Ariel, the detergent brand from the house of P&G, has put out an open letter to advertisers, media partners and content creators, urging them to focus on the way women are portrayed in communication.
It is asking brands and organisations to partner with like-minded companies to #ShareTheLoad in making the future more equal.
For over seven years, Ariel has been advocating and aiming for gender equality in the division of domestic tasks through their #ShareTheLoad initiative. Their latest edition #SeeEqual, puts the spotlight on unconscious bias that comes in the way of men taking up joint responsibility for household chores and raised a pertinent question – 'If men can share the load equally with other men, why not with their wives?'. An ad film was rolled out to reiterate this message.
To drive the #SeeEqual message even further, Ariel India has published an open letter acknowledging the role of imagery and representation in tackling unconscious bias.
The letter talks about the vicious cycle between imagery and society, which continue to imitate each other, unless a concerted effort is put in to break this cycle.
With regard to equality within households, the letter emphasises that if communication or advertising continues to depict women alone doing household chores, the stereotype will continue to get perpetuated.
Ariel is inviting advertisers, media partners and content creators to join Ariel India in breaking the cycle by being more deliberate in showing progressive, authentic, and equal imagery that can unwind decades of conditioning and tackle stereotypes.
Sharat Verma, chief marketing officer, P&G India and vice president, fabric care, P&G India, said, “With Ariel #ShareTheLoad, we have been sparking conversations and advocating for equality in the division of household chores for the last seven years. Consciously or unconsciously, we are influenced by what we see and hear. Therefore, imagery and communication have the power to change the world. Stereotypical imagery can feed and reinforce our unconscious bias and substantially slow down the pace of change. While many of us are doing our bit to bring out more gender-neutral imagery in our advertising, this open letter is intended to spark conversations on the issue and invite all like-minded brands and organisations to collaborate, and accelerate the pace at which we are moving towards an equal tomorrow. Because we know that when we #SeeEqual, we #ShareTheload.”
The Open Letter:
