The EC’s new marketing tactic? Sexism

6/27/2012 10:59 AM EDT

Well...at least the production value is good :)

From the thumbnail of the YouTube video...I thought this was from the 50's. You really want to meet the folks who do these things and look them in the eye and say "what exactly were you thinking?"

This reminds me of the Seinfeld episode when Jerry wanted to know what Elaine and her friend (a woman)did together one day:

Jerry: "What else did you two do?"
Elaine "Oh, you know, girly stuff."
Jerry: "So, uh, flower shows, shopping for pretty bows, then back to her place, strip down to bra and panties for a tickle fight."
Elaine: "That's really what you think girls do, isn't it?"
Jerry: "Yes, I do."

So...I doubt that any women were involved with the EC video. It was likely a few guys sitting around and one of them said..."HEY I've got an idea."

6/27/2012 11:11 AM EDT

Like everything else, science shall never be connected to gender, imo. Although, in reality, there are more men than women in science and engineering, there have been outstanding women in these fields. As time goes, I am sure there will be more.

I don't understand what inspire EC to make the ad. Is there lack of women in science and engineering in European Countries? I think there has been lack of outstanding high school graduates choosing any subjects related to pure science and engineering. It may just be a cycle. Or it could be a more serious problem in the long run.

6/27/2012 11:34 AM EDT

Yeah, we all know that women who like tech are totally UGLY. Beautiful women should just piss off.
Sexism? That's the idiot who wrote this piece.

6/27/2012 1:03 PM EDT

As a woman, I have no quarrel with showing beautiful women who like tech in an ad. The problem I have with this ad is that there is only one short scene that actually shows a woman DOING something technical.

There is an unfortunate stereotype (especially in the USA and Europe) that only unattractive people are interested in tech. Since most women want to be considered attractive this tends to discourage them from tech.

This ad may be an attempt to counter that but they should be able to do that without it coming across as sexist.

6/27/2012 2:07 PM EDT

In lieu of equal time the male-dominated EC has a page profiling women in science, probably more appropriate to use in a marketing campaign to reach the young and get them interested in science, sans dancing music and high heels: http://science-girl-thing.eu/profiles-of-women-in-science#
But then who would pay attention in our visual impact world?

6/27/2012 7:44 PM EDT

Nothing wrong with using attractive models -- most ads do, whether the models are male or female.

But seriously, the clothes, the shoes, the dancing and strutting? This looked more like a recruitment ad for a cosmetics company -- and not necessarily for recruiting STEM employees.

6/27/2012 9:25 PM EDT

We all know that the strutting around from that video is not what we typically see in engineering schools and workplaces. But hey, don't get so irate, Sylvie! I've seen more than a few EE Times videos with very attractive EE Times reporters on them! So what, that should stop too? Nooo!

6/28/2012 2:28 AM EDT

Being beautiful disqualifies you for an Engineering position the same way as being knowledgeable hinders you on your way into higher management.

6/28/2012 11:26 AM EDT

I'm not sure what they're getting at with all the lipstick, blush, etc. throughout the video. It feels like they're saying 'Yea, you can be in a lab but you gotta be dressed unappropriately, preoccupied with cosmetics, don't touch anything and leave the real stuff to the men. Oh, and if you're good, we'll let you wear some of our eye protection!'

6/29/2012 2:44 PM EDT

A few jobs ago the mostly-male embedded programming group I worked in interviewed a candidate with suitable education and experience. A significant part of the discussion afterwards was whether our interviews had been consistent with other interviews because she was so attractive, and then whether we were unfairly being *negative* questioning our objectivity (and by extension the candidate) because she was so attractive.

Admittedly the case was a closer call than another candidate who was also attractive and also clearly super-competent (despite being a fresh-out masters). In that case the packaging was not an issue either way.

6/29/2012 3:57 PM EDT

I don't understand the issue.
What difference does it really make if few women choose to pursue science and engineering as a career?

