The government has been lambasted for apparent sexism after issuing a social media advertisement showing women, but no men, undertaking domestic chores – including home-schooling.
On Thursday, the government attempted to distance itself from the official social media ad which urged people to “Stay Home. Save Lives”.
The poster (above) depicted women cleaning and ironing as well as home-schooling. The lone man, meanwhile, was depicted lounging on a sofa.
The image was withdrawn, but only after it had gone viral and drawn criticism and dismay from critics.
The government said the ad did “not reflect” its “view on women”. Conservative MP Caroline Nokes, chair of parliament’s women and equalities select committee, tweeted the image and commented: “Someone signed this off.”
That the image was published was indicative of a government with a blind spot on gender equality, said Mandu Reid, leader of the Women’s Equality party.
“This kind of typecasting makes my blood boil – the people who produced this are dinosaurs,” she said.
“It provides further evidence of the crisis of imagination and competence at the heart of government which has already resulted in women being expected to work, teach and care for children without any support.”
She added: “The government needs home-schooling on the impossible realities of Covid parenting, otherwise it will be more than their artwork that is stuck in the 1950s.”
The row comes at a time when twice as many mothers as fathers say they will have to take time off with no pay due to school closures or a sick child, raising further fears that the economic fallout of the pandemic is falling disproportionately on women’s shoulders.
A May report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the UCL Institute of Education revealed that mothers in England were more likely than fathers to have lost their jobs during lockdown, and were able to do only one hour of uninterrupted paid work for every three hours done by men.
The prime minister’s spokesman said: “We have provided information for the public throughout the pandemic … [the ad] does not reflect our view on women and we have removed it.”
Parenting blogger Anna Whitehouse said: “Showing a man lounging about while women (and girls) ‘do it all’ may bear some truth but it can’t be the blueprint from the top. How did this get signed off in 2021?”
Labour’s Yvette Cooper tweeted: “A message from the government to the nation’s women and girls!! In 2021. Turns out 1950s sexism is spreading fast too.”
Felicia Willow of the Fawcett Society asked why it took a public backlash to point out that these images are not acceptable.
“With women bearing the brunt of the pandemic’s impact at home and at work, the government needs to urgently prioritise their interests, not peddle tired and unhelpful stereotypes,” she said.