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Media, notably advertising, has the power to not only influence purchase decisions and behaviors, but also influence perceptions of gender norms among an impressionable, young audience. It is for this reason that it is important to thoroughly understand what messages are being received from advertisements in India. In 2021, UNICEF India and the India Chapter of the IAA partnered with the Geena Davis Institute to conduct a study examining gender representation, stereotypes, tropes, and portrayals in the most viewed advertisements from 2019 in the country. Overall, the study of 2019 advertisements in India found that advertisements reinforce gender stereotypes and tropes, such as more girls and women in domestic roles, or revealing clothing, while boys and men were shown in work and leadership positions, as well as with positive personal traits, such as humor and intelligence.

The purpose of the present midline study is to track progress or change in Indian advertisements since the 2021 report was released. This midline analyzes change in Indian advertisements since 2019, by comparing them to advertisements from 2024. We hypothesize that gender representation has improved since 2019, specifically in their portrayals as they relate to gender stereotypes. By systematically analyzing gender representation in advertising, this report will identify gaps and stereotypes that continue to limit inclusive portrayals. Highlighting these patterns is expected to inform creators and stakeholders, and lead to more balanced depictions of women and men, which in turn supports the broader goal of promoting gender-sensitive advertising.

Overall, the findings indicate both progress and enduring pitfalls with respect to gender norms in Indian advertisements. We see progress from 2019 to 2024, with gender gaps narrowing in several areas—including age diversity, and portrayals of leadership, work roles, caregiving, and the performance of certain household activities. However, disparities widened in skin tone representation, with men seeing larger gains in medium and dark skin tone representation compared to female characters. Moreover, the sexual objectification of female characters declined less than one percentage point (from 4.7% to 3.9% of female characters). Below, we highlight some of the major findings of this midline study that illustrate both the progress and enduring pitfalls with respect to gender norms in Indian advertisements.

Key findings

  • Gender prominence – The share of female characters in ads decreased slightly compared with 2019 ads (female characters were 49.6% of all characters in 2019, compared with 48.7%of all characters in 2024).
  • Age – The gender gap for 50-plus characters in 2019 favored men by 9.7 percentage points; the 50-plus gender gap decreased to 5.4 percentage points in 2024, which means that 50-plus women have begun to close the gap in representation, though 50-plus men are still more common in ads.
  • Sexual objectification – In 2019 ads, female characters were significantly more likely than male characters to be sexually objectified (4.7% compared with 0.9%). Similarly, in 2024 ads, female characters were also significantly more likely than male characters to be sexually objectified (3.9% compared with 1.0%). The gender gap is slightly smaller in 2024.
  • Gender tropes or stereotypes – In 2019 ads, male and female characters were equally likely to be portrayed with a gendered trope or stereotype (2.9% female, 2.0% male). In 2024 ads, female characters were also significantly more likely than male characters to be portrayed with a gendered trope or stereotype (1.3% compared with 0.2%). The gender gap increased in 2024.
  • Leadership – In 2019 ads, male characters were significantly more likely than female characters to be depicted as leaders (26.3% compared with 19.3%). In 2024 ads, male characters were also significantly more likely than female characters to be shown as leaders (5.5% compared with 3.5%). But the gender gap declined in 2024.
  • Cleaning – In 2019 ads, female characters were significantly more likely than male characters to be shown cleaning (4.8% compared with 2.2%). In 2024 ads, female characters were significantly also more likely than male characters to be shown cleaning (3.9% compared with 1.6%). But the gender gap slightly declined in 2024.
  • Office settings – In 2019 ads, male characters were significantly more likely than female characters to be shown in an office setting (7.1% compared with 4.7%). In 2024 ads, male characters were also significantly more likely than female characters to be in an office setting (5.5% compared with 4.1%). But the gender gap declined in 2024.

Action steps for advertising governing bodies to improve gender representation

  • Provide benchmarks or standards for gender prevalence among Indian advertisements to achieve gender parity. For example, establish recommended thresholds for the share of female and male characters in advertisements, along with their intersecting identities (e.g., older characters, and skin tone diversity).
  • Provide benchmarks or standards for skin tone, to better reflect the general population. Gather data on the distribution of skin tones in India, establish benchmarks based on this information, to provide information for creators to make informed casting choices.
  • Assess patterns for problematic portrayals, and provide guidance to advertisers on how to work against such portrayals. This could include tipsheets highlighting examples of ads with gender stereotypes and offering practical strategies for flipping stereotypes.

Action steps for advertisers to improve gender representation

  • Strive for gender parity across all advertisements, and ensure that both men and women have speaking roles. Set standards or a threshold for the representation of female and male characters, internally.
  • Think intersectionality when casting. For example, cast more women who are older. Cast more girls and women with a dark skin tone. Cast more girls and women and girls with large body types.
  • Reduce the sexualization of girls and women. Ways to do this is thinking critically about sexually revealing clothing, and refrain from camera angles that focus or zoom in on sexual body parts.
  • Be attentive to gender stereotypes and tropes, and actively work to counter them across ads, especially for girls and women, such as occupational tropes, or roles in domesticity scenes. Access resources like those from UNICEF, which describe persistent gender stereotypes that perpetuate harmful gender norms.
  • Show more girls and women in work and leadership roles. Ways to do this are by showing them with a paid occupation, pursuing an education, actively working in their job, and as leaders (e.g., making decisions, giving orders, having a leadership role at work).
  • Cast more female characters in comedic ads, where the female characters are carrying the narrative, to overcome the gender imbalance in who is shown as funny..
  • Show more men in domestic roles. Ways to do this are by showing them making household decisions, and showing them in a caregiving role, shopping, cleaning, and preparing meals for their families. Such portrayals help challenge the stereotype that men do not belong in domestic spaces and normalize shared household responsibilities.

How to cite this study:

Geena Davis Institute & UNICEF India. (2025). India Advertising Midline: Gender Representation and Inclusion Trends. Geena Davis Institute & UNICEF India.

See our previous global advertising studies in partnership with UNICEF: 

And check out some of our other advertising studies below: