What 2.7M YouTube ads reveal about gender bias in marketing

Geena Davis, Academy Award winner and founder of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media at Mount Saint Mary’s University, breaks down the results of a gender representation in advertising study — unprecedented in its size and scope — and the effect these images have on experiences around the world.
Fifteen years ago, I sat down to watch preschool programming with my toddler and was stunned by the lack of female characters in what was being made for the youngest of children. Not only were female characters missing in kids’ TV and family films, but when they did appear, they were often one-dimensional, narrowly stereotyped, and/or valued for their appearance. The thing is, I couldn’t find one person among the many in the entertainment industry I approached who saw what I saw. In fact, I was surprised to find that all were quite sure that gender inequality in kids’ fare was a thing of the past, including the creators of this media. So I set out to change it. Read more…