Plaid Cymru Youth respond to Stagecoach’s dismissal of our criticism of their recent gender stereotyped advert.
Dear Stagecoach Wales,
Thank you for replying to our recent article regarding you derogatory advertisement. We tried to state in plain, simple language how backward and belittling your advertisement was. But, you seemed to have missed our point completely:
“Our discount travel scheme provides big financial savings for 16 to 19 year olds in Wales, whatever their background or future career. We want to make sure as many people as possible know about the scheme & didn’t intend any other meaning in the advertising. As we look to the next round of promotion, we will take your comments into consideration. Thanks”
We can not disagree with you that you are aiming to provide financial savings for 16 - 19 year olds in Wales. Well done you. We have an issue with the old fashioned perspective of the world of work used. Did you know that according to the Law Society, nearly half (62,844 of 130,382) of certified women are lawyers? Yipeee! A step in the right direction!
But these are only baby steps.
Last year we celebrated 40 years of the Equality Pay Act. Champagne and canapés all around- I think not. ONS figures show that women are payed on average £100 a week less than men. Women fall into part-time work and are less likely to aim for high achieving jobs. We need to change this. By stereotyping, as you did in your campaign, thing will never chage. Women will be conditioned to continue to aim for traditional careers with lower wages and stagnant professional development opportunities.
By categorising 16-19 year olds in Wales at such a crucial time in their careers, their “background”, being male or female, will affect their career choices and lives. We recommend that you apologise to us as young people, both male and female, for marginalising our future hopes to old stereotyping ways. We also urge you to remove all advertisements to show that you too are committed to building an equal future for all.
Yours,
Plaid Cymru Youth.
