DUBAI, 7th December, 2021 (WAM) — Company members of the UAE National Chapter of the Unstereotype Alliance came together to mark the first anniversary of the chapter’s launch at Terra, the Sustainability Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, at an event that was organised by UN Women and the General Women’s Union.
Representatives of the nine founding members met for an afternoon packed with discussion panels and presentations that covered the challenges and opportunities when overcoming stereotypes in the workplace and accelerating action to eliminate these stereotypes from the perspective of business leaders.
The GCC results from the first-ever Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Census of the global marketing industry, run by the World Federation of Advertisers and analysed by Kantar was unveiled during the anniversary event. It showed that most respondents (58%) believe that their organisations are actively taking steps to become more inclusive and diverse. However, the census showed that women remain vastly underrepresented in senior positions in the industry. Also, indicative average pay data suggested a large pay gap at C suite level and 24% of the surveyed women said they faced obstacles in their career progression.
A Zayed University commissioned research project on Gender Stereotyping in Gulf-focused Advertising, focusing on the portrayal of men and women as central figures in adverts, was also presented during the event. It showed significant stereotyping of women, who are more likely than men to be depicted in adverts of home products (85.7 %), food/ cooking products (73.9%) and body care products (82.1 %). On the other hand, men are more likely to be depicted in non-familial roles (87%) compared to 13% in familial roles (fathers/husbands).
On the occasion, Noura Al Suwaidi, Director-General of the General Women’s Union, the UAE’s leading entity dedicated to women’s empowerment, said that the UAE Government empowers women to play an equal role in public life, business, and professions across all sectors and sets an excellent example for achieving gender balance, so it is important that how they are portrayed in media and advertising is reflective of this fact.
"Media and advertising have greater responsibilities and should keep up with the status of women and their real roles in society." She concluded.
Dr. Mouza Al Shehhi, Director of the UN Women Liaison Office for the GCC, said "Stereotypes stifle women’s and girls’ voices and limit their progress and visibility. We cannot achieve progress on important UN Women agendas such as women’s leadership, economic empowerment and Women, peace and security without combating harmful and unfair stereotypes. The GCC media and advertising sectors are among the fastest-growing globally, so the opportunity to have a tangible impact is significant. Today’s milestone celebration shows that we are making good progress and must persist till we can successfully eliminate harmful stereotypes in all media and content and broaden the representation of both men and women in nontraditional roles in media and advertising in the UAE."
Ali Khalil, Assistant Professor, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, commented, "Ending gender stereotyping in advertising plays a vital role in the fight against gender stereotyping in general, helps in women empowerment and the recognition of the important role of women in the society, and the workforce. Academic research is instrumental in providing thorough studies of the progress in eradicating gender stereotyping. More work should be done across the MENA region to keep an eye on the media content to ensure that stereotyping ends, and to raise societal awareness of the harm of stereotyping."
The UAE National Chapter of the Unstereotype Alliance, the first national chapter to launch in the Middle East and the sixth worldwide, has a core group of seven national and global companies – Etihad Aviation Group, Meta – Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Omnicom Media Group, Snap Inc., and Unilever – alongside the Advertising Business Group and the Dubai Lynx, the premier festival of creativity covering the MENA Region.
The Unstereotype Alliance provides a global platform for members with a shared commitment to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 5, gender equality. The National Chapters drive change locally, responding to specific culturally driven stereotypes, social customs, and attitudes. There are 10 Unstereotype Alliance National Chapters worldwide in Brazil, Japan, India, Kenya, Mexico, South Africa, Turkey, UAE, UK, and Australia.
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