6/29/2012 4:19 PM EDT

"I will say that my girlfriend and her daughter are often less worried about the 'how' behind things than the 'what' that it does for them. In many cases, I try to explain the 'how'. Sometimes they are interested and often times I get the 'why are you telling me this'"

That's hilarious, and it's also been my experience. In fact, sometimes when we're with company, and someone asks some detailed technical question, my wife responds (correctly). And then she follows that up with, "And the really scary part is that I knew that."

I don't obsess as to why women are not so into STEM. I had zero women in my EE classes in undergrad and grad school. And in all my years at work, worked with at most 4 women total. All software types.

My daughter aced all of her STEM courses, including a Junior level Pascal course she took when she was a high school Freshman, and she went into vet medicine. So that's sort of straddling the fence, but it's not engineering. So, she certainly wasn't intimidated by STEM courses, but she was more interested in how nature engineers things than in engineering these things herself.

6/30/2012 2:36 AM EDT

Science is a broad term that also includes Medicine, Biology, Chemistry and in these specific fields women have more representation than men. Though the video is a welcome step to motivate women take up Engineering fields but EC should motivate both genders in general.

6/30/2012 4:18 AM EDT

We might have to forgive EC for doing such a cheap thing, when considering austerity and restriction needed in Europe.
But yes, they can do better in brushing up old 50s video clips and wrapping them up into new ideas that effectively motivate younger generations, male and female, to take part in science.

6/30/2012 1:44 PM EDT

Just watched it again with the sound off. Its a goofy video - no way around it. No way this video works as intended unless I completely misunderstand Europeans.

7/2/2012 5:03 AM EDT

I'm from England and female. We're technically part of Europe but don't like to label ourselves as part of Europe. Anyway, to me, it looked like a cosmetic ad or fashion ad. That ad would never have got me to choose engineering as a career. The only reason I became interested was because one gentleman came to my school and discussed 5 apprenticeships with different companies. I sent a CV to all 5 and was invited to an interview by 3. Long story short, at the age of 15 (pending GCSE results) I had signed on to an appenticeship all because 1 guy informed me about apprenticeships.

7/2/2012 11:36 AM EDT

You're all thinking like grown, self-assured adults. Now imagine yourself as a 10yr old girl looking beyond the box full of Barbies. Is it worth doing your maths homework, or building up a science fair poster? Having one brain cell that links glamour with science is probably not a bad thing.

7/5/2012 9:31 PM EDT

I've activated the roof-top light to summon the members of the all-female Engineering Squad. They should be here any minute to answer your questions about their interest in designing things.

7/7/2012 2:05 PM EDT

I believe that most of the commenters here, as myself, are technologists of one form or another, and are therefore not part of the target audience for this piece. I give the EC credit for at least recognizing that one of the key issues with encouraging youth, especially females, in STEM is the negative social stigma attached to it. The subject is so geeky, nerdy, and uncool that few youth will risk the ridicule of their peers, and peer pressure is huge. I think the message they tried to convey is that you don't need to leave fashion and your social life behind to pursue STEM. As such, I don't see it as being sexist.
There was a short piece that ran on U.S. TV perhaps 20 years ago. It featured a black teen working equations, as several famous athletes cheered him on and congratulated him on his success. I remember that Faud Reveiz, the former Miami Dolphins kicker, was among them. A similar message aimed at a different audience.

7/7/2012 8:42 PM EDT

My guess is that is how some of those quite wealthy EU executives think. Being rich and powerful does not assure a good character by any means. ON the other hand, it is probably quite a challenge to interest anybody in engineering unless they already have some technical interest. I am not sure how that would be done. But then, I am an engineer, not a motivational wizard.

7/8/2012 5:51 PM EDT

"The subject is so geeky, nerdy, and uncool that few youth will risk the ridicule of their peers ..."

Whoa, what an odd attitude! What SHOULD be strange is to venerate those who have a talent for throwing spheres or oblong spheroids around, for no good reason. Even if this earns them obscene incomes.