Men are most stereotypically depicted in TV advertisements compared to women

In a new study “Gender Representation and Stereotyping: A New Approach Using the Universe of U.S. TV Ads”, Clément Bellet and co-author Martina Pocchiari (ESADE Business School) examined how gender is portrayed in over two million U.S. television advertisements aired between 2010 and 2020. Their analysis, the largest to date to quantify stereotyping systematically in U.S. TV advertising, reveals striking patterns: women are shown in both stereotypical and counter-stereotypical roles, while men’s portrayals remain largely stereotypical. These depictions are not driven only by real consumption habits, but also by what people believe those habits to be, reinforcing existing gender norms. 

Only 16% of women and 7% of men feel that their gender is accurately represented in TV ads. Because advertising shapes how people see themselves and others, this gap points to a clear problem: advertisers continue to perpetuate gender stereotypes more than that they challenge them. 

Men’s stereotypes persist, women’s are sometimes challenged  

Although women appear as often, or even slightly more often, than men in ads, men’s portrayals are significantly more stereotypical. They are often portrayed with words and concepts related to sports, vehicles, and formal clothing, to name a few examples. Women are occasionally depicted in counter-stereotypical roles, for example associated with cars or technology. Men, however, are rarely shown outside conventional masculine settings. 

These trends remained stable from 2010 to 2020, with only a slight decline in gender stereotyping after 2017. The researchers hypothesise that this recent shift may reflect broader societal changes in attitudes towards gender roles, potentially accelerated by large-scale movements such as the #MeToo movement in 2017. This suggests that, while awareness is growing, change in the industry has been slow. 

To measure how stereotypical each ad was, the researchers combined data from millions of commercials with survey responses from a large sample of Americans. Participants were asked which gender they associated with various items and contexts, from clothing and body parts to kitchen appliances. This allowed the team to quantify how gendered each advertisement appeared to viewers. 

Expectations of consumption habits don’t always match reality 

Bellet and Pocchiari also investigated whether advertising reflects real consumption patterns. The researchers looked at a dataset observing the consumption of supermarket products and compared these to survey results about what people expected men and women to consume. Their findings show that perceptions drive gendered portrayals relatively more than actual consumption. 

For example, cleaning wipes, tea, and children’s products are widely believed to be purchased mainly by women, but actual consumption data shows that men buy these products more frequently. This mismatch between perception and behaviour helps explain why certain stereotypes persist. 

Not only do stereotypical depictions in ads reinforce perceived consumption patterns and the other way around, they also echo traditional gender norms and shape public expectations of ‘appropriate’ roles for men and women. The researchers found that men dominate in ads related to transport, sports, business, and alcohol, while women are associated with household products and personal care.  

The role of advertisers and leadership 

Surprisingly, the gap between perceived and actual consumption patterns is widest among marketers themselves, especially those in junior and mid-level roles, suggesting that industry insiders may unintentionally reinforce the very stereotypes they aim to avoid.  

Leadership and how a company is made up also play a decisive role. For starters, brands with at least one female founder rely less on stereotypical male portrayals and adopt more neutral or counter-stereotypical approaches, indicating that diverse leadership can broaden a brand’s perspective on gender representation. Secondly, older, well-established brands tend to use more neutral depictions, perhaps because they can afford creative risk without fearing backlash. By contrast, larger companies and those targeting mostly male consumers still lean heavily on traditional stereotypes.  

Together, these findings show that gendered advertising is shaped not just by audience features, but by the beliefs and identities of those creating the ads. As awareness grows and leadership diversifies, the industry has a real opportunity, and responsibility, to move beyond outdated clichés and represent consumers more accurately and equitably.