Polski
Jobs, salaries, duties or treatment of employees have been gender-specific for years. Over the years, women have fought for their rights, equality and the opportunity to advance. What does it look like today? Women are increasingly appearing in advertising campaigns, femvertising is fighting stereotypes, and workplaces are opening up to female talent. The first woman in Google’s Polish division talks about her experiences for GentleWoman’s editorial board as part of its “Target Woman” series.
Table of Contents:
- Woman at Google
- Changes in employment
- Femvertising or feminism in marketing
- Even Barbie is following suit
- An advantage, not a burden
Woman at Google
Iwona Piwek – head of the Polish branch of Google. A true GentleWoman and a successful woman. She is in charge of making advertisers aware of streaming trends. At the same time, she makes sure that the Polish market has good product representation and is on par with Western markets. However, the world of the Internet has not always been an obvious place for her. “When I started this actually the world looked very different. I wonder if I even had access to such broadband Internet at home… probably not yet. I used to go to the Internet café to do things or I did it at the university! And of course Google itself looked very, very different.” – Iwona Piwek recounts with a smile.
Read also: Creating a personal image in social media
Changes in employment
Although she was the first woman in this part of the world to be employed by Google, the situation gradually began to change. Currently, Google is making sure that women are also employed in senior positions, and a good number of them enjoy engineering degrees. So you can see that the perception of women in business, science or even politics is changing positively.
Women have also become extremely important in the subject of marketing. This is an industry that is spreading its wings more and more every day, while offering tremendous opportunities for growth. Women’s needs were severely neglected at the turn of the century. Stereotypes flowing from advertisements in the media have empowered women to make society realize that the definition of femininity does not exist, and stereotypes can do a lot of harm. In response to the quiet rebellion of women, a trend in marketing communications with the noble name Femvertising has emerged.
Femvertising or feminism in marketing
Femverising responds to feminist needs and changing perspectives. It adds strength to women, showing the beauty of diversity. Femvertising can be described as feminism in marketing. This is what currently allows us to see commercials with a woman in the lead role. They are no longer flattened into ads for cleaning products or kitchen spices. Banks, car brands or real estate agencies not only use the image of women in their advertisements, but also believe that women are their target audience. Femvertising is therefore not simply advertising aimed at women. It is a change that is being introduced by more and more companies, and will affect not only women currently, but all of history and future generations.
The brand that was one of the first to publish ads in this marketing communication trend is Dove. For years, they have been creating campaigns that highlight women’s beauty and diversity. An example is the “Sketches of True Beauty” campaign .
Even Barbie is following suit
Interestingly, one global brand that has engaged in femvertising is Barbie. While not all viewers were thrilled with the “You can be who you want” commercial spot, it has a very positive tone. Barbie is a brand that was one of the leading ones to promote an idealized image of women. A slender body, blonde hair, long legs – these are attributes developed by the Barbie brand and attributed to “perfect” women. This time, however, Barbie is creating herself in a different way. The spot describes a problem with the self-confidence of little girls, who from an early age lose the support of loved ones in pursuing their goals.
An advantage, not a burden
As you can see, women in the “male” world are doing phenomenally well. Society is increasingly opening its minds and eyes to the talents of the fair sex. Iwona Piwek is a perfect example of a woman who made it to the largest company in the world despite tough beginnings. When asked what she would like to convey to women, she replied, “Women should go in any direction they feel like. What I would advise is that they should not think at all about the fact that they are women and that something is not allowed to them! Don’t let them feel intimidated by the fact that there will only be guys in their group. This will be their advantage, not a burden.” Following the words of Iwona Piwek, we wish all GentleWomen the courage to fulfill their dreams, perseverance in pursuit of their goals and supportive people around them.
