If you’ve ever spent an afternoon in a stuffy conference room watching corny compliance videos with your coworkers, this new anti-sexism ad from Australia might feel like a breath of fresh air.
Produced by the gender equality organization Fck the Cupcake (FTC), the three-minute interactive video is part of “Be the Change,” a campaign that targets casual misogyny in the workplace. Unlike the awkwardly unrealistic sexual harassment videos of the past, however, the short film — shot in the mockumentary-style of The Office — is packed with nuance and practical information. It’s also clear in its intended audience: men.
"We know that so many men have unconscious bias against women,” says Rod Prosser, a spokesperson for the campaign, “and also don’t see themselves as part of the problem because they don’t realize how their own behavior can be harmful."
The video centers on a Steve Carell- or Ricky Gervais-like boss who walks through the office making a series of sexist remarks and gestures directly into the Steadicam. Some are blatantly obvious (calling a colleague “sweetheart” or giving a creepy shoulder rub) while others are more subtle (a guy manspreading while a female colleague struggles to find a seat at the table or an interoffice email promoting a golf weekend for the men).
In total, 34 examples of sexism are sprinkled throughout the three minutes, each taken from a real-life experience. But, after a dramatic pause at the conclusion of the film, we’re informed that only 14 of these are spoken. So, you might wonder, where are the other 20?
Part of the intrigue of Be the Change is that it encourages viewers to dissect scenes for instances of sexist behavior. Prompts help guide you along the way, allowing you to pause at every cringey comment or dubious display of body language to learn more about what’s behind it.
For example, the boss’s flip remarks about the “glass ceiling” — “They keep screaming something about a glass ceiling,” he says as he looks upward. “Doesn’t look like glass to me.” — cues a prompt that only 6% of CEO roles in the ASX 300 are held by women. Click the pop-up prompt during a scene in which a man interrupts a female colleague’s presentation to answer a vibrating cell phone and you’ll learn that, on average, women get interrupted by men 2.1 times every three minutes.
Cumulatively, the information can have a chilling effect. But the film’s aim isn’t to overwhelm us with disheartening statistics — nor is it to remind us not to give unwanted shoulder rubs at work (though please don’t, ever!). Its mission is, rather, to inspire men to speak up when they witness instances of gender inequality. The campaign tagline, “Find Your Voice,” is nothing short of a rallying cry for allyship.
“I think most of the time, men don’t know how to enter the conversation,” Prosser says, “and when something unwanted happens in public or in the workplace, they feel awkward and don’t know how to approach it. Not knowing what to say or how to participate in the conversation is no longer permission to say nothing. We really want this campaign to hit men in a way that they’ve not been hit before.”
The video concludes with one last chip shot from the boss. Downplaying an incident of sexual harrassment by an employee, he says: “He didn’t mean any harm. . . . Plus, it’s just a bit of banter.” The camera then rests on the face of a male colleague. He’s standing within earshot of the boss and visibly uncomfortable by the remark. But otherwise, he’s absolutely silent.
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Topics: Company culture Diversity
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