VCCP has marked International Women’s Day (IWD) by producing a series of cushions embroidered with sexist phrases to elicit discomfort from all who recline upon them.
Gendered phrases such as ‘Just get one of the girls to organise it’ pick up the thread of workplace discrimination with an embroidery lesson designed to call out unconscious sexism.
Led by creative director Laura Muse the campaign asks if gendered phrases sit comfortably with you. By immortalizing phrases such as ‘Who’s his PA. Let’s ask her’, ‘She gets too emotional about things’ and ‘You’re funny for a girl’.
Commenting on her arresting work Muse said: “It’s not possible to speak up about every little thing you hear in every office. So we’ve created these as a soft little nudge to be more inclusive in the way we talk.”
Darren Bailes, executive creative director at VCCP, added: “It’s too easy to throw in language that’s lazy and misrepresents the agency world we want to be part of. Laura’s beautiful and disarming cushions remind us that women have had enough of this rubbish and that words are as important as actions”.
IWD is once again drawing big name brands within its ambit, with Apple releasing a series of short films focused on women such as Alicia Keys and Malala Yousafzai.
: 'Does it sit comfortably?'
The lates project from VCCP features a series of cushions embroidered with subtly gendered phrases that men and women still use in the workplace.
The one-off initiative is designed to call these out and act as a gentle reminder for all of us, men and women, to be mindful of the language we use in the workplace.
