Changing Role of Women in Indian Advertising
Dr Sumi Khare
Faculty Member, Jaipuria Institute of Management, Lucknow
Neha Srivastava
Res. Scholar, Deptt of Sociology, UP Rajarshi Tondon Open Univ
Download PDFAbstract
Much has been written about depiction of women in advertisements. Sometimes it is argued
that women are displayed in advertisements as sex objects. They are also portrayed in
stereotypical roles as submissive and hardworking homemakers having only job of cooking
delicious dishes for husband or making his shirt “whiter than white”, or as girl child being a
prospective mother who has to do traditional job of nursing babies, cooking, washing and
cleaning. But off late, Indian advertising has witnessed a significant transformation in the
manner women are shown. Many contemporary advertisements portray women in a more
positive way i.e. as independent, assertive, enjoying life and a career woman. Women are now
more exposed to education and are increasingly joining workforce, they have greater social
and cultural mobility now than their mothers and grandmothers. Since they have now
independent purchasing power, they are now being more valued at home. And therefore, they
are no more a commodity? or „sex symbol?. This article deals with fastly changing role
portrayal in Indian commercials by having a look on some representative advertisements. The
emphasis is to link role depiction of women in advertisements with the emerging status of
women in Indian Society as advertisements are reflection of changes in the societal fabric.
Keywords: Advertisement; Women; Role; Society; Job; Culture; Mobility
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