For women in tech, sexism is so often encountered that it unfortunately comes to be expected.
A new 30-second ad by deodorant company Secret shows just how embedded gender-based bias is in the industry by telling the story of two women pitching their startup to men at the top. The comedic ad, called “Pitch,” illuminates the worries and preparation women asserting their tech talents have to go through to prove their value in “the boys’ club.”
In the spot, two women enter an elevator on their way to a big-deal business meeting. After perfecting their handshake, one takes to quizzing the other on the stats of their startup.
Notably, the woman doing the questioning takes on the role of a sexist businessman who doubts the other woman’s accomplishments and abilities. In the role play, the woman pitching her startup is forced to defend her tech talent.
After the woman pitching rambles off impressive stats of her startup, the other woman, in the role of a businessman, sternly says, “I doubt you girls could pull that off.”
“Got the data right here, sir,” the other retorts, defending herself against the suggestion that women in tech can’t be successful.
This type of all-too-common bias against women in tech is a reality that is highly critiqued. Like the women in the ad, real-life women trying to break into the tech industry come to expect sexism at every turn. A recent public example of industry sexism is in the experiences of female attendees of CES 2017, many of whom report experiencing gender-based bias during the event.
At my flight from YVR to Vegas.
Attendant: Why r so many men & so few women on this flight?
A man explains: It’s for #CES, the TECH show.?— Borjana (@Boryana_S) January 4, 2017
#CES2017: the only place where there is a line for the men’s restroom and not the women’s
— Alicia Palmieri (@alicia_palmieri) January 6, 2017
Secret’s Stress Test campaign, which first debuted in April 2015, has made its mark by boldly tackling workplace sexism and gender bias. An ad featuring a woman giving herself a pep talk before asking for a raise was the first spot released in the series, while a powerful ad depicting a trans woman finding the courage to exit a stall in a crowded women’s restroom went viral in October.
A Secret spokesperson tells AdWeek that the Stress Test campaign seeks to “highlight new roles millennial women are taking on in society.” But if this ad and the IRL experiences of women in tech are any proof, unapologetically taking on those roles comes with pushback for challenging the status quo.
As the women in “Pitch” prove, however, challenging tech sexism is work that needs to be done. And support from fellow women-on-a-mission helps to make breaking barriers less daunting.
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