around menstruation, dowry, or the perceived role of women in public life. Each of these efforts demonstrates that advertising can be a powerful vehicle for social change when brands choose to use their platforms responsibly.

The role of regulation and self-governance 🔗

Recognizing the impact of gendered advertising, regulatory bodies have stepped in to set boundaries. The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), the country’s self-regulatory body for advertising content, includes provisions against advertisements that deride individuals on the basis of gender. ASCI’s code explicitly bars ads that objectify women or promote harmful stereotypes.

In 2021, ASCI released its GenderNext study, conducted in partnership with Futurebrands, which examined how women are depicted in advertising. Based on its findings, ASCI issued specific guidelines on harmful gender stereotyping. These guidelines clarify that even humorous or lighthearted portrayals can be problematic if they reinforce damaging stereotypes. The guidelines apply not just to television but also to digital and print media, reflecting the expanding reach of advertising.

Similarly, UN Women’s Unstereotype Alliance, launched in India in partnership with industry stakeholders, has been working to shift the norms within the advertising ecosystem. Its #YouDontSeeMe campaign, rolled out across major cities, aimed to reach millions of people with a message about more equitable representation in ads.

What balanced representation looks like 🔗

So, what should advertisers aim for? The goal is not to eliminate all depictions of women at home or men at work. Rather, it’s about ensuring that these are not the only depictions. A balanced advertising landscape would include women in leadership roles, professional environments, and outdoor spaces. It would show men in nurturing, caring, and domestic settings. It would avoid reducing either gender to a single dimension – beauty for women, power for men.

The Geena Davis Institute’s recommendations provide a practical starting point: cast women as often as men, eliminate sexual objectification, portray more women in leadership roles, show women as both intelligent and humorous, and diversify roles by placing women in public spheres and men in domestic settings. These are not radical demands – they simply reflect the reality of modern life, where gender roles are far more fluid than advertising typically acknowledges.

The business case for inclusive advertising 🔗

Beyond the ethical argument, there’s a strong business case for gender-balanced advertising. Research shows that progressive ads resonate better with younger, more socially conscious consumers. Brands like Ariel have demonstrated that purpose-driven campaigns can drive both cultural impact and commercial success. In a market where consumers are increasingly choosing brands based on their values, stereotypical advertising is not just socially harmful – it’s also a strategic liability.

The way forward 🔗

Changing gender portrayals in advertising is not a one-time fix. It requires a sustained effort from advertisers, media agencies, regulators, and consumers alike. Advertisers need to invest in diverse creative teams that can bring fresh perspectives. Media planners need to support content that challenges rather than reinforces norms. Regulators like ASCI must continue to evolve their guidelines in response to new forms of media. And consumers need to hold brands accountable – by supporting those that get it right and calling out those that don’t.

Education plays a critical role here as well. Media literacy programmes that help people – especially young people – critically analyze advertisements can go a long way in reducing the impact of gendered messaging. When viewers understand that advertising is a constructed narrative rather than a reflection of reality, they are better equipped to resist its influence on their own self-image and expectations.

The advertising industry is at a turning point. With growing awareness, evolving regulations, and a consumer base that demands better, there is both an opportunity and a responsibility to create content that reflects the diversity and complexity of real life. Gender roles in advertising are not set in stone – and the brands that recognize this will not only do better socially but will also connect more authentically with their audiences.

What do you think? Have you noticed a shift in how men and women are portrayed in the ads you see every day? And do you think advertising has a responsibility to drive social change, or should it simply reflect existing norms?

References

1. https://vc.bridgew.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2636&context=jiws
2. https://digitalcommons.pittstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1599&context=etd
3. https://www.unicef.org/rosa/reports/gender-bias-inclusion-advertising-india
4. https://geenadavisinstitute.org/research/gender-bias-and-inclusion-in-advertising-in-india/
5. https://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/stories/press-release/2023/07/new-campaign-calls-out-gender-stereotypes-in-indian-advertising
6. https://www.ariel.in/en-in/about-ariel/share-the-load/the-share-the-load-journey
7. https://www.socialsamosa.com/samosa-snippets/ad-campaigns-empower-women-beyond-stereotypes-4322981
8. https://www.ascionline.in/the-asci-code/
9. https://www.ascionline.in/the-asci-code-guidelines/