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EU Parliament resolution criticises gender stereotyping in advertising
Date: 04/09/2008
The European Parliament today adopted an own-initiative report by Eva-Britt Svensson (Nordic Green Left group, Sweden) on how marketing and advertising affect equality between women and men. The report was adopted with 504 votes in favour, 110 against and 22 abstentions.
While the report is not legally binding, it shows Parliament's general orientation on the issue of advertising and gender stereotypes.
Amendments from the Conservative and Liberal groups, based on suggestions from WFA and its industry partners, removed calls for Member States to introduce legislation on discriminatory advertising and for the EU to develop an advertising Code of Conduct against gender stereotyping. The (incorrect) claim that existing advertising codes of conduct "rarely include gender considerations" was also dropped from the final version.
The report remains strongly critical of gender stereotyping in advertising, but instead of calling for legislation offers recommendations for advertisers, Member States and EU institutions. The report asserts that "gender stereotyping in advertising influences individual development" and identifies children as a "particularly vulnerable group". It urges that messages contrary to human dignity and conveying gender stereotypes should be removed from advertising as well as from textbooks, toys, video and computer games, the internet and other new information and communications technologies (ICTs).
WFA worked to ensure that the report takes into account the difference between stereotyping and gender discrimination. Stereotyping is not degrading in itself and its use in advertising is not intrinsically harmful. Discrimination on the other hand - be it based on gender, age, nationality, race or religion - is already illegal under EU law. In parallel WFA aimed to ensure that the report did not undermine the role of self-regulation by wrongly suggesting that self-regulation codes fail to address gender discrimination.
For further information please contact Malte Lohan: [email protected]
