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European Parliament Committee takes aim at gender stereotypes in advertising
Date: 27/05/2008
On 27 May 2008 the European Parliament's Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) adopted a draft report on 'How marketing and advertising equality between women and men'.
This draft report was prepared by Eva-Britt Svensson, a Swedish member of the Nordic Green Left, and vice-chairwoman of this Committee.
Numerous amendments suggested by WFA were tabled by Anna Zaborska, a Slovakian Member of the EPP-ED. The main purpose of these amendments was to distinguish between gender stereotyping on the one hand and discriminating or degrading messages on the other. In the draft report, these are treated as one and the same. Most of the amendments were however defeated in the vote in Committee.
The report acknowledges that responsible advertising can have a positive influence over society's perceptions of such issues as: 'body image', 'gender roles' and 'normality'. It also recognises that advertising can be a strong tool in challenging and tackling stereotypes, and refers to the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (which encourages self-regulation).
Nonetheless, the report is rather critical of advertising and its use of gender stereotypes. Here are the main points:
- The draft report claims that the laws of many Member States are inadequate and national codes of ethics applicable to advertising are not respected or in some cases do not even exist;
- It therefore calls on the EU institutions and Member States to comply with and/or establish ethical codes and/or legal rules applicable to creators and distributors of advertising on discriminating or degrading messages based on gender;
- It asserts that advertising often presents a caricatured view of women's and men's lives and claims the recurrence of such gender stereotypes has "disastrous effects";
- It contends that discriminating or degrading advertising has an undeniable impact on public behaviour and the shaping of public opinion, and is seen as an obstacle to the emergence of a "modern and egalitarian society";
- It repeatedly asks that messages contrary to human dignity and conveying gender stereotypes should be eliminated on all "advertising through different types of media";
- It recommends that advertisers should adopt a more responsible editorial attitude towards the depiction of extremely thin models (in an effort to tackle eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia);
- The report notes with extreme concern the advertising of sexual services, particularly as they are readily visible and available to children;
- It notes the need to conduct continuous training actions for media professionals on the negative effects of gender stereotyping;
- Finally, the draft report asks Member States to establish national "Media Monitoring Bodies" to receive complaints, to grant 'Gender Equality Awards' to advertising professionals, and to undertake research in that area;
This is an "own initiative report", meaning that it will not be binding upon the EU or its Member States. It will however reflect the current mood of the European Parliament and could inform future regulatory dossiers in the field. The report is scheduled for a vote by the Parliament's plenary during July.
WFA Action:
WFA will contact leading MEPs ahead of the plenary vote to address the numerous errors and shortcomings of the report, submitting alternative amendments as appropriate.
