The misrepresentation of women in advertising is the focus of a short film from Diageo released ahead of International Women’s Day.

Putting gender balance in that industry in the spotlight, the role of advertising in shaping cultures is discussed in the corporate-made film.

It highlights the importance of supporting more progressive gender portrayal in content, and diversity in the advertising industry itself.

Diageo CMO Syl Saller said that: “Through the millennia, culture has been shaped by the stories we tell and if you think about it advertising is telling stories that are backed by billions of dollars to have them heard.

“I am convinced we can normalise gender equality with what we choose to show in our ads, and who we choose to make them.

“We strongly believe that diverse teams create all kinds of different stories, stories which portray men and women as they really are, stories that are eminently relatable.”

Inclusion and diversity in marketing has long been a focus of Diageo, a member of the UN UNstereotype Alliance and a signatory of Free the Bid to help to increase the number of female directors on adverts.

In January of this year, the group was recognised in the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index, and was named by Thomson Reuters as the 4th most inclusive and diverse company in the world in 2018.

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