The goal of gender equality in the workplace requires the efforts of every individual.
Women and men are still not seen as equals in the workplace, as our Instagram followers can attest to. This past International Women’s Day, we drew focus to gender bias in the workplace. Posting a poll, we asked our followers if they have ever experienced gender bias in the workplace: 65% of our followers said yes, they had.
Such realities illustrate the importance of heightening awareness around this issue, as Catalyst did with their powerful #BiasCorrect campaign in New York. Splitting the creatives in half, one side was a woman and the other side a man, both with overlaid adjectives which others use to describe them within the workplace. The two adjectives were juxtaposed to illustrate how women are regularly subordinated in the office. Relative to women and men, these adjectives included quiet vs. thoughtful, dramatic vs. passionate, emotional vs. passionate, feisty vs. determined and pushy vs. persuasive.
This campaign was simple but effective in demonstrating how women’s professional achievements are regularly belittled by others. Whether this bias is unconscious or not, it is important to raise awareness surrounding this issue. Our street furniture effectively spread this message, by reaching key audiences such as commuting professionals.
