IBM in sexism row over #hackahairdryer
Female scientists wondered whether men would be asked to hack a beard trimmer
This week, a misjudged campaign on the part of IBM to get women into science faced backlash online after being dubbed sexist.
The initiative focussed on getting women into STEM subjects by encouraging them to “hack a hairdryer”. Many women argued that by playing up to the gender stereotype of women caring more about their looks, the campaign had lost sight of the gender stereotype it was trying to lambaste.
Many female scientists on Twitter adopted the IBM’s #hackahairdryer hashtag to point out the contradiction.
“That’s okay, IBM, I’d rather build satellites instead, but good luck witht that whole #HackAHairDryer thing,” said one user.
“I leave hairdryer fixing to the men, I’m too busy making nanotech and treating cancer” said another .
The mocking continued throughout the day, until IBM eventually decided to pull the campaign. By then, even the London Fire Brigade had chipped in on Twitter, saying: “We’re staying out of the sexism debate, however, we’d suggest that it’s generally a bad idea & possibly a bit dangerous to #HackAHairDryer”.
IBM said afterwards that the campaign had “missed the mark for some”. They’d been running the initiative since October, but began publicising it again on Monday.
On a webpage for the scheme on IBM’s website, the company described the “hair-raising misconceptions” about women in science that were putting women off. This has since been removed.
This misfire makes a change for IBM, who are known for being a relatively diverse company. They have a female CEO, Ginni Rometty, and have always claimed to have paved the way for women in technology, saying on their website: “Where many companies proudly date their affirmative action programs to the 1970s, IBM has been creating meaningful roles for female employees since the 1930s.”
This is the second time this year a company has gone awry in its PR pursuit for women in STEM. EDF Energy’s ‘Pretty Curious’ campaign encouraged young girls to get into science.
Despite controversy, the campaign continues.
