In Work Package 5, we are interested in the means by which the media discursively construct gender binaries and norms, identities, relations, practices, values and attitudes and their intersection with other forms of difference and inequality. We examine how these constructions influence the implicit and explicit rationales or explanatory frames that determine and are determined by social practices and imperatives and, therefore, the individual decisions they make and practices they engage in as members of organisations and institutions. We are particularly concerned with how symbolic, or meaning-making systems are organised and generated by media practitioners to produce particular meaning for various audiences and towards particular political and ideological objectives and the (un)intended effects of these processes in consolidating or resisting stereotypical and binary understandings of gender. Our position is that representational practices go beyond description to impose normativity and order onto the unfolding chaos of experiences, thereby shaping, constructing and regulating dominant gendered practices. Additionally, intersectional and neocolonial relations of power are implicated in the production and distribution of media artefacts, impacting decisions about who or what is represented, how and towards what ends.

Because advertising is one of the most pervasive forms of media communication, explicitly aimed at influencing social and individual practices, it plays a significant role in shaping societal norms and expectations on various social identities, including gender. Any advertising campaign aims primarily to persuade and influence large audiences, often by relying on established, usually stereotypical and binary, cultural symbols and narratives. At the same time, advertising has significant potential to create images and generate representations that inspire people to re-imagine alternative, more just ways of thinking and being – to conceive of a more inclusive and cohesive society.

Against this backdrop, we aim to perform a systematic literature review of existing research on the representation of gender in the media, specifically advertising, and a corpus analysis of online promotional material. We explore gender representations in relation to leadership, the workplace and socialisation to ascertain why stereotypical gender representations persist in these domains and the opportunities and avenues present for cultural and financial returns if institutions take up the call for counter-normative, non-binary, inclusive and emancipatory gender representations. We engaged this objective across this work package’s four deliverables as outlined below.