Yesterday, I attended a construction industry trade show in London.
As I walked into the exhibition, there were men and women in purple baggy t-shirts handing out the exhibition bags. Next to these people, were three very young women, dressed in low cut, very short, pink gingham "beer wench" style costumes, with lacy trim on the thigh, sky high heels, and blonde hair in pigtails. The gingham ladies were not handing out bags, they were just standing there, smiling at people as they entered. "That's strange - what stall are they on, and what do those outfits have to do with construction?", I hear you ask...
There was an Oktoberfest themed networking event towards the end of the exhibition, which is why they were dressed like this… Or was it? Once the Oktoberfest started, the ladies moved from greeting people at the entrance to standing in the Oktoberfest area (literally just standing there. Each standing separately from one another. Standing and grinning). These ladies were not part of the Oktoberfest’s bar staff (bar staff, male and female, were all wearing long sleeved red checked lumberjack style shirts), they were not collecting glasses, they hadn't been handing out exhibition bags. It seems their only function all day was decorative.
This seems completely out of whack with all the initiatives to encourage women and girls into STEM careers! Come on, Construction Industry! Get it together! Why are women still being used as eye candy for engineering events? Where were the men in barely there lederhosen? Where were the women in high-vis safety overalls, steel toe-capped boots and other PPE suitable for construction sites?
And gingham? I've been to events where women have walked around in inappropriate bikinis, but there struck me as something even creepier about the use of gingham (or is that just me?) Although not ideal, bikini at least says "adult", whereas in my mind, gingham is mostly used for school uniforms for children. There is something a bit creepy about a school-uniform-esque-sexy-bar-maid costume, given that probably 90% of the attendees were men aged 55+ and these girls didn’t look older than 19 or 20, tops!
Has anyone else been to events and seen young female models used as props for engineering firms? (Or witnessed scantily clad hunky men being used as decoration at STEM events?) Please share your experiences here.
And one request...These events usually have a feedback survey sent out after the event. If you go to an event that uses women as props, please consider using the feedback questionnaire to voice concern, remind them what year we are living in and ask the organisers to re-consider their choices for the next event.
