ASCI frames guidelines to ask advertisers to break gender stereotypes

A set of guidelines framed by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has a strong message for advertisers: break gender stereotypes.

Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani on Wednesday released the eight new guidelines on harmful gender stereotyping in ads, a follow-up to the regulator’s 2021 GenderNext study — in partnership with consulting firm Futurebrands — that looked at the depiction of women with an aim to guide brands.

The guidelines are a timely intervention, coming only days after the watchdog suspended controversial ads by body spray brand Layer’r Shot that drew wide outrage and were viewed as