Towards a world that is a 'gender neutral' brand!

COVID-19 pandemic has, had a disproportionate negative impact on women’s income, health and security, and a “magnified problem” of the care burden, which is precluding them from re-joining the workforce. With 1.4 billion children sent back home from schools and childcare facilities, it is women who are taking the brunt of the pandemic, be it 'School from Home', to the routine 'Chores of Domesticity' or even supporting the family recuperates from the 'Mental Setback' of the crisis, other than their own 'Work from Home' or ‘Work at Home'!  

Globally, women already did almost 2.5 times as much unpaid care and domestic work as men. A McKinsey study shows women’s jobs being 1.8 times more vulnerable to the crisis than men’s jobs. While women make up 39 per cent of global employment, they account for 54 per cent of overall job losses; this has spurt a big 'Economic Insecurity' leading to a 'Shecession', of the sorts. 

However there have been far & few upsides too, like - ‘Work from Home’ blurred many a lines, and increasingly men began to participate in household chores & decision-making, while women continued to tip to balance;  which they always have! Now, sometimes in absence of house-helps or with added duties of domesticities and unpaid care. Most often than not, they are and have remained, central to a few, all or most of the responsibilities, duties, decisions, even though not direct consumers!

With this as a backdrop the questions that marketers are faced with are -  how to communicate, to whom to communicate to such that there is inclusion, decision-making, empowerment and most importantly empathy and positive impact.    

This brings us to the point of parallel realities- on one hand where, women are more stressed and stretched than ever before, financially insecure and vulnerable, losing jobs, dropping from schools and colleges, forced to marry early and subjected to domestic violence. On the other, is the promise of a world that is moving to become a forward-looking  ‘Gender Inclusive society’. One which at this point is stumbling to even get-on its feet. Though men are rising to the wake-up call of the pandemic, widely opting work-from-home, travelling-less, shouldering responsibilities and splitting household tasks more equally, choosing a more gender-egalitarian family life, there still are many a slips!   

World Economic Forum’s  Global Gender Gap Report 2020 shows just how much work there is still to be done to achieve gender equality, as the report suggests it would take a further 99.5 years to achieve gender parity across the globe. So, none of us will see gender parity in our lifetimes, and nor likely will many of our children. Now that’s some sobering finding! 

With such dynamics at plays, marketers are on a continuous ‘see-saw’, wondering how to up their game? Can it be one of ‘gender neutral branding, which can possibly help towards a gender-neutral economic recovery’? The answer a Yes for sure!

Yes, because there are a few consumer-segments that are not conforming to the gender norm and are rather doing well at that. For e.g. fashion, lifestyle, consumer-wearable or home-appliance brands or even food brands, are among a few of the non-conformists in the category, that are finding a good level of connect and uptake with its gender-neutral campaigns. This is giving them an instant connect with the wider base of consumers, one whose cultural identity is migrating, one who is much younger sans the biases, and one who is eventually set to bring an economic transformation. 

An example from the Indian advertising, that stood out for me was from the brand ’India Gate Basmati Rice’, it struck an emotional chord with #Menatwork, very much including and acknowledging their part in locked-down domesticity. This softer or rather inclusive stand towards men was a triggering thought on how, this is actually a play-up or a facade to the sociological change (may be temporary) that we are undergoing, but can also further be a permeating transformative change (more permanent), that we have been wanting for over centuries now. 

It’s one thing to show men’s-vulnerability in a scripted and well-orchestrated message with a clear brand-plug, but it would be another thing to see the advertiser sustain the thought and make a series of campaigns demonstrating how ‘the men’  have aced the art of cooking or doing other household chores of the family-like- doling out dishes, making cup of tea for ‘saasu maa’ or simply wiping the toilet floors or doors clean happily, ad-after-ad. Because that, to my mind will be a true depiction of ‘inclusive and neutral branding’! 

For now, the issue at hand is far more grave and concerning. It is to undertake measures that help in ‘inclusion of women back to work’. Be it through digital literacy, up-skilling or reskilling, providing subsidised childcare, social protection schemes, flexible working hours, it’s upon both the Government and Private sector to achieve an equal-future in a post-pandemic world. It is an opportunity for us to look at ways to assure level-playing fields to almost half the country’s population. As India is on track to become the youngest country in the world by 2022 with a median age of 29, let us also evolve the cultural norms to become a not only ‘young’ but ‘progressive’ nation. 

According to Debjani Ghosh, President of Nasscom, “Added flexibility to work will certainly improve women’s participation in the workforce. But it could also increase pressure to simultaneously deliver on the home front. “If work-from-anywhere has to succeed, then “the mindset that women have to work as well as single-handedly manage home has to change.”

To conclude,  as we celebrate March 2021 -Women’s History Month, let’s not forget that 70 % of the world's poor are women (According to UNDP). Let's turn our wounds into wisdom and not allow COVID'19 to set women back by years or decades; instead, help her bounce back.

“ Come together for new beginnings; keep together for progress and work together for success” 

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views of exchange4media.com